13-year-old Conner Dell didn’t mean to set the school bully’s gym shorts on fire. In fact, he’s not sure how it happened. His sister Lexa doesn’t understand how she made a teacher go home sick. And her friend Melanie has no idea how she sent someone flying ten feet through the air. Why did all this stuff happen? And is their choir teacher really trying to kill them?

When unusual powers kindle inside them, Conner, Lexa, and Melanie discover that their teachers are powerful Magi—warriors of the Light fighting a shadowy organization called Umbra while directing plays, conjugating French verbs, and diagramming sentences. 

An invitation to join the conflict brings exhilarating experiences and everything's exciting—until Umbra kidnaps Melanie’s young sister as part of a grotesque experiment. Conner can save her, but his choice will risk his life and force him to battle the ugliest demons Umbra can summon—the demons in his own heart. Can he survive the confrontation? And if he does can Lexa and Melanie save him?

 The Kindling is the first in what I hope will be a series for middle grade readers, with some crossover potential for younger young adult readers.

If you are interested, you can read the first chapter here. If you would like to read a little bit about the story behind this book click here. If you have the manuscript and want to read about the theoretical foundations of Lightcraft, click here. 

If you would like to be notified when The Kindling is published click here and I'll add you to the list.