Hello readers and writers! As the year comes to a close, we just wanted to share a fun look at all the books we worked on this year and give these authors a shoutout! They worked so hard this year and I can’t wait for you to dive in and meet their characters and explore their worlds. Below, you can check out books that have come out or will come out soon. Enjoy and fingers crossed 2022 is Not That Bad.
Soulless by Abbie Gladden
Soulless follows Ava, a nature-loving and devoted sister, whose life is changed drastically when a new boy moves into her small town. Ryder is the mysterious new boy and Ava crushes hard. When Ava befriends Ryder and his sister Mae, she finally learns that there’s more to the world outside of her home. She realizes that there’s an ageless villain who is turning people into his soldiers by taking their souls–they become unfeeling and blindly loyal to their leader. Ava joins Ryder’s cause and discovers abilities and a destiny that she’s only seen in dreams.
I got to help Abbie with two rounds of developmental editing. Her goal is to go traditional! I’ll update y’all when Abbie has more big news.
Afflicted by C.K. Sorens
Hope was dangerous for the Trimarked girl.
It’s been five weeks since Nicu saved Ember from the barrier, and she doesn’t know how long until he tells the Fae about her growing powers. She soon discovers the small openings she can create in the impenetrable barrier around the city of Trifecta no longer snap shut but now ease closed at her command.
Ember already balances on a fine line between accident and purpose; using her power intentionally will certainly bring the wrath of all three races. Though she doesn’t belong anywhere, she’s not willing to become a prisoner to any of the factions.
When a Witch Queen arrives in Trifecta with the goal to enslave the minds and bodies of magic users, Ember must take a different path: use without control. As the Queen gathers new followers, Ember may not have a choice whether she’ll expose her newfound strength if it means saving the few people she dares to call friends.
You can learn more about C.K. Sorens here.
The Unicorn and the Clockwork Quest by Lou Wilham
Welcome to Daiwynn where magic is dangerous, but hope is more dangerous still.
Agnes has lost count of the years he’s been a double agent for the Uprising. Between the constant lies and deceptions there isn’t much left of the unicorn he was in his youth.
But when the one thing he holds dear—the one person—is captured by MOTHER, and tortured for information, Agnes must make a choice. Does he come out of the shadows and turn himself over to MOTHER to protect Sully? Or does he continue to play the game?
Sullivan, the always smiling kelpie, has been around long enough to know sometimes there are no good choices, and that he would do anything to save Agnes from the chains that bind him to MOTHER. Including going against the Uprising.
To save Agnes, Sully will have to convince Agnes that he needs saving, survive a little torture, and bust out of one of MOTHER’s labor camps. What could possibly go wrong?
You can read my book review here.
You can learn more about Lou Wilham here.
Tales of the Littlest Mermaid by Lou Wilham
Words have power—some more than others.
For Roan, the littlest of Tynan’s daughters, the word with the most power is freedom. Trapped behind the castle walls by a war she does not understand nor care about, all she has ever dreamed of is the freedom to see the world on land.
For Irsa, the Witch of the Deep, the word with the most power, is a name that she has forgotten. A name that she sacrificed for the magic to defeat the man who took from her everything that she has ever loved.
But vengeance and freedom come at a cost, and in the end, the question is, what are you willing to pay?
Tales of the Littlest Mermaid is a reimagining of the classic Little Mermaid full of mermaids, and undersea magic for fans of Tithe by Holly Black, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.
The Wildlife Divas Adventure Team: Saving the Endangered Mountain Gorilla by Lisa M. Randolph
Ravenswing Academy is proud to announce their super-smart Wildlife Divas Adventure Team. Cherie, their instructor and leader, proudly presents this team of young, bright girls:
EBONY — A popular and pretty artist and social media-savvy diva
KYLONI — A petite teen and aspiring scientist with a ginormous vocabulary
VALERIE — A girl comfortable with tech; not quite comfortable with people
YALANI — A budding engineering expert and future skateboarder extraordinaire
STORM — A brilliant, bug-loving, math whiz kid, sharp, and quick girl; it’s all in her name
Cherie and the Wildlife Divas go on the trip of a lifetime: fly to Uganda to save endangered gorillas. They will use science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) to complete their first international mission. But what happens when their trek is interrupted by poachers?
THE WILDLIFE DIVAS ADVENTURE TEAM: Saving the Endangered Mountain Gorilla is the first of many adventures with the Wildlife Divas. The Divas prove that Black girls are smart, creative, and always up for international adventure.
Unfortunate by Kailey Bright
Kailey Bright’s UNFORTUNATE is Red Queen meets An Ember in the Ashes and Book #1 of the UN series. Dive into the fray and be brave despite fear.
Nora is an Unfortunate—born without any powers and born to serve Gifteds: other humans with extraordinary abilities. When a prominent Gifted figure offers Nora the opportunity to attend Galdor Academy, Nora weighs her options: forever remain the property of a Gifted household or experience a semblance of agency at an elite military school for Gifted children. She remembers her unbreakable promise and accepts.
At first, Nora just wants to make her sponsor proud rather than be sent away in a body bag. But once the Anti-Gifted Movement starts an impossible-to-ignore revolution alongside a mysterious terrorist with an unmatched Divine-like power, the Kingdom of Iridion is forever broken wide open.
While Nora hopes she can prove that Unfortunates deserve equity, the AGM are done begging; they intend to bring every last Gifted low who sought to lord over them. Caught in the crossfire, Nora must make a decision—fight back or let the kingdom splinter to ruin.
It‘s Your Story to Tell: Essays on Identity from a Messy Life Well Lived by Maryann Lombardi
“Our lives don’t unfold like a novel—they are episodic, and don’t always have a clean narrative. Our lives are a collection of essays.”
When you identify yourself, where do you begin? Which labels do you use, where did they come from? Do you define yourself or are you living a narrative someone else created for you? Why do we need labels in the first place? Author Maryann Lombardi shares her experiences and insights answering these questions and more. In It’s Your Story to Tell: Essays on Identity from a Messy Life Well Lived, readers can witness how Lombardi learn to tell her story so they can explore how to tell their own.
Lombardi’s essays cover:
- Gender identity and what it means to be a women
- The power of the mother child bond
- How family history drives family dynamics
- The discombobulation marriage, divorce, and dating again has on your identity
- The hijinks of many wild trips across the world
It’s Your Story to Tell: Essays on Identity from a Messy Life Well Lived by Maryann Lombardi is a guide for readers who are ready to rethink the narratives they tell themselves, who owns their stories, and how to take them back.
The Throwaway Queen by Whitney McGruder
Haha! Somewhat tricked you here. Yes, I did work on a book this year even though I was busy being an editor all year. But earlier this year, I worked on a full round of revisions and sent out the manuscript for beta reader feedback. I got the sort of feedback I enjoy: add more! Travis also did quite a bit of editing on this one until we realized I have more to write—so he’s waiting for me to get my rear into gear. So that’s what I’ll do. My hope is to publish this new adult fantasy around September 2022.
Well, this was a fun look back at 2021. I can’t wait to show off the books that we’ll work on in 2022!