Published at Ten: The Story Behind the Books
At every school reading I attend, I tell the bright eyed-kids carrying my books that if there is one thing they take away from my presentation, let it be this: no age is too young to pursue your ambition. At ten, in the midst of a global pandemic and quarantine, I released my stresses and runaway imagination onto an empty page. Many hours of hard work later, I have two published novels and short stories that have been featured in anthologies such as the Interlochen Center for the Arts Red Wheelbarrow, the LaPlume Young Writers Contest, and the Gathering the Magic anthology (foreword by Eragon author Christopher Paolini).
Crown of Scales and Wonder
Book 1 of The Shadow Heir Trilogy
To love or country... every monarch’s greatest battle.
In a kingdom torn apart by dark magic and a million-year war, Princess Naomi Elistaire searches for answers amidst the facade of her palace imprisonment. With an irreversible gift ready to destroy her and a martyred father buried in a web of lies, who's to say which way fate will turn?
Deep underground, Agent Ez Shores trains every day at the dragon base, waiting for the revolution: the day to kill the Queen. But as dangerous bloodlines reveal themselves and a seemingly suicidal mission is handed to him, Ez finds himself locked in the palace dungeons, facing the daughter of his worst enemy.
LIES.
LOVE.
REVOLUTION.
Thieves of Time Forgotten
Book 2 of The Shadow Heir Trilogy
IPPY & Moonbeam Award Winner
From the ashes of a revolution…
dawns a new kingdom.
OF SHADOWS
SINNERS
MARTYRS
ROYALS
AND BANDITS.
Of an assassin who gave up everything for his race and a princess of darkness who paid the price.
Of a thief with a past tainted by magic and a prince who carries the world within his stride.
A nation whose deadliest secrets live only its memories.
What readers are saying...
"Full of action, thieving, plotting, and Dark magic that had me flipping to the next page constantly! And that ending?!"
- @kristanicolereads
"From page one, the world sucks you in and keeps you there till the end. If you love Dark magic, romantasy, & betrayal then this story is definitely one you should give a shot!"
- @hopesgoodreads
"I loved the entire world of this story. The writing was amazing, and the characters were ones I could really feel for and connect with—and that’s always so important to me when I’m reading.
And now I have to say… this book also made me want a snow monkey."
- @tinamarie_reads
"A character driven YA romantasy with excellent worldbuilding to boot, including some Dark magic to keep the mind reeling. Four incredible POVs drew me in from the get go. The strong female characters are the topping on the cake!"
- @latishaslowkeylife
"A fun and heartwarming YA fantasy. The novel is a quick read packed with adventure, dragons, and characters that are incredibly easy to love."
- @wickedpageturner
"Betrayals. Found family. New friends.
And the more we learn about Miranda’s powers, the more I can’t wait for Book 3! When Heather told Naomi who had helped her get out of the maze I totally teared up!"
- @lizface_
"Atmospheric, magical, and filled with hidden truths waiting to be uncovered. The book’s world feels textured, with deeper threads woven throughout that keep you curious about what’s happening beneath the surface."
- @evenromanceisnerdy
Published Short Stories
Paper Flowers
Grand Prize Winner of the LaPlume Young Writers Contest
Selected for publication in the Interlochen Red Wheelbarrow
- Short Story
"I see their vatniks first.
Wool dyed the color of charcoal.
Then bloodshot eyes devoid of Andrei’s kind of thirst.
Content with being told instead of knowing.
Unflinching as they throw the torches, glowing
With all the light of a thousand suns
Dancing flames reflected across their polished guns.
As my sapphire eyes cement themselves into their minds.
As my tears find a place in their lives.
As they murder a girl but not her legacy
For memories…
Memories live forever."
Lady of Sand and Scars
1st Place Winner of the LaPlume Young Writers Contest
Selected for the Gathering the Magic Teen
Anthology with a foreword by Eragon author Christopher Paolini
- Short Story
"I saw rows of flowers once, blooming in the burning sand. Beauties of the desert, suffering and surviving, dying and living again. I know nothing of the world we destroyed. I’ll never see a tropical forest or a lion or any of the wonderful things I read in those old novels, but this world will survive. Even if we don’t.
I hope we don’t find the Goldilocks planet. People like my great-grandparents who speak of the world they destroyed so fondly don’t deserve this Earth. They’ll all board a great big spaceship, sleeping for thousands of years so that they can destroy a new planet. Meanwhile, I’ll stay here, gazing at the world they’ve left for next, dreaming of the one I’ll never see, and praying for the one they left behind."
Electric Blue Guitar
Selected for publication in the Etymos Review
- Short Story
"July 5, 1959, 7th grade - 2:04 am
Journal Entry #32
Color
In his laugh, in his smile, in the stacks of action novels he bought me for Christmas
Color
In his midnight paintings of begonias and blood and Mom
Color
In his fear, in his love
Color
In his pride
As vibrant as those damn fireworks on the 4th of July
Each explosion drilling into the vault beyond his grin, his lie
Threatened to unleash a decade of pain
But he still shows up each year to grill crappy burgers and watch flying colors explode like gunshots
To wrap an arm around my shoulder and peel off enough layers of skin to say
I’m proud of you
To glance at me with those quivering eyes and show me that he still knows what it was all for
- Eddie"
The Whale Tooth
Selected for publication in the Interlochen Red Wheelbarrow
- Short Story
"The creature and I crash onto the beach. I land in the golden sand, palms stretched toward the blinking sun. I lift my head.
The whale. A bloody conquest. Spearheads lodged into charcoal skin. Chocolate eyes like glass. My angel. Wrapped in the scars of a ship incapable of seeing its beauty. I drag my mangled body through the coarse sand and lean my forehead against the whale’s skin.
Its eyes plead for salvation. I pray. It is the only salvation I know. The sun burns my eyes until tears wash the blood off my cheeks.
This is not the first dying whale I’ve seen. But it is the first time I’ve looked for the light in its eyes instead of for the moment when it fades away. Its cry echoes. Eyes close. A tooth cracks and falls into my palm. I clutch it tight and scream into the morning.
The sunrise, the surf, and the sea glisten like a polished stage. I live because this whale decided so. I live because the world is beautiful and meaningful and fleeting.
I die with my granddaughter’s fingers in one hand and my whale tooth in the other. I die an old man."
