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Welcome!
Yup--the picture kind of says all you need to know about the personal side of who I am. Professionally, I am an author, and a fantasy editor with Hadley Rille Books since January 2011.
It's here! Beyond the Gate, available on Amazon
Returning to the Vale after university, Linhare is thrust into the long-standing grudges and precarious alliances that maintain her realm. But there is more to the peace than political intrigue: Ambition. Secrets. And a terrible deed, recorded in a scarred, red journal, that should have remained forever secret.
Wait's secret.
Unearthing his past was an accident; keeping it to herself was not. Then the damning journal vanishes, heralding a spiral of betrayal and dark magic that casts Linhare from Vales Gate and into a world of bolleys and Drumbul Lords, of gobbets and ghasty-haints. A world from which Linhare has little hope of returning--until Wait falls into Fae to pursue her, bringing with him hope, love, and more truth than she can bear.
Truth cannot remain entombed forever. Only long enough...
Publisher's Weekly says:
DeFino’s third novel, a romantic fantasy set in the same world as Finder and A Time Never Lived, follows the adventures of “gracious and genial” Princess Linhare, a veritable paragon of ladylike virtues. Returning to the Vale after six years at university, intrigue and treachery soon leave her stranded in the land of fae. The stoically fierce and barnacle-loyal guard Wait, burdened with a dark secret and a cursed past that only Linhare’s forgiveness and love can alleviate, soon rushes after. Along with Linhare’s best friend, Jinna, and Jinna’s lover, Egalfo, they embark on an Odyssey-like quest—with cursed pirate ships, a mad Dread Queen, seductive fairy lords, and treacherous slavers—to return to a kingdom very different from the one they left. Though hampered by slow pacing and repeated substitutions of romantic clichés for character development, the story unfolds into a quietly surprising and unexpectedly satisfying conclusion.
New! An original fairy tale, by me!
Jingle"I haven't read an original fairy tale in ages, and now I'm reminded of what I've
missed. Jingle, the story of a beautiful child born to a terrible fate and the
catkin who loved her, is equal to anything Barbara Leonie Picard ever wrote.
Beautiful language, a simple story, and best of all, it felt fantastic the way
so little fantasy does today." Amazon reviewer
My critically acclaimed debut novel, Finder, was published in November 2010 by Hadley Rille Books. What? You don't think it was critically acclaimed? Well here's my proof:
"...DeFino’s first novel creates an exotic desert environment as a backdrop to the story of a young man’s coming-of-age and a young woman’s search for the only family she has left. VERDICT Compelling characters and a fascinating world background make this a good addition to most fantasy collections." ~Library Journal
To see the whole review, you can go here: Library Journal Review
Amazon Reviews
Goodreads reviews
And if you'd like to read a sample chapter of Finder <--there you go.
Feel free to wander about, see what's up. If you get bored here, head on over to the blog sisters-in-Hadley Rille Books (and one brother!) and I put up, Heroines of Fantas here we have all sorts of interesting guests.
Newly released (May 2012) A Time Never Lived
All my books are available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books-a-million, and just about any local or indie bookstore near you (if you ask nicely.)