Silly thing to ask, but I’m not used to tooting my own horn. However, I received the most fantastic review for my upcoming release (July 14, 2022) of my debut as a young adult author with the dystopian, sci-fi/fantasy novel, The Shadows We Make, written using the pen name Jo Allen Ash.
When I first received the email advising the review had been completed, I actually got a bit sick to my stomach because, true to form, I wasn’t sure what to expect and felt nervous about looking at it. In fact, I delayed until hours later. What I found when I opened it made me grin until my cheeks ached and caused me to quickly text the exciting news to, well, everyone.
This is the quote I am using (although there are plenty I can pull, because it was all so wonderful, and I likely will for varying purposes):
“…intricate worldbuilding … complex characters … beautifully crafted … will appeal to readers of all ages.” – BookLife review
If you’re interested in reading the whole review, you can find it here.
Grace Irese, sixteen-year-old desert warrior with a chip on her shoulder, is gifted in ways she does not yet realize. Duncan Oaks, teenage member of the Grif-Drif con-artist guild, is a boy who has made one bad choice too many. Finding themselves remanded to an off-world juvenile facility with lifetime sentences, Grace and Duncan plot an escape into the horrific environment beyond, determined to save Duncan’s young sister from Grace’s war-torn world. Can they and their unlikely companions survive their quest unscathed, or will they find they’ve been forever altered?
Set in dark alien worlds and told in the first person with three separate voices, The Shadows We Make is a fast-paced tale filled with conflict, bravery, a touch of strange magic and characters bound by unexpected friendship.
(PS: The Shadows We Make is available for pre-order now at on-line retailers and also from brick-and-mortar bookstores.)
robin maderich - write-brained scribbler and crafter-on-the-loose 