01/20/2026
Fantasy readers! Here is the mockup cover reveal for my upcoming prequel novella Emerald of Avarinnia!
Esmeraldi Avaria is one of the three Reiyal Elven princesses. Along with her two sisters born on the same day--one flirty and whimsical, the other a perfect princess and student--Esmeraldi is expected to hold to certain standards. But she longs for adventure, enjoys combat sports, and would rather watch her uncle train for his missions as a special operative in the Elven military than study how to decorate the palace. Upon her 13th birthday, her parents do grant her permission to train in basic fighting techniques for self-defense, but it is granted more as a potential lesson to deter her "childhood whims" than a gift. She seizes the opportunity. But while success in her healing magic and martial arts allows her to explore outside the city of Avarinnia once she reaches 17, the real lesson of how dark and rough the world can be begins outside the protected walls. She must find her inner strength in multiple ways if she is to gain the wisdom of experience and yet survive. She must become her true self, no longer just Princess Esmeraldi, but the adventurous identity she feels suits her more--Emerald of Avarinnia.
For those who have read The Next Goldlighter, this will delve into Emerald's past a bit. For those who haven't read The Next Goldlighter yet, you can start with either book once this one is available, as this will be a self-contained story jumping through the years before Emerald and Opren meet.
I started this as a short story among a few others I intend to write to briefly expand character back stories before the events of Goldlighter, but the story and amount of time I wanted to cover said nope, it needs to be more than that 😆
