Jayel Gibson biography
By her grandmother’s side, Jayel Gibson listened with eager anticipation as her grandmother wove traditional Celtic folklore and fairy tales into stories. These tales fascinated and captivated her imagination, greatly influencing the direction of her own writing and storytelling. This love for mythology drove Gibson to eventually craft the “Ancient Mirrors Tales,” a series of fantasy novels that delve into an ancient, magical world where humans live alongside dragons and wizards.
Gibson holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Multicultural Studies from National University in San Diego. In 1989, she became an elementary school teacher in Escondido, California, where she taught the fourth and fifth grades. During her time in Escondido, she was a two-time “Teacher of the Year” recipient for the Escondido Union School District. In 2003, Gibson retired from teaching to wholly pursue her passion for writing. Using the seedlings of her grandmother’s Celtic tales and alternate worlds, Gibson formed the “Ancient Mirrors Tales,” which include The Wrekening, Dragon Queen, Damselflies, and Quondam.
The final chapter of the four-part, epic-adventure series, “Ancient Mirrors Tales,” features strong female characters who do not hesitate to stand up for themselves. The final instalment, Quondam (Synergy Books, May 2008, ISNB 1-933538-83-X), follows Cwen of Aedracmorae who has fallen into a mysterious world, called Quondam, where she must face tragedy and heartbreak that leads her into the middle of devastating war. Fighting to unseat the wood nymph queen, she finally restores order and magic to Quondam. Gibson’s interest in history and folklore is woven throughout the tale to create an otherworldly, yet authentic experience.
Through her research into Celtic and Anglo-Saxon cultures, Gibson’s “Ancient Mirrors” enchants readers in a world and time unlike their own. Quondam and the other tales are also grounded in elements gleaned from the world of role-playing games. Gibson draws much of her inspiration for her stories from video game designer, long-time friend and fellow gamer Sean W. Anderson.
“The first ‘Ancient Mirrors Tale’ began as a short story for Sean’s website,” Gibson says. “Nine pages in I decided that I really wanted to create a more in-depth story and merged my love for both fantasy fiction and gaming. They come from very different traditions, but the two go hand in hand.
In addition to a full-time writing career, Gibson serves as an adjunct professor at Southwestern Oregon Community College, where she teaches courses on novel writing. Gibson currently resides in Port Orford, Oregon, with her husband, Ken, and five pet sugar gliders – a small type of marsupial. She is a popular conference speaker at events like Wordstock and the South Coast Writers Conference, and is the online book moderator for Realms of Fantasy magazine.
Quondam was awarded the 2008 National Indie Excellence Award in the fantasy and sci-fi category. Gibson received a 2007 Writer’s Digest Book Award Honorable Mention for her previous novel, Damselflies, and the series received two USA Book News finalist awards. She has been a contributor for Education.com and Thefatherlife.com. For more information, visit www.ancientmirrors.com.
Jayel Gibson books
Latest news: Jayel Gibson
Authors Bring Fantasy to Oregon Writers Conference
The South Coast Writers Conference is an eclectic gathering of writers of various genres, novice and published authors; returning and first-time attendees. It is our goal that participants and presenters leave the conference inspired and renewed, with new insights and skills, and better connections [...]
Jayel Gibson Appointed to ORCCA Board of Directors
For the past year, fantasy author Jayel Gibson has been campaigning to 'make hunger a fantasy' along the southern Oregon coast. During her charitable book events, Gibson encourages visitors to drop off boxed and canned foods, give cash donations and volunteer their time. She is on hand with a bright [...]
Ancient Mirrors series wins fifth award
Quondam by Jayel Gibson has picked up a USA Book News "Best Books" 2008 Finalist award, bringing Jayel Gibson's Ancient Mirrors series its fifth award. Other titles in the series were acknowledged with two National "Best Books" 2007 Finalist awards and a 15th Annual Writer's Digest International Bo [...]
Quondam by Jayel Gibson reviewed
The fourth and final instalment of the "Ancient Mirrors" fantasy series has arrived with "Quondam". The "Ancient Mirrors" series is a line of stories where women do not submit helplessly before men; "Quondam" is no different, following Cwen as she finds herself in another world whose problems will [...]
Jayel Gibson
Jayel Gibson is the author of the Ancient Mirrors fantasy series. From the tip of her Marto of Spain sword to the hem of her fifteenth century reproduction Italian gown, her effervescent enthusiasm encourages a belief in enchantment. A student of Celtic history, folklore, and faith, she spins the ma [...]
Book of the Month
Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill
Some doors are better left closed . . . In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.
Latest interviews
Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.
Must-reads
The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.
Competition: Win a signed copy of Graham Hancock's Entangled
Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heaven's Mirror, Supernatural and other bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. Written with the same page-turning appeal that has made his non-fiction so popular, Entangled is his first work of fiction. We have five signed copies of Entangled to give away as prizes. Email us the answer to the following question and the lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a copy of the book, signed by the author.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.
