August
Monthly Check-In with Ali Noël
Happy August, everyone!
I’m in a little bit of denial over the fact school starts in two days. Is it just me or are summer breaks getting shorter? Living on an island with a perpetual sense of summertime probably doesn’t help either, ha!
Today I have a couple of goodies for you all aside from my usual updates:
Most excitingly, I’m sharing a little book review of the incredible Emma C. Fox’s newest novel, “Heart of Stone,” published with Owl’s Nest Publishers. You can follow Emma C. Fox and Notes from the Nest here on the Stack!
I’ve also written a month’s worth of prompts to help me get back into the daily habit of poetry. For any interested, you can download the images below!
Let’s get to it, shall we?
Heart of Stone Review
Are you kidding me right now with this cover?
If you follow me on Instagram you know how much I adore Amy Grimes. I’ve never had the pleasure of meeting Amy, but her kind spirit and fierce creativity always draws me in. She’s created the cover for both books in Emma’s Serpents & Stone series!
Official Blurb
Ever since her father’s mysterious death six years ago on Serpent Hill, Lilia Stepanovna has struggled to help her family make ends meet. So when an old widow claiming to be her great aunt arrives and offers to show her the way to hidden treasure, Lilia leaps at the opportunity. Curious magic soon entwines her, though, and Lilia finds herself trapped by a sorcerer’s devious plot to seize the Russian empire.
Dmitri Petrovich always expected to follow in his parents’ footsteps as a stone carver, until a terrible accident left both his hands and his dreams crushed. When his best friend, Lilia, is swept off to Petersburg under suspicious circumstances, Dmitri embarks on a perilous journey to save the girl he loves — and to stop the dark powers that are working through her to take over all of Russia.
Spoiler-Free Review
Firstly — thank you to Owl’s Nest Publishers for an ARC of this story! It is my absolute pleasure to review this novel.
I think a common misconception about books published through small press is they are somehow “less than” and one need only to grab any novel from Owl’s Nest Publishers to know that simply isn’t true. I have been consistently impressed by their authors and the work of the Owl’s Nest staff to produce excellent stories for children and teens.
I was ecstatic to learn Emma would be writing a sequel to The Carver Queen (Book I in the Serpents & Stone series which I also highly recommend). Her world-building skills are exceptional. Romance, folklore, magic, adventure. Fox weaves these elements so naturally, leaving the reader satisfied yet longing for more (in the best way)! Diving into the realm of Russia’s unique history and folklore with Fox will not disappoint.
Lilia and Dmitri are heroes worth rooting for, and a love story appropriate for the audience intended. Fox doesn’t shy away from complex themes such as disability and adoption, and I applaud the obvious care and thought she put into them. Love, sacrifice, and courage are also key themes which, while classic, do not feel stale in the slightest.
I also appreciate the clear lines drawn in this novel between good and evil. I feel like it’s been a trend the last few years to explain away, excuse, or even justify acts of evil or villainous behavior. Tis not the case here, and it was refreshing to read.
If you and/or your teens are on the hunt for a historical fantasy that feels simultaneously classic, yet new, this is a series I whole-heartedly recommend!
Other books from Owl’s Nest I have thoroughly enjoyed:
A Trick of Spades by Tasha Kazanjian
The Carver Queen by Emma C. Fox
A Thread of Dreams by Emily Barnett
Fern of the Forest by J.L. Thaxton
Son of Bitter Glass by K. B. Hoyle
Poetry Prompts
Lord of Summer - a Sonnet
Majestic King and Crown of golden days
You give the birds of summertime their song
Adorning flower fields in jeweled array
To bless my mind when winter's chill is long
I see you in the sturdy, ancient Oak
More mighty than the mountain's rugged peak
The roaring river blue, a fitting cloak
And yet You make Your home among the weak
Barefoot on the grass with squealing toddlers
Remembering a cousin much adored
Delighting in triple berry cobblers
In every grief and grace, You're august, Lord
Writing Update
I have worked on series before, but never as big an undertaking as The Blind Knight Project. The novel I’m working on is the first of five books. I’m implementing the feedback from my alpha reader and so grateful for their eagle-eyed comments!
The weaving required has definitely more complex than I anticipated and charting the beats on a series-level scale will definitely take me longer than I originally thought. But, as they say, little by little one travels far.
There you have it!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read these newsletters. I am so grateful you’re here!
With Hope,
Ali
Good prompts!
This book looks magical! I love your shoutout for small presses too!