In case you missed my last post, I’m publishing my first novel!!! To say I’m excited would be an understatement. Today, I’m going to be introducing you to three things: the book, myself (whom you probably already know), and the illustrator (whom you might not know).

First things first: The Conductor has an official release date: December 3, 2021! It will be available on Amazon, and I’m hoping to get it into bookstores and libraries as well.

The Conductor is middle grade fantasy, aimed at 8-12-year-olds. Or anyone, really, if you’re still a child inside like me. Seriously, do we really ever grow up? Below is the excerpt from the back cover.

A brewing war. A dead kingdom. A stolen crown.

And only six who know the truth about who stole it.

Alekos, rightful king of Basileia, doesn’t just see Gahfa as an evil tyrant. He sees a powerful Conductor with an entire Orchestra at his fingertips. As long as Gahfa wears Alekos’s crown, Alekos can never restore his kingdom to the way it used to be.

But Gahfa always has another trick up his sleeve. Waging war against his Music would be suicide. Even with the help of Alekos’s scheming best friend, Oliver, and his not-girlfriend, Ashla.

And his fuzzy visions aren’t helping… is there really another Orchestra out there somewhere?

Also, look at that gorgeous silhouette on the cover. It was drawn by my cousin, Elizabeth Tilly (she’s an amazing artist), and this is also her first published work! It was so much fun working with her on the story. We’re basically the dynamic duo. You could look at our official author/illustrator pictures, but this is what we look like most of the time. (We had just finished making a lasagna and were very excited to eat it.)

I suppose you might like to know a bit about myself as well. I’m a college student, but I like to procrastinate by writing stories. I have found that the two ways I best express myself are through words and music. This story is a marriage of both. It’s a piece of my soul, where paragraphs and melodies blend together into a kind of storytelling I’ve always dreamed of.

If you like music, if you’re in the mood for a good adventure, if you believe that there is a layer of magic in this world that we can’t often see, this book is for you.

Be on the lookout for more upcoming posts! And if you’d like to help by spreading the word, it would be much appreciated!

Meanwhile, do you have any questions about publishing or illustrating or cover design? I may be doing a Q&A type post soon, so feel free to send any questions my way!