Category Archives: Fantasy

We Survivors

by LJ Thomas

WeAfter disease and nuclear warfare decimate the world population, 17-year-old Nadia is sure she's the last person left on Earth. She buries her before-the-end memories and focuses on survival. Then one night, she hears a voice on her radio and everything changes.

Nadia finds comfort in her new-found companions, but they also discover an unsettling thread tying them together: their shared birthdays. As they begin to unravel the mysteries surrounding their survival, they soon realize it was no accident, and that they could be in far more danger than they ever imagined…

Everything you love about the post-apocalyptic genre (science fiction, survival, adventure...) with a healthy dose of mystery and romance, too! Fans of The 5th Wave, The 100, or Maximum Ride will love We Survivors!

Be advised, this novel contains discussions of self-harm and suicide.

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About the Author

L. J. Thomas is a writer of speculative fiction. A native of South Dakota, she now lives in Minnesota with her husband and beagle-mix dog. She works as an engineer by day and writes by night. In her free time she enjoys the great outdoors, traveling, reading, and daydreaming about other worlds.

Descendants of Avalon

by J. Lynn Else

DescendantsGenie's parents are getting divorced, and it's all her fault. Her best friends, Beth, Mei, and Whit, convince her to make a wish in the small Minnesota town's antique well. Genie thinks it's ridiculous, wishing for her parents to reunite, but what can it hurt? She's already ruined everything.

At the well, a mysterious woman with a walking stick and twigs in her hair, like some sort of homeless mystic, warns the friends to beware. Their wishes are powerful magic. Scoffing at the notion, Genie and friends toss their coins in. That night otherworldly creatures try to kidnap each girl. Only Beth is captured.

The three remaining friends gather at the well. A mysterious guy named Tristan says he knows where Beth has been taken. Only the power of Genie, Mei, and Whit's combined wishes can save her. Genie can't believe magic tied them together, but after her scary encounter the night before, she can't deny magic might be real.

The friends agree to follow Tristan through a magic portal and step into the legendary island of Avalon, a land separated from Earth after King Arthur's death. With the help of some young descendants of the original knights of Camelot, the Lady of the Lake, and Morgan le Fay, the three teens set out on a quest to rescue their friend, battle an evil sorcerer, and save two worlds in the process.

Publisher

Published by: Inklings Publishing

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About the Author

J. Lynn Else loves reading and writing about awesome women from antiquity. Besides history, she also gets nerdy with Star Wars, Star Trek, and MST3K. She’s self-published two historical fiction novels set in ancient Egypt, The Forgotten: Aten’s Last Queen and The Forgotten: Heir of the Heretic. Descendants of Avalon, Awakenings book 1, a YA Fantasy with interwoven elements of the legends and people of King Arthur's time, was released through Inklings Publishing in May 2018. Additionally, in July 2018, she self-published a sci fi novella, Strangely Constructed Souls, which asks 'what the price of revenge and how far would you go to right a wrong?'

J. Lynn’s always had a flare for the dramatic, graduating college with a theater major and a dance minor. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two kids where her shelves are overrun with books, her kitchen is overrun with loose-leaf tea, and her workroom is overrun with Funko Pop figures. She enjoys sketching, reliving her 1990s by watching the latest X-Files episodes, honing her Fruit Ninja skills, and randomly busting out into song and dance. She believes in unicorns and practicing random acts of awesome.

Girl Unreserved

by Tashia Hart

GirlGirl Unreserved is a very intimate coming-of-age narrative told from the perspective of a "mixed-blood" girl from a Chippewa Indian reservation in Northern Minnesota.

The story addresses how the concepts of identity, gender, and sexuality are shaped by both our cultural environments as well as the intrinsic, spiritual landscape we grow and carry inside of ourselves throughout our lives.

Other themes this book addresses are: the prevalence of sexual assault in Indian Country; poverty and malnutrition and their effects on the mental states of children; alcoholism; and one of the worst coping mechanisms for suffering, the "I Don't Care" mentality that allows subscribers the belief that they are in control of their own suffering--leading to cycles that recreate the suffering over and over again.

This mentality is currently devastating Native communities, with particularly harmful repercussions for the youth of these communities.

Girl Unreserved is based on the author's own coming-of-age story and has woven into it elements of fiction and a touch of magical realism.

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About the Author

Tashia Hart is from the Red Lake Reservation of Chippewa Indians in Northern Minnesota, where her father and other enrolled family members reside.

Like many women, her recovery from traumas like the ones portrayed in Girl Unreserved is a life-long, on-going process.

She is currently finding ways to bring healthy feminine and masculine energy into her life.

The Hunters #2: Beneath the Chapter

The Hunters #2

by Jessica Walsh and Briana Lawrence

BeneathWas this why? Was this the reason he'd told her to be quiet, because this needed to happen?

The middle of winter has given the residents of the warehouse plenty of time to mull over their last adventure. The Storyteller has been found, but has left behind only more questions and no real answers. Just when the group exhausts all of their resources, a new organization comes to the surface that could tie up all the loose threads.

Unfortunately, the Chapter isn't what it appears to be, and the Hunters are now left to deal with a new threat that hits a little too close to home. What secrets is the Chapter hiding, and is it worth uncovering the truth?

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Jessica Walsh's life is a flurry of writing, art and creativity. You can usually find her reading a book, scribbling notes in a notebook for future creations, typing on a laptop with music blaring in her ears or buried in her basement watching documentaries and sitting behind a sewing machine.

Jessica has been writing for as long as she can remember and have boxes of old notebooks in horrible handwriting to prove it. Only recently has she stumbled back into writing and finishing her ideas.

Seeking the Storyteller is the first novel she's published with her partner in crime and life, Briana Lawrence. Jessica also writes horror, fantasy, supernatural and occasionally romance pieces which she is currently shopping around through contests and publishers.

At the age of nine, like most kids, Briana Lawrence had a dream. She wanted to be the best "WRITTER" in the whole wide world. Her fourth grade class laughed and wondered how one hoped to become a "writer" if they couldn't even spell the word. Back then her stories were created with crayons and construction paper. As she grew older they progressed into notebooks and colored ink pens of pink, blue, and purple. When she lost her older brother, Glenn Berry, in a car accident, she stopped writing.

Dreams, however, have a funny way of coming back.

Before she realized it she was grabbing her notebook and pens again. She would write stories that ranged from high school romance to her imagination running wild with the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and the other characters of Dragonball Z. This continued throughout college where she would always end up writing about the space exploits of the pilots of Gundam Wing and other works of fan fiction. Soon she realized that she wanted to do more than that. Her head was full of ideas, full of original characters and worlds that she wanted to share with others.

Thus, she stepped into an English Major with some Women's Studies on the side.

She graduated Iowa State University in 2006 and moved to Minneapolis with her partner. Here, she tried to get into graduate school, but things didn't pan out the way she wanted. She ended up working retail, her dream becoming buried by Black Fridays and other busy times of year. Once again, however, that dream returned. She went from immersing herself in geeky fan fiction to actually writing about the geeky things she loved for several anime and video game review sites. However, it was her discovery of National Novel Writing Month that made her go back to creating her own characters and plots.

Now, here she is, an author in the writing world.

The Hunters #1: Seeking the Storyteller

The Hunters #1

by Jessica Walsh and Briana Lawrence

SeekingI know of the Storyteller, it whispers into the man’s ear, I’ve met him. If you promise not to kill me, I’ll take you to him.

Alix Andre DeBenit and Randall Fagan are Hunters, part of a hidden network of humans who track and kill the monsters lurking in our world so everyone else can pretend they don’t exist. But when a living shadow mentions someone called the Storyteller, Alix hesitantly decides to learn more. They say the Storyteller lives in a massive library full of books that tell every being’s life story. He can read these books, rewrite them and change anything he wants, even if it’s already happened. That’s the power Alix wants, the power to bring his murdered family back and he’s determined to make the Storyteller do it. He just has to decide if working with the very creatures he’s supposed to kill is worth it.

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About the Authors

Jessica Walsh's life is a flurry of writing, art and creativity. You can usually find her reading a book, scribbling notes in a notebook for future creations, typing on a laptop with music blaring in her ears or buried in her basement watching documentaries and sitting behind a sewing machine.

Jessica has been writing for as long as she can remember and have boxes of old notebooks in horrible handwriting to prove it. Only recently has she stumbled back into writing and finishing her ideas.

Seeking the Storyteller is the first novel she's published with her partner in crime and life, Briana Lawrence. Jessica also writes horror, fantasy, supernatural and occasionally romance pieces which she is currently shopping around through contests and publishers.

At the age of nine, like most kids, Briana Lawrence had a dream. She wanted to be the best "WRITTER" in the whole wide world. Her fourth grade class laughed and wondered how one hoped to become a "writer" if they couldn't even spell the word. Back then her stories were created with crayons and construction paper. As she grew older they progressed into notebooks and colored ink pens of pink, blue, and purple. When she lost her older brother, Glenn Berry, in a car accident, she stopped writing.

Dreams, however, have a funny way of coming back.

Before she realized it she was grabbing her notebook and pens again. She would write stories that ranged from high school romance to her imagination running wild with the likes of Goku, Vegeta, and the other characters of Dragonball Z. This continued throughout college where she would always end up writing about the space exploits of the pilots of Gundam Wing and other works of fan fiction. Soon she realized that she wanted to do more than that. Her head was full of ideas, full of original characters and worlds that she wanted to share with others.

Thus, she stepped into an English Major with some Women's Studies on the side.

She graduated Iowa State University in 2006 and moved to Minneapolis with her partner. Here, she tried to get into graduate school, but things didn't pan out the way she wanted. She ended up working retail, her dream becoming buried by Black Fridays and other busy times of year. Once again, however, that dream returned. She went from immersing herself in geeky fan fiction to actually writing about the geeky things she loved for several anime and video game review sites. However, it was her discovery of National Novel Writing Month that made her go back to creating her own characters and plots.

Now, here she is, an author in the writing world.

Time in My Pocket

by Gina Dewink

Time“You do not believe me, this I can see. But it does not matter whether you believe or not. It does not matter if you think I am crazy. It does not even matter if you know anything about it…If you can see past yourself, you will just fall into another time.”

When Liza Anderson looks into a locket’s mirror, she suddenly finds herself in a younger woman’s body in 1947. Believing she has traveled more than 60 years back in time, Liza must face the reality of life during the golden age of Hollywood—glamour, communism, smallpox and all—only to discover the Barbara Jane Miller she’s become is caught up in a drug-selling scheme that could get her killed. Will Liza ever return to her own time and the children she left behind?

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About the Author

Gina Dewink was born and raised in Minnesota’s heartland. Since 2001, her career has been in nonprofit communications. In addition to her communications career, Gina Dewink is a contributing writer for mediums such as Thrive Global, The Line Media, 507 Magazine and Rochester Women Magazine. She lives in Minnesota with her husband and two children. Time in My Pocket is her first novel.

How to Ditch Dead Guys

The Witches Handbook #2

by Ann M. Noser

HowAfter everyone that Emma Roberts raises from the dead sinks back into the river, she longs for a purpose. A schedule. Something to accomplish. Then Officer Walker leaves a message on her voice mail: “There’s been another murder, and I need your help.”

With a bag of witchcraft supplies slung over her shoulder, Emma performs a séance for Walker at the site of the murder. But nothing happens until Emma gets back home. Black smoke swirls inside the bathroom. An invisible force slams her head onto the tiled floor. A golden snake slithers across her legs, then impales her wrist with its icy teeth.

As the smoke clears and the images fade, the truth becomes clear. This time around, Emma won’t just watch what happened. She’ll live it.

As Emma helps Officer Walker solve murder cases, she relives the horror of each victim’s last moments of life. From the edge of the river to the underground lair of the gang who murdered Steve, she endures it all.

As Emma weakens, both the victims and the murderers who killed them fight for control of her body and mind. She’s possessed, and the voices inside her head won’t let her ask for help.

Even the Book of Shadows can’t save her now…

Publisher

Published by: Curiosity Quills

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About the Author

My to-do list dictates that I try to cram 48 hours of living into a day instead of the usual 24. I’ve chosen a life filled with animals. I train for marathons with my dog, then go to work as a small animal veterinarian, and finish the day by tripping over my pets as I attempt to convince my two unruly children that YES, it really IS time for bed. But I can’t wait until the house is quiet to write; I have to steal moments throughout the day. Ten minutes here, a half hour there, I live within my imagination.

Like all busy American mothers, I multi-task. I work out plot holes during runs. Instead of meditating, I type madly during yoga stretches. I find inspiration in everyday things: a beautiful smile, a heartbreaking song, or a newspaper article on a political theory. For example, a long drive in the dark listening to an NPR program on the SMILEY FACE MURDERS theory made me ask so many questions that I wrote HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS to answer them to my satisfaction.

I’d love to have more time to write (and run, read, and sleep), but until I find Hermione Granger’s time turner, I will juggle real life with the half-written stories in my head. Main characters and plot lines intertwine in my cranium, and I need to let my writing weave the tales on paper so I can find out what happens next.

An Occasionally Grim Fairy Tale

Desiderata

by Ann M. Noser

AnPrince Bane Baronne has baby fever. He's in search of a wife with the proper mystical bloodline to bear him the heir of prophecy. Anna Leon is chosen, but Bane only pretends to be Prince Charming. When Anna questions his intentions, she vanishes from the castle.

Convinced she's to blame for her younger sister's disappearance, Maria Leon is coerced into the royal marriage instead. She's older, wiser, and should know better—but Bane always gets what he wants. And he's not above using trickery or treachery to do so.

Maria attempts to salvage what she can of a "happily ever after" by working hard to be the best mother and wife. Until the day she learns that every woman who has married into the Baronne line disappears soon after they've produced an heir.

And she's next in line.

Publisher

Published by: Fantasy Works Publishing

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An Occasionally Grim Fairy Tale is available from:

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About the Author

My to-do list dictates that I try to cram 48 hours of living into a day instead of the usual 24. I’ve chosen a life filled with animals. I train for marathons with my dog, then go to work as a small animal veterinarian, and finish the day by tripping over my pets as I attempt to convince my two unruly children that YES, it really IS time for bed. But I can’t wait until the house is quiet to write; I have to steal moments throughout the day. Ten minutes here, a half hour there, I live within my imagination.

Like all busy American mothers, I multi-task. I work out plot holes during runs. Instead of meditating, I type madly during yoga stretches. I find inspiration in everyday things: a beautiful smile, a heartbreaking song, or a newspaper article on a political theory. For example, a long drive in the dark listening to an NPR program on the SMILEY FACE MURDERS theory made me ask so many questions that I wrote HOW TO DATE DEAD GUYS to answer them to my satisfaction.

I’d love to have more time to write (and run, read, and sleep), but until I find Hermione Granger’s time turner, I will juggle real life with the half-written stories in my head. Main characters and plot lines intertwine in my cranium, and I need to let my writing weave the tales on paper so I can find out what happens next.

Summer of Elves

by Joanne Vruno

SummerSummer of Elves is an enchanting fantasy about a twelve-year-old girl thrust into a magical world she knew nothing about. Trained by her grandmother, Aly must learn how her new-found talent and embrace the responsibility of seeing a mythical world that most humans never will see. In this coming-of-age novel, our heroine needs to embrace these powers so that good conquers evil.

Publisher

Published by: North Star Press of St. Cloud, Inc.

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About the Author

Joanne Vruno was born in Salisbury, Rhodesia (now Harare, Zimbabwe), to very adventurous parents who were missionaries at the time. She spent her childhood in Maplewood, Minnesota, houses away from Battle Creek Regional Park. Her childhood introduced her to a love of nature by exploring and hiking the woods, camping with her family, and gardening.

The Guardian, A Sword, & Stilettos

The Enlighten Series #1

by Kristin D Van Risseghem

TheZoe Jabril could be just another 17-year-old girl attending parties with her friends and checking out cute guys—except her best friend is a Guardian Angel, and the boy she crushes on is a Nephilim, half-angel, both sent to Earth to protect her. A high school classmate happens to be a trendsetting shopaholic fairy. And now there’s a new werewolf in town.

Zoe has to deal with her feelings toward Shay, who spreads a strange electrical current through her body every time he touches her. Now Zoe is under constant attack from demons, trying to kill and stop her from fulfilling the Prophecy: a girl will be born who will unite the Enlightens to battle evil. Then on top of that, between boring homework and drama with girls at school, she has to control new found talents if she’s to prevent the devil from escaping Hell.

In order to do so, Zoe must devise a kick-ass plan ASAP or watch everyone die, because she’s running out of time. She turns eighteen in two months—the date Armageddon kicks off.

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The Guardian, A Sword, & Stilettos is available from:

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About the Author

Kristin D. Van Risseghem grew up in a small river town in Minnesota with her parents and older sister. And after receiving a double Bachelor of Science degree from Winona State University in Paralegal and Corrections, she worked as a Paralegal for various law firms around the Twin Cities for 14 years. Then she left the legal field and is now a Senior Buyer for a technology company.

Currently, Kristin lives in Eagan with her husband and two Calico cats. She also loves attending book clubs, going shopping, and hanging out with friends. She has come to realize that she absolutely has an addiction to purses and shoes. They are her weakness and probably has way too many of both.

In the summer months, Kristin can usually be found lounging on her boat, drinking an ice cold something. Being an avid reader of YA and Women's Literature stories, she still finds time to read a ton of books in-between writing. And in the winter months, her main goal is to stay warm from the Minnesota cold!

Kristin's first book, The Guardian, a Sword, & Stilettos, will be published in May 2015 by Kasian Publishing.