When recently divorced Katie Ellis and her rescue dog Bark move back in with Katie’s grandmother in Florida, she becomes swept up in a reunion of her grandmother’s troupe of underwater performers—finding hope and renewal in unexpected places, in this sweet novel perfect for fans of Kristan Higgins and Claire Cook

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN #1
by EM Castellan
Feiwel and Friends, Spring 2020

It’s 1661 in Paris, and magicians thrill nobles with enchanting illusions. Exiled in France, seventeen-year-old Henriette of England wishes she could use her magic to gain entry at court. It would ensure her future and make everyone forget her connection to her infamous father – the English king executed for treason. But with a chronic illness consuming her lungs, performing spells that reshape reality could prove fatal. Instead, her plan is to hide her magical talents, and accept an arranged marriage to the French king’s younger brother.  Thrown into a whirl of balls, hunts, and intrigues, Henriette soon realizes her future is far from assured: her fiancé prefers the company of young men to hers, it’s the dashing king Louis, who sends her heart aflutter, and court magicians turn up dead in the corridors of the Louvre Palace – killed by a mysterious sorcerer who is using forbidden magic. When an accident forces Henriette to reveal her powerful gift for enchantments to Louis, he asks for her help: she alone can defeat the dark magician threatening his authority and help him build the new, enchanted seat of his power: the Palace of Versailles. But by following her heart and giving the Sun King the means to achieve his dreams, Henriette might lose everything – her marriage, her health, and even her life. Over the course of a single summer, Henriette will have to decide what matters most to her before the sorcerer’s attacks reach the royal family and darkness swallows them all.

EM Castellan is a writer of YA Historical Fantasy novels. She grew up in France, but she now lives in London, where she’s an active member of SCBWI British Isles. A lover of all things historical, she has a particular fondness for 17th Century France and Ancient Rome. Some of her stories can be found on Wattpad, where they have been read over 230,000 times in the last year, with THE BRIGHT AND THE LOST the winner of the 2017 Wattpad Awards (Wattys) in the Newcomers category, and selected as a Wattpad Featured Story for five months in 2017.