A Life Through Books

Young Adult Fantasy Adventure

Date Published: July 9, 2026

Publisher: MindStir Media

To prepare his people for the coming darkness, El Selah sends his spirits into the world, blessing chosen individuals with extraordinary magical gifts.

Runric has spent his childhood living a quiet, isolated life in the forest. Now coming of age, he leaves everything familiar behind and journeys with his loyal caruan friend, Falid, to compete in a worldwide magic contest. Blessed with six different forms of magic, Runric quickly attracts attention in the neighboring kingdom of Palanda—along with a level of fame he never wanted.

As the competition draws him into a dazzling world of princesses, kings, mysterious creatures, and rival magic wielders, Runric begins to uncover secrets about his own family. The ancient enemy threatening Selah may be connected to a danger first discovered by his father—and by the mother Runric has long believed was lost.

Torn between the simplicity of his forest home and the responsibility that comes with his remarkable abilities, Runric must decide whether he is ready to embrace his destiny. His greatest challenge will not simply be learning how to control his magic, but developing the faith, wisdom, mercy, and discernment needed to use it well.

Heartwell: Heir of the Wizard is a captivating middle-grade and young adult fantasy adventure filled with imaginative world-building, memorable friendships, wholesome humor, magical contests, family mysteries, and an unforgettable battle between good and evil.

Perfect for readers in fifth grade and above—and for families who enjoy clean fantasy fiction—this coming-of-age adventure explores:

● Faith, courage, and personal responsibility

● Friendship across cultures and kingdoms

● The importance of wisdom and discernment

● Family, identity, and belonging

● Using one’s gifts for a greater purpose

● Choosing what is right when darkness begins to rise

Enter the world of Heartwell and discover a family-friendly fantasy story where magic reflects character, unlikely heroes find their courage, and one young man’s gifts may hold the key to saving all of Selah.

 N.J. McConnell is a Texas-based author of wholesome middle-grade and young adult fantasy. A software engineer with degrees in computer science, he brings the logic of a programmer and the imagination of a lifelong fantasy reader to his richly developed stories.

Inspired by reading J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit as a child, McConnell began writing the kind of relatable, family-friendly fantasy adventures he wished he had encountered more often growing up. For more than a decade, he has developed the magical world of Heartwell—a place filled with memorable characters, imaginative kingdoms, exciting quests, and meaningful lessons about faith, wisdom, mercy, courage, and discernment.

McConnell is the author of Heartwell: Heir of the Wizard, a coming-of-age fantasy adventure for readers in fifth grade and above. Through compelling characters, wholesome humor, magical contests, and timeless conflicts between good and evil, he hopes to create stories that entertain the entire family while encouraging readers to use their unique gifts with integrity and purpose.

Born and raised in Texas, N.J. McConnell lives in San Antonio with his wife and two children. When he is not writing, reading fantasy, or developing software, he enjoys coaching youth basketball and teaching Bible classes. Seeing his children experience the world and characters he spent years creating has made his journey as an author especially meaningful.

Learn more about N.J. McConnell and the Heartwell fantasy series at heartwellstories.com.

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Young Adult, Teen Fiction

Date Published: July 18, 2026

About the Author

 NGOUNOU PESSEU grew up in Cameroon. He is an author, Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineer, and a graduate of West Virginia University. He also holds a Ph.D. in Metaphysics & Sciences and is passionate about leadership, personal development, and empowering minds.With over 15 years of experience in the utilities industry, Pesseu has inspired and educated individuals across the globe. As an author, he focuses on creating motivational and young adult fiction that teaches resilience, cultural values, and self-belief, guiding readers to embrace discipline, leadership, and purpose in their personal growth journey.

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Teen and YA, Westerns

Date Published: 03-03-2025

Publisher: Adventure & Quest, LLC

Excerpt

A week on the ranch had really transformed me. I looked the part, like I’d lived here all my life. Before jetting from Seattle, I had an expectation of riding a fast horse over a wide prairie, the wind whipping my hair. Never had I imagined myself in baggy-butt jeans with pockets that sunk to my knees. They were heavier than any I’d ever owned, and fastened high on my waist, as if pulled up with suspenders. The shirt tail draped my back, and I had to roll the sleeves five times.
But the boots! Oh, I loved how they made me taller. They fit like clamps, as if my feet were growing in bark.
I clomped to the large picture window, plunked the sombrero Sabion gave me on my head. “Eesh.”
I look like a mushroom.
If Mom had told me from the beginning that Pap didn’t have horses, maybe I wouldn’t have thought twice about coming. I had the idea of wearing the giddy-up home—I would walk right past her at the airport and she wouldn’t even know me. But then, what would’ve happened to Radar?
No. Destiny had brought me here.
Pap’s boots stammered on the porch. I couldn't resist a cocky stroll past him—long, lanky strides that thunked my foot heel to toe. He sipped smugly from his coffee mug. Well, of course—nothing unusual to him. Just a set of sensible clothes.
Oh, well…as long as he’s happy—
* * *
Sabion’s smirk held a snicker. “Ah, si. You look…now you look right.”
I rolled my eyes. “Glug—”
Radar was pungent with horse sweat. Was it his timid nature that made me brave for him? A fearless front to give us both courage, like a parent protecting their child? Well, some parents. He sniffed my pant leg, and blew a snort that spewed junk on my knee. Now they’re broken in…
“How much time do I have today?” I asked. Sabion had honored his agreement to let me use Jennie half a day for training, but I’d already wasted a slip of his morning trying to make the blasted blue jeans work.
He looked at his watch. “None today. I am here too long already.”
“An hour?” I pleaded.
Sabion shook a finger. “Yesterday you say to me, ‘This day I will make repairs to the corral.’ You forget this? Now you say, ‘Este día voy a hacer reparaciones.’ Mas importante.”
I tried not to laugh. Sabion could never scold. Though he tried to sound tough, it only made him look leathery. It was kinda weird that I was beginning to understand him when I didn’t even speak the lingo.
“But you’re here already. I can make the repairs when you leave.” My plan today wasn’t to repair the corral; my plan was to string those blasted bells together while I had the workbench to myself. Then I’d reveal my fun training plan to Sabion when he returned.
His shoulders caved, the argument lost. “One hour okay is all.” His words netted altogether.

About the Author

Drawn to action and adventure that is grounded in real life, Katlyn finds inspiration in the wildness of the world around us. “Nature doesn’t care what we think. It’s wild and ferocious and unpredictable—a good reminder not to take ourselves too seriously. The downright ridiculous seems to call for a twist of humor. What I can’t see, I can imagine.” Juggling family, work, and life, over the years Katlyn grasped whatever time she had available for a writing class when she could—poetry, creative, a bit of journalism. What she discovered was that stories come from deep within us…a moment. A memory. An experience or impression or dream. Only when they surface, can you add texture and color.

A late-bloomer by her own description, Katlyn’s writing kicked off when she joined Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI), a community of like-minded people who selflessly share, uplift, and guide, one meeting at a time. “There’s so much to learn, just for the listening. Other writers energize me, challenge me to ‘say it better’. Everyone has a natural style, and it always amazes me how many ways there are to tell a story. From SCBWI to the Writers’ League of Texas (WLT)—where Nightflower of Comanche Mound was a 2022 Thriller/Action-Adventure Finalist in the Manuscript Contest—on to Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West (WWW), Katlyn has found that it’s networks of writers that encourage her “No matter what stage of writing skill, anyone, at any age, with a yearning to write should seek out others who love what you love. Don’t wait.”

A native Texan, Katlyn Bates lives near Dallas, TX, outside a small town that—like so many inter-connected communities, is quickly becoming absorbed by the sprawl. “As for me, it’s open skies and nature and landscape that frame a plot, and lend power to a story.”

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Date Published: January 30, 2026

Publisher: Small Circles Press

About the Author

 

 Gael Lynch is a writer and storyteller who traces her roots back to her dad’s carefully crafted bedtime stories of fairy queens and villains, beggars of old, the rags to riches sagas of the ancients, always set in the rich green tones of the Irish countryside. Her own greatest ideas, though, are not those of far away and long ago, but ones that exist right under her nose. In what seems to be the ordinary, Gael loves nothing more than a chance encounter while waiting on a line at the grocery store. Perfect strangers offer a world of little gems, experiences she might never have had herself.

The Newbury Award winning author, Patricia Reilly Giff, mentored Gael for many of her writing years. Always a person of pure encouragement, it was Pat’s gentle wisdom that kept her writing and believing in herself for many years.

Her debut novel, IVY LEIGH EVER AFTER, is the story of an eleven, almost twelve-year-old girl whose mom has died and whose life is in a swirl of change. With a mix of humor and heart-rending moments, Ivy will learn that by extending a hand to others, she can also help herself.

If Gael is not at her desk writing, she’s off riding waves, tossing balls in the air for her large golden retriever, Wrigley, or listening to live music under a starlit sky alongside her longtime husband, Tom. She lives in coastal North Carolina with its warm nights and soft ocean breezes. But Newtown, with its pastoral beauty and its warm-hearted people, will always be the place she calls home.

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The Tale of Ol' Split Toe

Date Published: 03-31-2026

Narrator: Dan Ellens

Run Time: 10 hours 6 minutes

Split Toe witnesses two hundred years of conflict building between modern humans -- who fight to control the natural world -- and Mother Nature, who repeatedly reaches for balance. He wonders whether human ways will ultimately overpower Mother Nature, until he meets a boy who changes everything.

 Dan Ellens is an outdoor enthusiast who is passionate about connecting people with nature. 

 He spends nearly half of each year off-grid in an isolated, hand-built, electricity-free treehouse nestled within Winterfield Pines Nature Sanctuary with woodstove heat, handpump water, and oil lamp lighting.

 Dan was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and grew up in southeast Michigan. He has a Mechanical Engineering degree from Calvin University and an MBA from Michigan State University. Dan is retired from a full career in industry and international business. 

During 1996, 1997, and 1998, his family lived as expatriates in Bangalore, India, the inspiration for “A Time for India”, Dan’s second book, now in its second edition. 

 When Dan’s children were small – 10 years old - he took them each on an outward-bound, father-child adventure. The journal of those four trips became Dan’s first book, “Turning Ten: Great Adventures in the Great Lakes”, now in its second edition. 

 Dan is an accomplished woodworker and carpenter. His lifelong love for old-school carpentry inspired “Building the Bunkee: A Photo Anthology of Custom Log Cabin Construction and One Man’s Retirement Dream”. Dan is a hobby artist who is passionate about rescuing, restoring, and finding new homes for fine art. In the wilds, he sees cooking and baking without modern conveniences as their own adventure and creative expression. “Treehouse Letters: The Unabridged Michigan Forest Life Journal” includes entries about his art and his back-woods cooking … and many other things that one might think about while in a tree. 

 “Forest Legend: The Tale of Ol’ Split Toe”, Dan’s upcoming novel – his debut fiction piece written while sitting in his treehouse nest - brings experience from decades of life in the forest together with a rich understanding of mid-Michigan’s pioneer history and changing landscape. In this sweeping adventure, Dan explores the resilience of nature through the eyes of a majestic, time-traveling deer.

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