Author and Reviewer of Young Adult Fantasy and Historical Fiction
When invading Gyndilians tear through the kingdom of Klinhun and murder her sister, Adelaide mounts a peasant rebellion against the king who failed to protect them. Accompanied by her hawk Cyr, Adelaide sets out across Klinhun to secretly gather as… Keep Reading
I grew up with a whole collection of Hans Christian Andersen fairytales. My dad often read them aloud in the evenings to my sisters and me. But there were a few stories that I returned to on my own, again… Keep Reading
A willful young man with an ache to prove his worth. A street girl who’s trying to find her place in a world of magical wardens and lehrlings. Rumors of darkness infecting the land and of men turned into monsters. And a horrific dragon that doesn’t really exist…or does it? Taryn Frasier’s fantasy The Dragon’s Mark, released this winter as a serial podcast, pulls listeners in with all this and more.
This was my first blog post as a new author, posted 3 years ago. But with COVID-19 raging around the world, it’s been very much in my mind lately. When it feels like the world is falling apart, is reading–especially… Keep Reading
As a writer, I like to study other authors’ books and try to figure out how they cast their magic (or why the spell fails to stick). The downside of all that analysis, however, is that it’s hard to turn… Keep Reading
In last month’s blog post, I featured the first two novels in Shannon Hale’s Books of Bayern series. This month, I’m honing in on the other two volumes: River Secrets and Forest Born. Shannon Hale is one of my favorite contemporary authors…. Keep Reading
Have you ever struggled to express your ideas in words, while others seem to speak with such ease and authority? Have you ever set out to do something good and brave, then found yourself in over your head, struggling just… Keep Reading
I love to discover new fairytale retellings! Hunted and The Bear and the Nightingale top my favorite recent releases. These young adult novels move beyond the standard fare of Charles Perrault and the Grimm Brothers, into the lesser-known world of Russian fantasies…. Keep Reading
The Wingfeather Saga, by Andrew Peterson (who’s also an accomplished singer-songwriter), is a rollicking read that tweens and young teens will particularly enjoy. The four-volume series traces the adventures of three siblings–Janner, Kalmar, and Leeli–as they try to evade and… Keep Reading
Who doesn’t love a well-told fairytale? These age-old fantasies consistently and succinctly express our deep desires for love, adventure, beauty, truth, and the triumph of good over evil. Walt Disney certainly recognized their power: it’s no accident that he chose Snow… Keep Reading