So today is a day for really big, really fun announcements. But first, a pretty picture:

My buddy, cohort, unofficial consort, and all around partner in crime, Selah Janel, has finally lost complete control of her book and the good people at Seventh Star Press have released it into the wild! It’s not every day I get my hands on a book that I want to shove in everyone’s hands and make them buy it, but this one I do. Everyone needs a copy of it. Everyone needs to read it.

Guys, I seriously love this book.

And I’m not saying that to be nice. I do. I want to live in Kingdom City in the worst way. This is definitely my kind of world. Now, before I get too off track carrying on about it’s ultra-awesomeness, let me give you the rest of the story:

Olde School

The Kingdom City Chronicles, Book 1

Selah Janel

Kingdom City has moved into the modern era. Run by a lord mayor and city council (though still under the influence of the High King of The Land), it proudly embraces a blend of progress and tradition. Trolls, ogres, and other Folk walk the streets with humans, but are more likely to be entrepreneurs than cause trouble. Princesses still want to be rescued, but they now frequent online dating services to encourage lords, royals, and politicians to win their favor. The old stories are around, but everyone knows they’re just fodder for the next movie franchise. Everyone knows there’s no such thing as magic. It’s all old superstition and harmless tradition.

Bookish, timid, and more likely to carry a laptop than a weapon, Paddlelump Stonemonger is quickly coming to wish he’d never put a toll bridge over Crescent Ravine. While his success has brought him lots of gold, it’s also brought him unwanted attention from the Lord Mayor. Adding to his frustration, Padd’s oldest friends give him a hard time when his new maid seems inept at best and conniving at worst. When a shepherd warns Paddlelump of strange noises coming from Thadd Forest, he doesn’t think much of it. Unfortunately for him, the history of his land goes back further than anyone can imagine. Before long he’ll realize that he should have paid attention to the old tales and carried a club.

Darkness threatens to overwhelm not only Paddlelump, but the entire realm. With a little luck, a strange bird, a feisty waitress, and some sturdy friends, maybe, just maybe, Padd will survive to eat another meal at Trip Trap’s diner. It’s enough to make the troll want to crawl under his bridge, if he can manage to keep it out of the clutches of greedy politicians.

Buy it here:

Kindle | Nook
Paperback Coming Soon!

But there’s more. I’m going to give you a fun review of it as well, because I can and I want to. Keep reading, kids. It’s worth it.

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As a member of the “Acknowledgements” family at the beginning of this book, I had the rare luxury of reading it in all of its incarnations over the last few years. I’ve watched it grow and change from a silly idea in a hobbyist writer’s imagination to the epic folk-fantasy adventure before me as I write this.

The simple response to the “give your review” statement would be this:

I love it.

And I’m not just saying that as an insider. I stay that with all the respect and admiration that this book deserves. It’s a non-stop wild ride through classic folk and fairy tales, modernized to include every generation and genre under the sun. It’s fantastical, it’s out there, it’s knee-slapping hilarious, it’s pushing the limits and stretching the boundaries, and it’s even oddly poignant at certain moments.

From my first glance into Trip-Trap’s all the way up to the very last word, I was entranced. Paddlelump is a doll, and if I were Flora, I’d have a soft spot for him too. Ippick is my new personal hero, as cranky and crotchety as he is. And then there’s Clyde, the newfound love of my life. But I won’t spoil that surprise.

The characters have such great chemistry, and even poor, little Nobody and her pitiful need for acceptance.

Between the witty conversation and the intricate and winding European-style fairy-tale plot lines, I couldn’t put it down. There’s so much going on in Kingdom City, and every page is a brand new adventure. Every time I pick it up and start rereading, I catch onto a subtle, new joke and I laugh a little bit harder.

Would I recommend it to others? Absolutely. I whole-heartedly recommend this book to anyone that happens to see the pretty cover and stop to look.

My only complaint is this: she hasn’t written the next book in the series yet, and I have to wait.