Success In the Press: The Felserpent Chronicles by Katie Keridan

2023 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist in YA Fiction ★ 2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Young Adult Fiction ★ 2022 Best Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Young Adult ★ 2022 American Book Fest Best Book Awards YA Fiction Finalist ★ 2023 Reader Views Literary Awards Bronze Award Winner in Young Adult

★

2023 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist in YA Fiction ★ 2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Young Adult Fiction ★ 2022 Best Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Young Adult ★ 2022 American Book Fest Best Book Awards YA Fiction Finalist ★ 2023 Reader Views Literary Awards Bronze Award Winner in Young Adult ★

““𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲,” 𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝. “𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐛𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐥𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫.””

From the Author:

Kyra Valorian is the most gifted Astral healer the golden-blooded realm of Aeles has seen in ages. When tragedy strikes, Kyra discovers a life-altering truth: she’s a Recovrancer, able to reach into the realm of the dead and bring back those who’ve died before their time. But recovrancy is outlawed, and desperate for answers, Kyra forms an unlikely alliance with Sebastian Sayre—a silver-blooded Pyromancer and feared Daeval assassin chasing a legendary sword lost to his people. As the two navigate forbidden magic, fractured history, and the dangerous tension between their realms, their fates begin to entwine in ways neither expected. What starts as a tactical partnership soon becomes something far more powerful.

This epic fantasy trilogy blends enemies-to-allies tension, slow-burn romance, magical warfare, and a sweeping sense of destiny across all three books. With high stakes and emotional payoff, it’s a perfect fit for readers who love a strong magical system and a romance that grows in the shadow of war.

Our Take:

This award-winning trilogy blends forbidden magic, richly imagined realms, and a high-stakes magical conflict that deepens with every book. The pacing balances action with atmosphere, offering immersive lore, vivid elemental magic, and a central mystery that gradually unravels across the series. With themes of legacy, power, and the cost of rewriting fate, it’s a satisfying read for fans of romantasy and fantasy politics alike—especially those looking for a completed series with strong payoff and a cohesive, sweeping arc.

From A Reader:

“Magical worlds, love that endures throughout time and space, dragons, spells, animal familiars, and the fate of worlds hanging in the balance. This is a truly delightful addition to the fantasy genre. I’m eager for this series to continue so I can find out what happens next.”

Bragging Rights:

★ 2023 National Indie Excellence Award Finalist in YA Fiction

★ 2022 Foreword INDIES Finalist in Young Adult Fiction

★ 2022 Best Book Awards Finalist in Fiction: Young Adult

★ 2022 American Book Fest Best Book Awards YA Fiction Finalist

★ 2023 Reader Views Literary Awards Bronze Award Winner in Young Adult

Additionally, all three novels received excellent write-ups from Kirkus Reviews, and Blood Divided was selected to be featured in their July 2023 issue. Less than 25% of indie authors are featured! Here are some of our favorite quotes from each Kirkus review:

Reign Returned: “…excellently crafted…A fine questing adventure and a promising start to a series.”

Blood Divided: “…sharply etched characters, a chilling portrayal of social prejudice, and powerful, emotionally fraught prose.”

Realm United: “A fantasy novel full of romance, politics, and the quest for identity, sure to appeal to young adults.”

Get your copy today at the links below!

Amazon | Goodreads | Author Site

Take Your Writing to a New World: Tips for World-Building in Fiction

Hi writers! We kicked off 2019 with a new 4-part blog series called “Craft Q&A.” In this series, we tackle real questions submitted to us by Yellow Bird clients. Each question pertains to the craft of writing fiction. Without further ado, we present today’s question about world-building for Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian, and even Historical Fiction novels.

QUESTION: What are some pointers for writers who are working on a story that takes place in another time, place, or fantasy setting?

As exciting as Earth is in the 21st century, sometimes the best setting for a story is another world altogether. Many great stories take place in different timelines and dimensions, places where there are different rules and creatures, where the impossible becomes possible. Why limit your stories to the laws of physics and the history that’s already been written when you can make up your own laws and history?

High fantasy fiction takes place in secondary or parallel worlds, which can take an endless variety of forms. One of the best examples of a richly detailed world is J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, a diverse world filled with many creatures, lands, and languages that makes it the perfect setting for adventures. It’s a world containing different villages, kingdoms, and landscapes, from the peaceful Shire to the declining kingdom of Gondor to the desolate volcanoes of Mordor. There are elves and dwarves and hobbits and goblins and many more peoples and races that have their own history and personality. This world takes on a life of its own, and it’s an exemplary model of how you want to build your fictional world.

If you’re writing a story in another time or place, you have the power to develop everything from scratch. Creating these immersive and complex worlds can be a complicated process, but by following these steps when building your world, you can ensure your new fantasy setting becomes a believable and engaging place that your readers will never want to leave.

• Read other works. Learn from the best works of fiction already written. See how other authors show the elements of their world. As mentioned above, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are critical works to study. Examine how Tolkien develops the setting, characters, and the logic of Middle-earth, granting everything in his made-up world a believable explanation and a consistent history. Other classic fictional worlds include the universe of George Lucas’ Star Wars (and the Extended Universe that sprang up in other media over the years) and “The Known World” in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. Find your favorite fantasies and note how they make the world work.

• Plan ahead. Writing about this world is difficult as it is. Creating a whole new world requires elaborate histories and backstories that involve thorough planning. You want to have a general idea, as well as specific details, of this world ready to go before you write a single word. Be able to rationalize why things work the way they do in your world. You need to have a complete grasp of the inner workings yourself before you can hope to depict this world for others. The more intimately you know your world, the more intricate your writing can be. Here is a quick list of things you should have fully considered before you start writing.

  • The people: What are their language, practices, and customs? What do they value?

  • The geographical layout of the world: How big or small is your world? Are there different regions, and if so, what are their defining characteristics?

  • The history of the world: How did the present day reach its current state? Are there any historical conflicts that affect the present? What was the most recent event that happened before your story begins? How technically advanced is the world?

• Make the world a character. Just as your characters grow throughout the story, so can the characters’ environment. Think of this new world as a character of its own. It should have its own feel, look, sound, and smell. The setting is your own creation that serves an integral role for your story, and it can grow as stories evolve. However, the world shouldn’t be the central character. Each detail you insert about the setting should serve a purpose, whether it’s building imagery or advancing the plot, so it’s best to avoid including superfluous details that don’t enhance the story in the long run.

• Use dialogue appropriately. It can be tempting to divulge all the details and histories about your new world in a character’s monologue, but dumping this information all at once is boring and unnecessary. When used sparingly and smartly, dialogue and diction can reveal much about a character’s nature, as well as the society and world in which they live. Aim for a healthy balance that equally favors descriptions, dialogue, and action.

• Double check the logic. If you’re writing a story set in an alternate timeline or a brand new world, that naturally means there are more loopholes that your story could fall through, especially as you find yourself taking your story in new directions you didn’t anticipate when you first started writing it. An event may be out place or a fact may contradict something you previously mentioned. Just as you should take the precious time before your writing to map out the details, take some extra time at the end to review what you’ve actually written. It’s important your details line up logically or else the invalidity of your world will undermine your writing.

Just as these tips advise what you should do, here is a quick list of things you shouldn’t do: Don’t write excessive descriptions. Don’t rely on high fantasy clichés. Don’t create stock characters. And don’t stress!

World building is not an easy task, but if planned thoroughly and executed carefully, you’ll enlighten your readers and bring them to a whole new world only you are capable of creating.