Right on the heels of some very successful book releases (The Bone Roses by Kathryn Lee Martin hit #1 in Steampunk three days in a row and Nocturnal Meetings of the Misplaced maintained ranking in its Top 100 Categories for two weeks straight) we are very pleased to formally introduce you to three, brilliant new additions to The Parliament House Family, authors of diverse backgrounds and walks of life who will bring more fabulous culture to our fantastical worlds : 🙌🙌🙌🙌
Each of the following titles was acquired by Parliament House Acquisitions Editor, Mary Bernsen.
Gerardo Delgadillo
Gerardo Delgadillo is the author of the brand new YA contemporary fantasy novel, FRACTALISTIC, about a young girl obsessed with communicating with the dead:
Since moving to Mexico, sixteen-year-old Winter's life has been a nightmare. And now her computer wizard father insists that Fractalistic—his fractal application—will enable them to talk to her dead mother. At least she has her friend Rafa to confide in, and perhaps even kiss. But Rafa says that he knows fractal technology exposes repressed memories, leaving Winter wondering if something might be wrong in her head. She must try Fractalistic to discover what it really does. When she runs it, a sea of computer generated imagery swirls on the screen, forming an image of her mother thrashing in the town's lake and begging for help. Before Winter can find out what's going on, her father jerks her away from his computer. Fractalistic may enable her to communicate with her mother, but it might also unleash buried memories. To figure it out, Winter must disobey her father and face her fears of uncovering a horrifying truth.
Originally from San Francisco and raised in Mexico, Gerardo lives in the Dallas metropolitan area, which means, his house is somewhere in a distant suburb nobody’s heard of. His stories gravitate around fifteen-to-seventeen-year-olds, venturing into Mexico, or living in Mexico. He considers his writing contemporary and realistic. Well, as realistic as it can be. Truth to be told, real life can be quite boring. He spends his days writing, either at his day job coding high-tech software (gibberish), OR typing YA novels surrounded by lots of caffeine (also gibberish).
Carla Lewis
Carla Lewis is the author of the brand Adult Contemporary Fantasy novel, LINEAGE:
Nicole Fontane’s smart mouth and bad attitude have reduced her job opportunities on Tulare Island. She could swallow her fear and work with her father at his Apothecary shop, but that entails her dabbling with Earth Magick, something she’s sworn never to do.
With less than $200 in the bank and rent due, she is forced to take a job at Tribec insurance, run by the Stewart family who have an obsession with Egyptian culture and a high employee turnover rate. Yet, there is one bonus to taking the job—rekindling her friendship with her estranged friend, Marta. Sadly that reunion is short lived. The eerie atmosphere, disappearing Magick wards, and the smell of blood, help Nicole deduce that her new employers are practicing Blood Magick—the most deadly of the five principles. When she attempts to warn her friend, Marta, she learns that Marta, along with her four children, have gone missing. Cryptic messages and concerns from Marta’s neighbor, implicate the Stewart family. Now she must swallow her fear of Magick and work with a group of Mage level vigilantes, or risk losing Marta and her children in an archaic ritual to an old god.
My name is Carla Vonzale Lewis, and I’m a writer and homemaker. I live in Hesperia, California, with my very supportive husband.
The first part of my life, I worked in customer service. It wasn’t an easy job, but I did enjoy talking with people. And when it came time to develop my characters, I drew on those experiences.
But still, I felt something was missing in my life.
I’ve always loved the written word and the way a good book could take you to another place and time. Instead of hanging out in the lunchroom, I would go to the library and create stories or bury my head in a really good book.
I started writing my first novel in 2014 and 30 days later I had a collection of scenes that needed some serious revision. And that was where the fun came in. Over the course of several years my novel went through final draft after final draft until I finally came to…you guessed it, the final draft.
My stories tend to be dark. I like creating worlds where the characters have to fight their way through many horrific obstacles to reach their HEA. And there has to be magic!
When I’m not writing, I enjoy reading, binge watching shows on Netflix, and trying to convince my husband that getting a dog is a wonderful idea.
Tracy Auerbach
Tracy Auerbach is the author of TWO brand new fantasy titles, THE SIN SOLDIERS and SONS OF FIRE:
SONS OF FIRE:
Keegan’s life is difficult. When his father, the Demon King of Fire, attempted to produce an heir, a surge of light energy interrupted the process. One tiny piece of the newly forming demon broke off. That piece is Keegan. For years, he has attempted to lay low, watching from the shadows as his monstrous brother Aidan, the true Prince of Fire, is groomed for the throne.
The shaky status quo of Keegan’s existence is shattered when one of his father’s power plays goes horribly wrong. He finds himself cast to Earth, forced to work together with a suddenly powerless Aidan. They must cooperate to complete a task, and avoid being cast forever into the abyss. As if having to spend time with his beastly other half wasn’t bad enough, Keegan must adapt to living on Earth, wielding his new human vessel, and dealing with his demonic appetite without harming the human creatures for whom he has always cared.
As Keegan and Aidan work to save themselves, many questions arise. What exactly was the King of Fire up to, that sparked their Master’s interest enough to cast them from the Demon Realm? Can Aidan be trusted in his new human form, complete with emotions, or is he the same unfeeling creature he’s always been? And why are so many demons suddenly so invested in the outcome of the brothers’ trial? The only thing Keegan knows for certain is that whether he succeeds or fails at the task, his formerly complex existence is starting to look peaceful and easy.
THE SIN SOLDIERS:
Red compound makes them angry. Yellow exhausts them. Blue drives them into a state of ravenous addiction. The thief Kai knows about the chemically controlled soldiers of the Eastern forces, and their savage, deadly nature. When a robbery attempt at Club Seven goes wrong, Kai is captured by a handler and his bestial soldier-boy. She wakes up inside the military base, with no idea what happened to her twin brother Dex. Things go from bad to worse when Kai is started on a drug and training regimen, and forced to take injections of blue compound. The scientists in charge are planning to make her one of their worker soldiers, who mine for the mysterious power crystals beneath the desert. She becomes a victim of the bully Finn, a handsome but nasty soldier whose years on red compound seem to have erased his humanity. Still, she begins to pity the “Seven Soldiers,” including the monstrous boy who tried to rip her to shreds at the club. They appear to be nothing more than drug-addled teenagers. Meanwhile, on the outside, Dex and his tech-savvy boyfriend try to crack the soldiers’ chemical code, and find a weakness that will break the system. But Kai has already been drawn deep into her new world. Strong feelings for Finn have started to cloud her judgment. Can she escape and find Dex without becoming a monster herself?
Tracy Auerbach is the author of a previous novel, THE HUMAN CURE, published by 48fourteen, a small press. She has also had several stories published in genre magazines such as The Writing Disorder. By day she is a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) teacher and curriculum writer for the New York City public school system. On the nonfiction side, she has written articles for education magazines and trade journals. She is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
*Tracy Auerbach is represented by Evan Marshall of the Evan Marshall Agency. Both books were acquired by Mary Bernsen, Parliament House Acquisitions Editor from Mr. Evan Marshall.
Renee M Steffan
Renee M. Steffan is the author of the brand new fantasy series, The Galaxy Series (The Garden Galaxy, The Web Weaver Galaxy, The Golden Spiral Galaxy)
The Galaxy Series is about a young girl, Shoshana, and her best friend Chesterfield, who travel to unknown and mysterious galaxies throughout the mystifying and unexplored cosmos.
She easily makes friends with all of the unusual inhabitants; the Space Pirates, the Carrot Colony, the Golden Guardian and her fellow cosmic travellers and discovers that home is not always simply the place where you have grown up, but it can sometimes be where you are growing up.
Beings of all shapes and designs become part of her world and these individuals all become very important to her. Some becoming important members of her family, others becoming important members of her adventures. Each with a unique quality, each with an important attribute.
Shoshana finds friendship, love and trust while embracing her adventures and also finds that friends and family mean everything.
Feisty and fun, The Galaxy Series offers readers of all ages a short holiday from the real world.
A place where they can relax and laugh and imagine.
A place where Earth is not the only reality.
Humans are not the only beings.
With an American father and an Australian mother, I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work and reside in both countries. While growing up in Western Australia, I was lucky enough to read some magical books by the popular authors of that time.
One of those special writers was the wonderfully skilful author Enid Blyton (1897–1968), who wrote captivating stories such as ‘The Enchanted Wood’ and ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’, inspiring me to create, successfully I hope, a similar place for young people to escape to and to find safety, friendship and adventure.
Thanks to the incredibly curious Sir David Attenborough, we all now know what is at the top of every tree, in the middle of every forest, in the centre of every continent on the entire planet…thats not the case with the Cosmos, which is still wild and unexplored.
In writing The Galaxy Series, I hope to offer the young adult readers of today, a new sense of adventure and mystery and to awaken their natural curiosity and their desire to learn and explore.
Writing is my passion, along with my two amazing sons, Corey and Alec, who’s inner strength’s and kind heart’s are an inspiration to me every single day of my life.