🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where myths intertwine with reality, legends come to life, and fantasy is more than just a story! In this episode, host Bethany Amanda sits down with the globetrotting, purple-haired powerhouse behind Smoke and Scar—the first book in the epic, trial-filled, banter-laced Shattered Crown series—Gretchen Powell Fox.

From a childhood spent around the world to crafting a realm torn apart by gods, magic, and political tension, Gretchen takes us deep into her creative process. What began as a “what if the girl was the overpowered one?” idea became a sweeping romantasy filled with deadly trials, elemental magic, and characters you’ll want to protect (and occasionally yell at).

🗝️ What if your greatest ally was raised to destroy you?
🔥 What if the only way to save someone was to enter the same deadly trials that once stole the love of your life?
🌑 And what if embracing your own darkness was the only path forward?

We dive into the world of Smoke and Scar, explore Gretchen’s love for flipping tropes on their head, and unpack the emotional heart beneath the magic, battles, and banter. This one’s for every fantasy reader who craves lush worldbuilding, slow-burn romance, and heroines who could definitely win in a tavern brawl.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Growing up across continents and how it shaped Gretchen’s storytelling voice
✨ The meandering path from her 2012 dystopian debut to Smoke and Scar
✨ The “overpowered fey heroine saves the guy” twist that sparked the book
✨ The Arcane Crucible: deadly trials designed to unite enemies
✨ Why Smoke and Scar is “LOTR meets The Serpent and the Wings of Night”
✨ Flipping romantasy tropes: shadow mommy + golden retriever knight energy
✨ How to keep writing when the self-doubt creeps in

📚 GIVEAWAY ALERT: We’re giving away a signed paperback of Smoke and Scar (U.S. only) and a paperback copy for our international listeners! We're also giving away a special edition of Smoke and Scar from Aurora Crate! Follow us on Instagram for entry details.

CONNECT WITH US:

📖 Follow Gretchen Powell Fox – IG: @gretchenpowellfox
🎙️ Follow The Mythic Mic Podcast – IG: @MythicMicPod
🎙️ Follow host Bethany Amanda – IG: @BethanyinFantasyland

✨ If this episode made you want to pick up a sword, enter a deadly trial, or befriend a shadow-wielding heroine, please rate & review The Mythic Mic—it helps more listeners join our epic quest!

🎙️ Welcome back to The Mythic Mic Podcast, where myths intertwine with reality, legends come to life, and fantasy is more than just a story! In this episode, host Bethany Amanda sits down with Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Julie Johnson to talk about The Wind Weaver — the first book in her sweeping Reign of Remnants trilogy.

From bike rides to the tiny one-square-mile Massachusetts island where she grew up, to a scrappy self-published novel in college that paid off her loans, Julie walks us through a career built on persistence, creativity, and big, bold ideas. Windweaver is a war-scarred, elemental romantasy about prophecies, outlawed magic, and a heroine named Rhea who is literally taken by the wind. Expect lush worldbuilding, emotionally messy growth, and a trilogy that only gets bigger from here.

🌬️ What if the one lyric stuck in your head became the heart of your novel?
🌊 What if magic had been outlawed—and the only way to restore it was to reunite four scattered elemental beings?
🔥 And what if the parts of you that you fear most turned out to be your greatest strength?

We dive into the inspiration behind The Wind Weaver, Julie’s wild marketing stunts (think giant book covers at iconic locations), her unexpected Sunday Times #1 moment, the elemental system, and why book two raises the stakes even higher. If you love character-driven fantasy with elemental magic, complicated choices, and a heroine learning to own her darkness, this episode is for you.

🔥 IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT…

✨ Julie’s island-child upbringing and how the ocean shaped her imagination
✨ Writing her first novel in college, self-publishing in 2013, and paying off loans before graduation
✨ How agents found her and how foreign rights led to wider visibility
✨ Why magic was outlawed in Julie’s world—and the prophecy that could bring it back
✨ Marketing creativity: lugging a giant Wind Weaver cover around landmarks
✨ Writing craft: drafting in past tense, flipping to present for publication, and converting later drafts
✨ What Julie wants readers to feel: owning the parts of yourself that scare you (and how darkness can be strength)
✨ What to expect next

🎁 GIVEAWAY ALERT
We’re giving away a special edition copy of The Wind Weaver! Full entry details are on our Instagram — follow along so you don’t miss it.

📖 Follow Julie Johnson – IG: @author_julie
🎙️ Follow host Bethany Amanda – IG: @BethanyinFantasyland
🎧 Follow The Mythic Mic Podcast – IG: @MythicMicPod
🛒 Order Windweaver and explore the Reign of Remnants trilogy wherever books are sold.

✨ Don’t forget to rate & review! If this episode made you want to feel the sea breeze, plot familial prophecies, or immediately dive into a new elemental world, leave us a review — it helps other readers find The Mythic Mic.