What if you could avenge your own murder? A brilliant young woman gets a second chance at life in this debut YA tale of vengeance, court intrigue, and romance inspired by clasic Chinese tropes.

A BRIGHT HEART
by Kate Chenli
Union Square Press, October 2023
(via Context Literary)

Mingshin is murdered by the prince she loved, the man she helped become king. But as she is dying, she prays for time to turn back so she can have a chance to make things right. Her prayer is granted.

When Mingshin wakes up two years earlier, she swears two things: She will do whatever it takes to prevent Ren from becoming king and she will never fall in love. But it isn’t easy to stop a man who is willing to lie, steal, kill, and even give his soul to the most evil form of magic. And it isn’t easy to prevent falling in love with a good man. Even if that man is Ren’s brother, who is also in competition for the throne.

Book 2: A FIERY SPIRIT – June 2025:

Kate Chenli returns to a world of magic and courtly intrigue in this heart-stopping conclusion to A Bright Heart.

Blessed with a second chance at life, Mingshin has defeated Prince Ren and found love in the handsome, Prince Jieh. Though Ren’s plot has been foiled, Mingshin and her friends have not escaped the dangers of this new timeline.

The Night Dragon, Xiangyu, has been revealed as the sorcerer behind the dark machinations at court—and he’s after the Divine Stone.

As dark forces move in to destroy Dazhou, Mingshin must learn to harness the power of the Divine Stone or risk losing those she loves forever.

Kate Chenli has a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering, but has always enjoyed creating elaborate worlds and characters more than designing complex software. Besides reading and writing, her passion is world travel (four continents down and counting.)