The Power of Words by Julie Pike

Today on the blog, I'm pleased to welcome Julie Pike, author of The 

Last Breather, as part of the blog tour to celebrate publication. 

Do you remember this old saying? 

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. 

Have you ever chanted it? I remember chanting it many times when 

I was growing up, particularly at my brother! (And he, of course, 

would say the same to me.)

As with all old sayings, it has a message to tell us. It says, ignore 

the barbs and taunts of bullies. It says, words are only thoughts or 

made of breath, they don’t have physical substance, they can’t hurt

 you.

The thing is … it’s not true and never has been. Words do have the

 power to hurt and they can be relentless. And unlike wounds from 

sticks and stones, if we believe them, the scars from words

 sometimes never heal.

When I came to write The Last Spell Breather, I wanted to create a

 magical page turning adventure. I wanted the story to have the 

most powerful magic I could think of. So I wondered, ‘what if…?’.

 What if there was a world where words have REAL power and 

their magic can be seen?  And from there I went on to imagine the

 world of Spell Breathers.

I’ve been fortunate to have some lovely early reviews for The Last

 Spell Breather.I’m delighted when reviewers remark on the 

uniqueness of the magic system. But I’ll let you into a secret, I 

didn’t really invent the magic. The thing about words is, they really

 are magic.

Over the years I’ve felt their power. I know words can hurt. And I 

also know words can heal. The most powerful magic lies in the 

words we tell ourselves, because those are the words we believe the

 most.

If you’ve met me, you’ll probably be surprised to learn that I have a 

phobia when it comes to speaking in public. (Ah careful with the 

word-magic there, Julie. You don’t havea phobia. You had a 

phobia.)

My subconscious used to whisper the Spell of Unworthiness in my

 ear. It used to say ‘no-one’s interested in my opinion. What I have

 to say doesn’t matter. I’m rubbish at this, I may as well stop 

talking.’ Those words hurt. 

Because I believed them, speaking in public (for my job) led to 

panic attacks. After a while I became so anxious I had problems 

speaking at all, never mind speaking in public. 

I couldn’t go on like that. Things had to change. I forced myself to 

face my fears about speaking, instead of running away from them.

 (Which took a lot longer than that short sentence would suggest). 

I’m so glad I did, because in doing so I learned that words can be 

wonderful healers. I’m not talking about ‘fake it to make it’ (though

 that can be useful sometimes). I’m talking about opening myself 

up to the possibilities of new truths. I’m talking about finding new

 words to think about myself. New words I actually believe. 

These days, when the old phobia starts to stir, my subconscious 

whispers the Spell of You Can Do Thisin my ear. It says ‘this will 

be interesting. My opinions will add to the collective. I’m great at 

this, so get in there and start talking.’ These words drown out my 

old thoughts and heal the scars they left behind.

Good job really because this author malarkey comes with a boat

 load of public speaking. I absolutely don’t want to miss the chance

 to meet brilliant readers because I’m running in the other direction!

There’s another old saying, ‘write what you know.’ When I came to 

invent the magic system for my story, I knew words can hurt, and 

words can heal. And that’s why you’ll find both types of word-

magic in The Last Spell Breather. 

But I don’t want to give away plot spoilers! Suffice to say …

Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words … 

that’s a whole different story. 

P.S. If you’re ever in the audience at one of my author events, my

 old public speaking phobic self would greatly appreciate plenty of

 enthusiastic clapping, and if you’re in the mood, a few whoops and 

cheers!  I’ve learned from experience, that’s absolutely guaranteed 

to keep me talking 😊

 Synopsis

Enter the unique world of the Spell Breathers! Spell Breathing does

 not come naturally to Rayne - she loathes the hours of practice, the

 stacks of scrolls, and the snapping mud grotesques that cover her 

mother’s precious spell book. When she holds the spell book over a

 fire, it is only meant as an empty threat – until she feels the

 grotesque’s tiny teeth biting into her finger and lets go. In one 

clumsy move, her moth’s spells are broken, her village is plunged

 into danger, and an incredible adventure begins . . .

Biography

Julie grew up on a council estate, nestled between the forests and 

foothills of the Welsh Valleys. She is passionate about adventure 

stories, and volunteers in local schools and libraries in Dorset, 

helping children find stories that excite them. She is passionate 

about real-life adventures too, and has crawled inside the great 

pyramid of Giza, travelled to the peak of Kilimanjaro, and camped 

on the Great Wall of China in a lightning storm.

Twitter: @juliepike

To find out more about the book, check out the other stops on the blog tour listed below.