"Changed in the Retelling" Panel

In the same way a chef can freshen a familiar dish with a new approach, so do these authors engage readers with their fresh perspectives on familiar stories from around the globe. Alyssa Colman (The Gilded Girl), Genevieve Gornichec (The Witch’s Heart), Nghi Vo (When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain, The Chosen and the Beautiful), Heather Walter (Malice), and Kiersten White (The Camelot Betrayal) discuss the ways their choices make these tried and true adventures more accessible and exciting for new readers with Maryelizabeth Yturralde (Creating Conversations).

Join us #WonderConAtHome 11 AM on March 27th. Watch the Replay for free. 

Join author ALYSSA COLMAN as she celebrates the launch of her middle grade novel, THE GILDED GIRL. Fellow author JULIE ABE (Eva Evergreen, Semi-Magical Witch and Eva Evergreen and the Cursed Witch) hosts the evening with Chevalier's Books. There will be readings, games, and special guests.

This event is open to the public but you must RSVP in advance to receive the Zoom link. RSVP HERE. 

Signed Pre-Orders of THE GILDED GIRL are available through Chevalier's Books.
Anyone who pre-orders through Chevalier's will receive a free Gilded Girl bookmark and house dragon sticker (the cat with the dragon shadow from the cover) with their copy. (You'll understand and hopefully love the house dragon after you've read.)
Thank you and I look forward to celebrating with you!

"Colman’s class-interested debut offers both homage to and a fanciful spin on Frances Hodgson Burnett’s A Little Princess. In a world in which only the wealthy wield magic and those who can’t afford the hefty registration price must snuff theirs, 12-year-old Emma Harris is so close to her Kindling—full control of her magic—that she can taste it. Her magical education, however, is sorely lacking, prompting her magical architect father to enroll her at the elite New York City boarding school for young ladies. While she finds her studies difficult, introverted Emma quickly makes friends, thanks to her father’s fame and fortune. Izzy, the school’s only maid, is of Kindling age as well; though her magic must lawfully be snuffed, she has other plans. The girls’ worlds collide when Emma’s father dies and the school’s headmistress indentures her to pay her outstanding tuition. What follows is a thoughtful and imaginative exploration of friendship, internal change, and perseverance told in alternating voices and anchored in an enticingly crafted alternate turn-of-the-century New York.  Ages 8–12."

https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-374-31393-7

​I'm thrilled to share that THE GILDED GIRL received its first review. Thank you to Kirkus Reviews for this lovely write up!

Here is a link and the full review is below: 

"A young magician learns about social justice the hard way. Twelve-year-old Emma Harris is the new girl at posh Miss Posterity’s Academy for Practical Magic, where she will learn to kindle, a complicated process in which elite girls undergo a Kindling Ceremony to harness their magical abilities. The setting is early-1900s Manhattan, with a twist—the wealthy have powers that give them all they need or desire while the poor are snuffed, or deprived of their magic. Emma, whose Mama is dead, has a close bond with her Papa, a brilliant magitect whose high expectations she hopes to live up to. When disaster strikes, Emma is summarily deprived of her wealthy trappings and forced into servitude by the mercenary, two-faced Miss Posterity. Determined to avoid the workhouse, Emma buckles down and is befriended by the school maid, Izzy O’Donnell. Aided by house dragon Figgy, the girls hatch a plot to kindle themselves and escape. Emma’s true personality comes to the fore in extremis, and she learns compassion for others, regardless of class. With plenty of drama and heroic rescues, this fantasy holds a lot of appeal for magic-loving readers, including fun touches like bland food that becomes delicious with the touch of a crystal and rooms that move around, Hogwarts style. Main characters are White; some secondary characters reflect the diversity of New York City. Fast-paced and warmhearted with a satisfying conclusion. (Fantasy. 8-13)"