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Writing advice tends to be full of "rules" and "tips" which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong. In On Writing and Worldbuilding, we will discuss specific and applicable ideas to consider, from effective methods of delivering exposition and foreshadowing, to how communication, commerce, and control play into the fall of an empire.

Anastasia is the princess no one needs: the fourth daughter born to an emperor without a son, and the only royal lacking a magical gift. Until she collides with a young Cossack rebel, changing both their lives forever.

Cousins Sophie and Wil certainly have their hands full. Wil's old friend Mr. Bertram is blamed for the disappearance of a priceless manuscript and lands in jail, things are up in the air at Auntie Vis Fortune-Telling with a new competitor next door, Sophie and Wil have exams to study for, Aunt Rue doesn't get the new job at the Secretariat after all, and their neighbor, Mrs. Oleander, falls deathly ill.

Adrift in the divide between galaxies and surrounded by the vast emptiness of the intergalactic void, the Tantalus Cluster is the only home humanity has ever known. Desperate and facing starvation, humanity’s only hope is a strange nebula that has suddenly appeared beyond the edge of the cluster. Its shifting clouds may hide a source of salvation for the people of Tantalus, but time is running out.

Adrift in the divide between galaxies and surrounded by the vast emptiness of the intergalactic void, the Tantalus Cluster is the only home humanity has ever known. Desperate and facing starvation, humanity’s only hope is a strange nebula that has suddenly appeared beyond the edge of the cluster. Its shifting clouds may hide a source of salvation for the people of Tantalus, but time is running out.

A girl suddenly vanishes from her world and finds herself drifting in and out of consciousness in a world of pure darkness. The only insight into her precarious situation is a prompt opening before her eyes indicating that the system failed to delete her. The doggedly optimistic and naive teenager, Naomi, is reborn as a monster into a fantastical world governed by the rigid rules of a suspiciously game-like system; a world full of magic and danger where the familiar mingles with the inexplicable.

Following the immense success of Volume I with over 35,000 copies sold, On Writing and Worldbuilding: Volume II brings a host of new topics to table in even more detail and depth. Writing advice tends to be full of "rules" and "tips" which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong. 

Written by experienced author and dog owner Vanessa Richie, The Complete Guide to the Shiba Inu is an excellent overview of this beautiful breed and contains information, tips, and advice from some of the top Shiba breeders in the world. Notorious escape artists and unapologetic alpha canines, a Shiba Inu can quickly learn to dominate your home if you aren’t ready to lay down the law from day one. Be prepared to tackle the challenge of owning a Shiba Inu. These adorable little dogs are full of energy and intellect that will keep you both entertained and on your toes.

In the second story of the highly acclaimed Horse Gone Silent Trilogy, sweet Emma Sterling is living a storybook life filled by horses, friends, and her loving parents Julia and Chase. Then, without warning, young Emma’s heart is shattered when her father returns home from military duty a completely changed person. Emma’s innocence and family’s future are threatened as her mother desperately attempts to save them from a viscous emotional struggle that may destroy them all. 

Isabel Fontaine’s lavish lifestyle came to a crashing halt the night the General Chanzy sank. At 18, she had everything — fine luxuries, a prominent family, and an extravagant estate in Marseille. The one thing she didn’t have was her freedom. As the sole heir to the Fontaine fortune, her future was forged with a betrothal to a stranger from a foreign country, but when her family perishes at sea, Isabel sees this as a chance to hide her identity and change her fate.

Aliens hijacked Earth from orbit! As the only humans awake, Bruce and Lindy team up with an android friend to do something about it! Bruce, 11, and sister Lindy, 9, show up to school on a warm Spring morning. They discover that friendly aliens have arrived on Earth. Unfortunately, at lunch, things go awry when all of their classmates freeze in place.

Wendy Darling worked her entire life to rise through the ranks of the prestigious Londonierre Brigade. Now as a Captain, she has everything she’s always wanted, including a ship and crew of her own. But when the Brigade receives a strange transmission from the legendary James Hooke, lost a hundred years earlier in uncharted space and presumed dead, Wendy is willing to risk it all to rescue her hero. She races to the planet known only as Neverland; her mission to find the long-lost crew and bring them home. 

Emma Sterling is back, and she brings with her a surprise that shocks everyone who knows her - even Ophelia! This exciting conclusion to the highly acclaimed Horse Gone Silent trilogy will satisfy you and warm your heart, as you return to the stable at Hound Hollow and Emma’s hometown, then make an unpredictable stop with new characters that will have you raving for Brielle’s Promise.

Eliza Cartwright isn’t going to stop asking questions until she finds out what happened the night the Northside Residence Hall burned down. Her memories of that night are hazy, her best frenemy is missing, and the police are refusing to investigate. As a reporter, Eliza knows how to demand answers. Even if her newspaper is so small that some of those answers have, historically speaking, been about bake sales and library movie nights. But Eliza will do whatever it takes.

Árni is about to leave his burrow for a four-year adventure out at sea. But Árni doesn’t want to go, at least not today. You see, he wants one more day to play with his best friend Birta, but she can’t be found. Summertime in Iceland means nearly 24 hours of glistening sunlight each day - perfect for lighting the way for adventurous little puffins. While Árni searches Iceland for Birta, his mother and father are searching for him. Little pufflings shouldn’t be wandering about all alone! 

Would you sell your life to save another? Special forces vet, Samantha Jones, is a lowly bodyguard for Ethan Anderson, the biotech billionaire who revolutionized life extension. But at least she’s got a job, unlike most, and won’t have to sell her organs to support her family. Sure, they’re poor, but she’s got death insurance and a roof over her head. Life is livable...But then Sam’s daughter is kidnapped and sold for parts. Overnight, her life (and belief in the system) shatters.

Cousins Wil Wychwood and Sophie Isidor unearth yet another dastardly scheme from this dangerous secret society. Now the Serpent’s Chain plans to seize the Manitoba Legislative Building – or The Palace of the Blazing Star, as it is known in MiddleGate.

Unbeknownst to 10-year-old Wil Wychwood, he comes from a long line of mages. But with the death of his grandmother and his world upended, Wil moves to live with “the Aunts” and finds himself in MiddleGate—where buses drive through brick walls and leaning houses dot streets named Wog’s Hollow and Half Moon Lane. The 494-year-old school, Gruffud’s Academy, is out of this world too. With classes in numeristics, botanicals, cartology, and verbology, this is no ordinary school. Yet something dark brews beneath the veneer of this idyllic hidden city.

A body found hanging from the ceiling fan in the tower room of the old manor house on Storm Island: For 19 years, Kate Pomeroy has suppressed that memory. A second-year resident in surgery, she thinks she has her life under control. But a curious conversation overheard while taking a catnap launches her on a descent into a world filled with nightmarish visions that cause her to doubt her own sanity. Sent to Storm Island to rest and recuperate from an apparent breakdown, Kate is forced to come to grips with memories of the summer her mother died as well as new terrors. 

The Killing of Faith, winner of three national awards, follows Faith, a beautiful, single mother of three, as she looks back on her life and describes a mysterious—but seemingly hopeless—situation.