Hey there.

Yes, you.

Do you like books?

Do you like... free books?

Did you know you could win a free book by entering our giveaway RIGHT NOW?

I know, right????

And I haven't even told you the best part yet: it's a book about... magic.

OK, it's about some other things too, but magic features heavily.

Magic: that unpredictable, flighty, marvelous... what do you "call" magic? How do you classify it?

In the world of the Iron Empire, it's a crime. Mages - those capable of working magic - are worse than outcasts. They're traitors: their crime punishable by death.

If you missed author Jeffrey Bardwell's guest post from last week, you can scroll down and find it below this one. He addresses this topic from within the world of The Iron Empire, which is also the world in which our giveaway book, The Knight's Secret, takes place. 

In fact, you can just skip me and scroll down to the end of this post, where you'll find a link to the giveaway for The Knight's Secret.

Or you can stick around.

Still here? Thanks, man. (:

Today I'd like to talk about magic - and why we fear it.

Now, at this point you're all, "Magic is the greatest thing ever! Definitely no fear going on here! Hogwarts is my true home, etc. etc. etc."

Yes to all of that (especially the Hogwarts part).

But if you dig a little deeper, I think you'll find that, even if it's just on some subconscious level, you really do fear magic.

I mean, if you straight up met the Wicked Witch of the West right now, would you not be just a little bit scared? A mage, wizard, or witch can do virtually anything to you - and you never know what it's going to be until they do it. Unless you have magic yourself, you're powerless to stop it. Is that not scary?

Societally, this fear manifests in various ways. In the 1600s, there were the Witch Trials. Why would you try, condemn, and hang a bunch of people unless you believed they posed a threat to society?

And isn't banning Harry Potter from your child's reading list an indication that, on some level, you're afraid of magic?

(We're not getting into that now or ever, by the way.)

I think I've made my point. So why do we fear magic? I have a few theories.

Theory One: We fear the unknown.

 

If there's anything that's equally exciting and terrifying: it's the unknown. And what's more unknown than magic? You never know what it will do next. That's exciting, but also horrifying. A witch could turn you into a frog, or she could curse you to prick your finger and die on your sixteenth birthday. Maybe there's something to do with transformation there, too. Because magic often transfigures, turning something into something else. Are we afraid of the next step? (Is this getting too Jungian?)

Theory Two: We fear what we don't understand.

Wait, isn't that the same thing? No, my friend. I'm making a distinction between the two. We fear not knowing what's going to happen next; but maybe even more than that we fear not knowing how it's happening. No one knows how magic works, do they? I mean, maybe there's a few really powerful wizards out there who know what's up (Merlin? IDK), but it seems like most workers of magic don't even really know where their power comes from or why they have it. And for the rest of us - forget it.

Magic operates on a whole different set of rules. It's almost impossible to understand.

Take Elsa. When her magic flares up, everyone freaks out. But the person who's scared to death more than anyone else is Elsa herself. Why? She's got this stunningly powerful force inside her but she can't control it. Segway to Theory Three...

Theory Three: the killer Marianne Williamson quote

"Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us."

Oh Elsa, you're so afraid not because you're weak - but because you're powerful beyond measure. If some people can work magic, does that mean all of us can? That we all have that kind of power inside us?

Does that scare us?

Am I using magic as a metaphor now?

Man, I don't even know. It's like I write these blog posts and by the end of them, I'm not even sure where I've ended up. It sounded cool in my head, though.

"Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine...We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone and as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Sounds like magic to me.

So don't fear it, Elsa - embrace it. (I'm talking to all of you like you're Elsa now, in case you haven't noticed.) By working your magic, you free up others to work theirs, liberating them from their fears as they realize magic isn't something to be terrified of - it's something wonderful.

Now enter this giveaway.

WIN A FREE COPY OF THE KNIGHT'S SECRET

Delve into the plight of the mages in The Knight's Secret, the first fantasy adventure in The Mage Conspiracy series. Join a quest of self discovery, romantic entanglements, and political intrigue where lies cut deeper than any sword. Coming March 5.

Enter to win your free copy of The Knight's Secret ebook today: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/JOu9b

Five lucky winners will be selected at random and emailed their prize on March 5, 2018. 

Every entrant will receive a free sample of The Knight's Secret upon entering the contest.



May the odds be ever in your favor.

Erin and Anna