About the Book:
James, Daphne, Koko, and Sonny have all grown up surrounded by magic in the Arcana, an organization of witches that protects the magical world, run by the mysterious and secretive Majors. Eli Jones, however, didn’t even know other witches existed . . . until he stumbled into James. As James introduces Eli to the world of the Arcana, he finds the family he never had, and a blossoming romance with James.
The five new friends soon realize that sinister things are afoot and everything may not be what it seems at the Arcana. When the group delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the deaths of their parents and the Major’s rise to power, they discover that they’re at the center of a curse – one they’ve just unwittingly set into motion. As the friends search for answers, they’ll have to confront the cursed legacy that links them in hopes of freeing their futures.
Find on Goodreads and Bookshop.org UK (affiliate link).
About the Author:
Sam Prentice-Jones is an author-illustrator living in Brighton. He graduated from Arts University Bournemouth in 2019 with a BA Hons in Illustration, specializing in digital, graphic, character-based work. Sam likes to create work that celebrates diversity and queer culture and began his career by curating a queer illustration magazine titled POOF Magazine which ran 2019-2021. Since then, Sam has gone on to create work for the worlds of book publishing, web design, advertising and product design as well as being featured in art fairs across the UK. He is the author of the graphic novel Arcana: The Lost Heirs.
Interview:
Pitch your book in 10 words!
Mixing the mundane and the magical! A queer witchy mystery.
Each chapter in THE LOST HEIRS is named for one of the Major Arcana Cards. If you had to pick a single card for each of the characters what would it be?
I think that Eli is the Strength card, an unassuming quiet soul who has been through a lot more than it would seem on the surface.
James is for sure The Magician, well prepared and knowledgeable with a creative flair and talent that he feels in control and proud of.
Daphne would be the High Priestess because of her stoic femininity and access to a higher spiritual place that she has worked really hard to find that always inspires others. She’s a natural born leader.
Koko is definitely my most fun diva, so she feels like The Sun, always choosing hope, laughter and positivity even in times of strife.
Finally Sonny, I think he suits the Temperance card. A seeker of knowledge and meaning and a lover of balance and being able to see things from all angles.
The main protagonist, Eli, grew up in care. What drew you to this for his character background?
I don’t have any personal ties to the care system so I didn’t want to make it a huge part of Eli’s arc because it’s simply not my story to tell. But I knew that I wanted Eli to be this complicated mix of a quiet confidence but also have a guard up and be slightly afraid of making long term connections. People who move around a lot as kids tend to either retreat inwards or become masters of being able to be dropped in any situation and be able to make friends, even if there is that niggle at the back of their mind that the friendships may be fleeting, I wanted Eli to have that kind of attitude so it sort of all fell into place.
We get glimpses into the lives of several characters. Who was your favourite to write? Did any surprise you?
I found Koko the most fun to write, she’s silly and funny and confident but in the quiet moments with her family she puts down her bravado and is extremely capable and strong in a way that I don’t think people would know if they just met her in passing. I found it really interesting writing those transitional scenes where she takes off her loud clothing and just becomes a girl looking after her mum.
If you were a witch in the Arcana world, what ancient spell would you most want to get your hands on?
I would LOVE to be able to move objects without touching them, I always say that if I could have a boring super power it would be to move parked cars just a little bit so that I can park, so I fear if i was actually a witch I would be doing lame stuff like that hahaha.
The Arcana world is unapologetically queer. Why do you think it’s so important that we have these tales where characters don’t have to defend their views as well as those where they do?
When I began working on this series in 2021, it sort of felt like writing a queer witch book was gonna be so “been-there-done-that” by the time it came out, but in the years between then and its publication, the political climate has nosedived so intensely that I actually think that this book is kind of important again. It’s still so important to have the truth of queer lives on the page and on screen and while, yes, a lot of queer people have to spend their lives fighting and being activists, I felt that writing a story where the queerness wasn’t a plot point was also important, as a kind of “this is how easy it could be”.
What is the editing process like for a graphic novel? How much of the art do you like to have done before story edits – black and white sketch, flat colour, more?
Well I’m insane and am always doing The Most so I had the first 5 chapters of the book worked out in sketch and tone before I even pitched! But once I had familiarised myself with my main characters and their ways I started writing out the full plot. With a mystery I’ve always found it’s really important to know how it’s going to end so you can figure out how to drop hints and easter eggs and foreshadowing along the way. From then it was just figuring out the pacing of information which I found particularly tricky as I’m a great lover of space and emptiness in a graphic novel (I am a disciple of Jon McNaught) so every 4 pages I was trying to have a double page spread just to focus on someone walking lol. My editor really had to reign me in and say “these are lovely but your page count is giving the domesday book”.
Please recommend a UKYA book you think readers will love.
SEE YOU AT THE FINISH LINE* by Zac Hammett
Thank you, Sam!
*Affiliate link
#UKYASpotlight 
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