MG Fantasy – Readers Alley

Category: MG Fantasy

Middle School Grade Fantasy Cover Reveal – The Dragon and the Girl: True North

Posted on by

Middle School Grade Fantasy

Date Published: December 2, 2021

Publisher: Acorn Publishing

The last dragons in the kingdom were killed a half century ago. At least that’s what twelve-year-old Eliana has grown up hearing. Imagine her surprise when one morning in the forest she finds herself eye-to-eye with a young dragon named Winston who is just as terrified as she is. Overcoming her fear, Eliana reaches out to the shaking dragon and miraculously can understand what he is telling her just by touching his brilliant emerald green and turquoise scales. Winston says his father has been missing since the last full moon, and she vows to help. Together, they seek out the King for guidance, but upon reaching the castle they realize that short, frazzled King Halwyn has problems of his own. The kingdom’s treasure is missing and the tribute to the Overking is due in a few short weeks. If unpaid, Halwyn will lose his kingdom to the Overking’s feckless nephew. Elianna and Winston must work fast, discovering the gifts and courage within themselves to find the treasure before their kingdom falls into the wrong hands, and people and dragons perish forever.

About the Author

At six years old, Laura Findley Evans wrote her first story about a man named Brill who flew to the moon. When her teacher asked her to stand up and read it to the class, she learned just how powerful a story can be. A creative writing major in college, she has written many more short stories, some of which were published, and one that won an award. The Dragon and the Girl: Due North is her first novel. It began when her grandchildren said one night (when they were supposed to be sleeping), “Tell us a story.” And so she did. Laura would like you to know that whatever she writes must be true, whether it is real or not. She hopes you will discover the truth in this story. You can visit her online at www.LauraFindleyEvans.com.

Contact Links

Website

Facebook

Twitter: @LauraFindley

Goodreads

Instagram: @laurafindleyevans

Middle Grade Fantasy – Maya Loop by Lis Anna-Langston

Posted on by

Middle Grade Fantasy

Release Date: June 26, 2021

Publisher: Mapleton Press

Get ready to meet the blue haired girl from Baltimore who saves the world.

Following maps her grandmother drew before she disappeared, Maya Loop, the brave, blue-haired girl from Baltimore, has to depend on her wits and bravery to face the alien race of Landions who have taken her grandmother and best friends to an underground world of creatures living beyond the limits of time. The Landions are not only trying to end the human race but erase them completely. A delightfully fast-paced story crackling with energy, Maya Loop meets young readers in the wide-open world of being a kid where everything feels like magic.

Praise for Maya Loop:

“Maya Loop is Alice in Wonderland meets the Wizard of Oz, with the sweet tinge of Fortnite and Percy Jackson thrown in. I loved every page.” – Linda Sands, Award winning Georgia Author of the Year

“Readers interested in a passionate journey of determination and evolving wisdom will find Maya Loop unpredictable, driven by understandable emotions and extraordinary events that lead Maya to a new form of determination and courage.” – Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Lis Anna-Langston was raised along the winding current of the Mississippi River on a steady diet of dog-eared books. She attended a Creative and Performing Arts School from middle school until graduation and went on to study Literature at Webster University. Her two novels, Gobbledy and Tupelo Honey have won the Parents’ Choice Gold, Moonbeam Book Award, Independent Press Award, Benjamin Franklin Book Award and NYC Big Book Awards. Twice nominated for the Pushcart award and Finalist in the Brighthorse Book Prize, William Faulkner Fiction Contest and Thomas Wolfe Fiction Award, her work has been published in The Literary Review, Emerson Review, The Merrimack Review, Emrys Journal, The MacGuffin, Sand Hill Review and dozens of other literary journals. She draws badly, sings loudly, loves ketchup, starry skies & stories with happy aliens.

You can find her in the wilds of South Carolina plucking stories out of thin air.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Middle Grade Fantasy – Maya Loop by Lis Anna-Langston

Posted on by

Middle Grade Fantasy

Release Date: June 26, 2021

Publisher: Mapleton Press

Get ready to meet the blue haired girl from Baltimore who saves the world.

Praise for Maya Loop:

About the Author

You can find her in the wilds of South Carolina plucking stories out of thin air.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Middle-Grade Fantasy – The New Enchantress

Posted on by

Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions, Book 3

Middle-Grade Fantasy

Published: March 15, 2021

The point of no return has come!

It’s the summer before high school and life is about to change for fourteen-year-old Alyssa McCarthy. A sorcerer hexes her with everlasting powers, requiring her to become an enchantress. If she cannot learn to control her magic pronto, she will forget her loved ones and serve as the warlock’s eternal slave.

In order to control her powers, Alyssa must gain control of her emotions. With the struggles of adolescence and disasters everywhere, catastrophes are bound to happen! It’s only a matter of time before Alyssa’s world changes, for better or worse…

Other Books in the Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions series:

The Frights of Fiji

Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions, Book One

A world of magic and adventure awaits…

Sent to live with her strict, aloof, and uncaring uncle after her parents are killed in a car accident, twelve-year-old orphan Alyssa McCarthy longs for the life she used to have—one filled with fun and love. Then one stormy night, a message appears in the raindrops on the window that will change everything.

“Your life will never be the same again, as magic will interfere.”

Before long, Alyssa is kidnapped by Master Beau, a banished sorcerer with a mysterious connection to her who can only regain his power by weakening hers. Suddenly hurled into a world of wizardry filled with fantastical beasts and marvelous technology beyond her wildest imagination, Alyssa must defeat Master Beau if she ever wants to get home again. But Master Beau will stop at nothing, including using Alyssa’s friends, to ensure he is triumphant.

Originally titled “From Frights to Flaws”, this story is the exciting and enchanting first book in the “Magical Missions” series.

Amazon

A Curse of Mayhem

Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions, Book Two

History, like magic, has a habit of repeating itself

It’s been six months since thirteen-year-old Alyssa McCarthy left magic behind for good. Or so she thought…

Then the enchanted objects that protected her disappear. Now a skeleton named Errol has cursed her with magical powers that keep getting her in trouble. Suddenly strange things are happening with disastrous effects, and if Alyssa can’t remove the magic, she will lose everything she holds dear.

In order to get rid of her unwanted wizardry, Alyssa will have to boost her bravery and confidence and determine who Errol really is. But every time Alyssa uses an enchantment, Errol is one step closer to getting his flesh back and becoming alive, and he will do anything to achieve his goals…even if it means destroying Alyssa’s happiness.

Originally published in 2016 as “Wizardry Goes Wild” and “The Unruly Curse” in 2019, “A Curse of Mayhem” is book two in the exciting and suspenseful “Magical Missions” series.

Amazon

About the Author

Sunayna Prasad enjoys writing fantasy books for children, as well as cooking, creating artwork, watching online videos, and blogging. She has also written The Frights of Fiji, and A Curse of Mayhem and is constantly creating and brainstorming new ideas.

Sunayna also loves cartoons, traveling, and thinking outside the box.

She lives in New York.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

Middle Grade Fantasy – Mariposa Mysteries Trilogy

Posted on by

Middle Grade Fantasy

Date Published: March 2021

A trilogy of fast-paced coming-of-age adventure stories, full of magic and strange paranormal events. With unforgettable scenes, inspired characters, and fun story lines, here’s a wonderfully entertaining fantasy read for kids of all ages!

Book One: Watch What You Wish For

Book Two: Magic and Mischief in Mariposa

Book Three: The Wizard Wannabe

Excerpt

(From Book One: Watch What You Wish For)

I gazed in disbelief at the desolation. The town looked forlorn, forbidding, forsaken. Graffiti everywhere. Store windows looking like they hadn’t been washed in years. Signs leaning crookedly into the wind; the occasional beer can clattering along the gutters. Not a single patch of grass to be seen; not a flower or a tree to relieve the monotony. What few passers-by there were hurried along with their heads down, deliberately avoiding eye contact. They looked miserable, angry, and most decidedly unfriendly.

It was hard to believe that our once-thriving town had undergone such a transformation in just a couple of hours. Only this morning, the tree-lined main street had bustled with locals and tourists. Even though it was October and the weather was getting cooler with the approach of winter, colourful hanging baskets adorned the streets and people gossiped cheerfully as they sipped coffee on the patios. Store fronts gleamed, while not a single piece of garbage littered the street. And even if it had, you can guarantee some concerned citizen would have immediately whisked it up and deposited it in the nearest garbage can.

But that’s Mariposa for you – everyone being so neighbourly and helpful.

Until now, that is. On a normal day, you wouldn’t be able to walk a block before being greeted with enough ‘good mornings’ and ‘how’re you doings’ to last you a lifetime. Being from the city, it’s something I could never get used to. But now I think I’ve changed my mind about that.

Besides the condition of the town, my seventh grade teacher, Ms. Nightingale, had vanished off the face of the earth. Along with our poor old neighbour Mrs. Clutterbuck. Not only were they both missing, apparently they had never even existed!

And the worst part of all? This was ALL my fault!

About The Author

After teaching middle school for 25 years, Val is now retired but still stuck in that mindset, particularly when it comes to storytelling in the fantasy genre. Stories of evil spirits, wizards and ghosts are constantly running around in her head, which can be somewhat of an interference when she’s working at her other job: serious copywriting gigs for grownups. Based in Ontario, Canada, Val is a truly awful cook and a voracious reader. Find out more at valerieannehudson.com.

Contact Links

Purchase Link

Middle Grade Fantasy – Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere

Posted on by

Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere

Juvenile Fiction, Middle Grade, Middle-Grade Fantasy

Publisher: Dragon’s Egg Books

A shapeshifting magic fantasy adventure filled with dragons, witches, wizards, fairies and fun.

Dirk is a budding boy wizard who hatched as a dragon and has a ring that turns him back into one. For his summer vacation, he’s leaving Roman Britannia on a secret journey to tell the dragon who raised him she’s free from a curse.

He doesn’t realize he’s being tracked by his worst enemy, the sorceress who abducted him as a baby and blames him for her husband’s death. Treacherous Ethelda thinks Dirk has her fiendishly powerful wand and she’ll do anything to get it back.

The Roman Army wants the Wand of the Black Sphere, too, worried Ethelda will use it against them, and they’re looking for Dirk, the last one seen with it. But Dirk’s halfway around the world dealing with monsters and magic they couldn’t imagine.

Praise for Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere:

“The third volume of Stevens’ middle-grade series is a perfect balance of education and entertainment. … Detailed illustrations by the author enliven scenes throughout. … The lively final volume of a charming series.” – Kirkus Reviews

Other Books in the Dragon Lad Trilogy:

Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg

Publisher: Dragon’s Egg Books

Fly through page after page of adventures with Dorg as the young dragon discovers an astonishing truth about himself: he may not be a dragon after all.

Dorg hatches small due to a magic curse. A tough start in the biting, clawing, flame-spitting world he lives in. At first, all he wants to do is end the curse, so he can be like the other dragons. But friends and enemies help him see that being a big, mean dragon isn’t what it’s cracked up to be.

Along the way, he encounters a mysterious pendant, shapeshifting dragons, a grouchy witch who loves wildlife, an absentminded wizard, and a swarm of friendly insects.

Heartwarming and humorous, this book is the first in a trilogy of stories about learning to live in harmony with one’s self as well as with nature. An egg-straordinary fantasy awaits the reader.

Amazon

Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman

Publisher: Dragon’s Egg Books

Magic and adventure abound in this second book in the Dragon Lad trilogy.

“Tale of the Talisman” follows our young, dragon-hatched hero as he seeks his parents, his past and his destiny in Roman-ruled Britannia. A boy without a history — at least one that he can remember — Dirk turns to his shape-shifting friends for help. They launch him on a quest involving the one clue he has to his previous existence: a magic talisman.

The wizard Beldor gives Dirk a ring that allows him to re-enter the realm he thought he’d left behind. Armed with this ring and a magic map, he travels a trail leading to a raging dragon, a slippery mermaid, two grasping sorcerers and a legion of Roman soldiers. He also rediscovers a long-lost friend and powers he never imagined.

Fast-paced and funny, “Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman” is a modern classic that can be read alone or as a companion to the first novel in the trilogy, “Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg.”

Amazon

Excerpt

Chapter Nineteen

Dorg tried to pull up. It only reduced the speed of his impact. He hit the ground hard and blacked out.

He regained consciousness in a daze of pain. His ears were ringing, jaw ached, wing burned, shoulder throbbed. Turning on his side to touch the inflamed shoulder, he dislodged the raven perched there. He grimaced at the bird as it squawked to the ground, then took in his surroundings.

He lay on a mat of animal skin in one of the human dwellings. Dug into the ground like a burrow, with stonework above and below the level of the ground, it had a domed, willow-frame roof covered with skins. In the center, some sort of animal fat burned in a soapstone trough with moss wicks, illuminating a short entry tunnel, benches, clothing hung from leather cords, and

baskets full of herbs, plants and tools made of antler, stone and bone. The dwelling was crowded, yet they’d managed to fit a dragon with large wings and a body the size of a small bull inside. As he wondered how, the raven demanded his attention.

“Tok!”

“Sorry, I don’t speak raven,” Dorg responded in the hawk language. “Do you speak hawk?”

The raven uttered a “pruk” that reminded him of a human sigh. Then, revolving on his claws, he transformed into a handsome hawk with brilliant eyes and glossy feathers.

About the Author

J. C. Stevens began writing fiction, nonfiction and poetry at age five. The author’s first and favorite stories were about ghosts, witches and other spooky creatures. As an adult, Stevens served as a newspaper reporter, editor and teacher.

“Dragon Lad: The Thirteenth Egg,” the first book in the Dragon Lad trilogy, debuted in 2015. The second book in the trilogy, “Dragon Lad: Tale of the Talisman,” appeared in 2017. The third and final book, “Dragon Lad: Wand of the Black Sphere,” was published in 2019. Stevens lives in Southern California. To learn more, visit http://www.dragonseggbooks.com.

Contact Links

Purchase Links

Middle Grade Fantasy – Summer of L.U.C.K.

Posted on by

Middle-Grade Contemporary Fantasy

Published Date: 9-15-20

Publisher: INtense Publications LLC

photo add-to-goodreads-button_zpsc7b3c634.png

Stuttering Darby is never perfect enough for her mother. Justin’s been
silent since his dad died. Naz is struggling to learn English. But after
they meet at summer camp, mysterious calliope music from an abandoned
warehouse grants them power to communicate without words. When they sneak
inside, the dark, empty space bursts into a magical carnival. They’re
greeted by the ghost of Leroy Usher, who asks for their help convincing his
family to restore the carnival to its former glory. In return, he promises
to teach the kids how to find their voices. As Darby, Justin, and Naz are
swept off on a series of midnight adventures via Mr. Usher’s carnival rides,
they discover they’re capable of more than they ever imagined. With each
challenge, their confidence in communicating – and in themselves
– grows. Meanwhile, they scheme to persuade the Usher family to revive
the carnival. But when Darby’s bunkmates trick her into starring in
the camp talent show, her budding confidence falters. Can she risk being
less than perfect by performing in the show and speaking up to Mr. Usher’s
resistant son? If not, she’ll put the carnival in danger and sabotage her
most important quest: to believe in herself, stutter and all.

Excerpt

Chattering blackbirds and blue jays pulled her back to her surroundings.
The scent of wintergreen berries, bluebells, and wild sassafras from the
bushes restored her resolve to continue by herself. She walked a bit faster
up a steep incline, removing her official Camp Inch Sweatshirt and tying it
around her thin waist.

At the hilltop, one sign pointing left read CAMP INCH VIA WHITE FALLS
HIGHWAY: 1/4 MILE EAST. Another pointed right, cautioning PRIVATE PROPERTY!
Her pulse quickened. She followed it past bushes and trees.

Below her, an orange football-field-sized building, dressed up with
castle-like turrets at each corner, rose several stories high. Darby smiled
with glee. I found it! Massive green letters spelling out
“L.U.C.K.” were painted on its side, glowing brighter than ever. A
surrounding fieldstone wall led eastward toward camp.

She hurried down to a spot beside the immense wall where ten golden
horseshoes sat lodged in concrete. Same as when Monica and I found them! The
sun glinted on a colorless glass circle embedded above the horseshoes. Last
time they’d rushed too much to notice the lines inscribed on it. Now, she
knelt to read what they said.

All That We Give

Comes Back to Benefit Ourselves

With no time to figure that out, she placed her feet inside two of the
horseshoes, like last year. Her heart pounding, she waited anxiously for the
faint rumbling she and Monica had heard – or possibly imagined.

Will it even work without her?

The ground trembled ever so slightly beneath her.

She shivered with relief. Yes, I feel it!

Last year, their counselor came after them to end the adventure before it
began. This time, the rumbling got louder. Darby ducked to avoid the small
rocks and dust that fell from the stone wall looming above her head. Grating
and creaking accompanied deep vibrations inside the fieldstone. A Darby-size
section swung out on hinges, exposing a latch chain fastened to an old
wooden door. She tried to remember to breathe. Or how to breathe. Overcoming
the urge to back away, she yanked the chain, pushed the door open, and
strained to see.

For a few seconds, semi-darkness that lay beyond kept her cemented in
place. Finally, anticipation conquered her apprehension. I can’t stop now.
Electrified, Darby squared her shoulders and stepped inside.

About the Author

Laura Segal Stegman grew up with parents who valued reading, and she still
finds herself spellbound by middle grade fiction. Some of her favorites,
then and now, are The Diamond in the Window, Ellen Tebbits, All of A Kind
Family, Wonder, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and The Miraculous. As
a writer, her non-fiction credits include collaboration on the travel book
Only in New York, and her feature stories have appeared in Los Angeles Times
and Westways Magazine, among others. A long-time publicist, she has
represented numerous arts organizations. Summer of L.U.C.K. is her debut
novel.

Contact Links

Website

Twitter: @LauraStegman

Instagram: laura_stegman

Facebook

Purchase Links

Publisher

Amazon