Introducing Fantasy Author Jodi L. Milner and the Shadow Barrier Trilogy
Are you searching for your next captivating fantasy series? Look no further than the Shadow Barrier Trilogy by the talented Jodi L. Milner!
About Jodi L. Milner
Jodi L. Milner brings a unique blend of real-world experiences to her writing. A world traveler married to a magician, she’s studied Kenpo karate and even performed reptile shows during her college years! When she’s not crafting intricate fantasy worlds, you might find her crocheting cute character sidekicks, tending to her orchids, or buried in her latest reading adventure.
As a leader in the League of Utah Writers, Jodi shares her expertise at chapter meetings and conferences. Her professional background spans both human and animal medicine, fueled by her fascination with medical science and the obscure. These days, she’s raising a pair of cranky chickens in her mountain home in Utah and contemplating exotic animal rescue—much to her husband’s dismay!
Jodi firmly believes in making life a good one, and her rich, immersive storytelling reflects this passionate approach to living.
The Shadow Barrier Trilogy
Ages ago, magic tore the world into two separate realities. In one, powerful immortals called Stonebearers quietly protect humanity from danger. In the other, the vengeful Archdemoness Wrothe has spent centuries plotting her revenge against the Stonebearers.
When these worlds collide, Katira—the daughter of a Stonebearer General—finds herself caught in the middle of an ancient conflict with the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance.
Book 1: Stonebearer’s Betrayal
Katira’s world turns upside down when she discovers she’s not simply the daughter of a village blacksmith and healer, but the child of legendary Stonebearers—immortal beings tasked with protecting humans from creatures of the mirror realm. Abducted and used as a pawn in a game of revenge, Katira must place her trust in a young stranger while coming to terms with her family’s deception and her own emerging powers.
Book 2: Stonebearer’s Apprentice
The battle continues as Katira and her father find refuge in Amul Dun, the Stonebearers’ stronghold. But danger lurks within its walls—a traitor carrying out the banished Wrothe’s orders. Katira must master the power of the Khandashii before it kills her, testing not only her strength and courage but her determination to protect those she loves.
Book 3: Stonebearer’s Redemption
Despite the Stonebearers’ efforts, Wrothe’s monsters continue to infiltrate the real world. To truly defeat the Archdemoness, Katira must confront a wrong lost to history while balancing her desire for a normal life with her extraordinary destiny.
Immerse yourself in this thrilling tale of destiny, magic, deception, and redemption. The Shadow Barrier Trilogy awaits!
Author Questions & Answers
I approached Jodi to ask her about her work:
IMG: What inspired you to create the Shadow Barrier Trilogy, and how did the concept evolve over time?
JLM: Writing the Shadow Barrier Trilogy started as my attempt to collect all the ideas I loved from the books I grew up reading and put them all in the same story. I loved books that I couldn’t put down, especially ones with a lot of drama, life and death situations, and of course, something magical or unworldly about them. As I worked to put all the thoughts into the same place, Katira’s story grew out of it. The original story was a bit of a mess, but with a lot of encouragement from writing friends, I’m very proud about how it turned out.
IMG: Your series features powerful immortals called Stonebearers. Could you elaborate on their origins and the mythology behind them?
JLM: The original idea of the Stonebearer evolved from my love of the Highlander TV series with Adrian Paul mixed with the fantasy books I was reading at the time. I loved the idea that there could be Immortals living among normal people. But, I had to make mine have some form of magical power. The name Stonebearer comes from the idea behind the story of Sisyphus, a man condemned to a roll a stone up a hill for all eternity. Those who wear the stone in the trilogy bear this invisible burden of being responsible for mankind, all while mankind has turned their back on all use of magic.
IMG: Winning awards like the LUW Recommended Read and the LUW Silver Quill is a significant achievement. How have these accolades influenced your writing career?
JLM: What’s crazy is that I went on to earn the Diamond Quill, the best book of Utah, and still haven’t updated my author biography with it. It’s an honor to receive such an award, not to mention a huge validation that I’m not half bad at this whole writing thing. If anything, it gives me the drive to keep going.
IMG: In addition to writing, you’ve studied Kenpo karate and performed reptile shows during college. How have these diverse experiences influenced your storytelling?
JLM: Being a student of karate has helped with my writing, as I tend to include plenty of action and fighting scenes. Having the experience of participating in hand-to-hand combat and learning different techniques has given me valuable insights on how the mechanics of it all work. As for the reptile shows, the book I’m working on currently has these tiny dragons in it. I’m totally pulling from my experience with reptiles to bring it to life.
IMG: Balancing writing with leadership roles in the League of Utah Writers and teaching at conferences must be challenging. How do you manage your time effectively?
JLM: It used to feel a lot like herding cats. For the longest time, projects that came from other places always felt more urgent and important than my own work. I’d use up all my available time making sure those things were taken care of first and wouldn’t have time to work on my books. It took lots of positive self-talk to help me convince myself that it was okay to put myself first sometimes. So, now I try to do two hours of book work before diving into anything else. It’s surprising just how much of a difference it makes.
IMG: Your short story ‘Breath: A Creation Myth Short Story’ explores themes of identity and transformation. What draws you to these themes, and how do they resonate in your other works?
JLM: Breath was the very first story I ever published, ever. It doesn’t match the style or voice of my other works because I was still finding my voice as a writer at the time. But, it’s a very sweet story with that played with concepts that I found interesting, such as one’s identity and the power of change and transformation. Breath is one of the stories that I’m offering in this promotion.
IMG: As a world traveler, how have your journeys influenced the settings and cultures depicted in your novels?
JLM: My trilogy is a standard medieval fantasy, but many of the settings are drawn from the heart of the Rocky Mountains where I still live. The book I’m working to publish later this year pulls from my experiences visiting very old cities such as Paris where every inch of the place is dripping with history. Traveling lets you meet lots of different people, all with different attitudes and backgrounds, and I feel that helps when I’m creating characters as I have a lot of fascinating people to choose from as inspiration.
IMG: Marrying a magician is quite unique. Has this aspect of your personal life inspired any magical elements in your stories?
JLM: The funny thing about being a magician’s assistant is that you know exactly how all the magic is done. It takes away from the wonder and curiosity of it all. That said, all of my stories have some unexplainable magical element to them. I might know how it all works, but my hope is to instill wonder and curiosity in the reader.
IMG: Your blog discusses finding magic in everyday life. How do you incorporate this philosophy into your writing process and daily routine?
JLM: The world is an amazing place filled with so many things to experience. I want to experience it all! I love trying new foods, going to new places, and learning new things. I take the same attitude with my authoring business and am always testing new tools, playing with new ideas that could be worked into a story, and learning how to better my craft.
IMG: What advice would you offer to aspiring authors who aim to blend personal experiences into their fictional narratives?
JLM: Go fearlessly forward. You never know what might happen with an idea or an experience until you’ve tried creating something with it. So many amazing ideas come and go and are never used because people immediately think, “Nah, that won’t work,” or “That sounds stupid.” But think, the Hunger Games series was a result of Suzanne Collins flipping through channels and seeing Gladiator and then a reality show. Nothing will happen if you don’t give it a chance.
You can download any two of Jodi L. Milner’s short stories, The Skull Collector or Breath: A Creation Myth Short Story, as part of a sign-up to her newsletter.