A Circle of Firelight by Curtis Edmonds

"What results is a charming tale that allows every reader to smile knowingly. A sturdy, well-crafted, and vibrant fantasy." - Kirkus

The execution is for the most part charming and clever, with lively dialogue, easy pacing, and fleshed-out protagonists... Edmonds's novel evokes the magic of portal fantasies while grounding it with emotionally resonant relationships." -- Booklife

On the battlefield of dreams, the strongest weapons are imagination--and love.

Ashlyn Revere is a bright, determined and resourceful college graduate trying to get a job in publishing. When Ashlyn and her sister Penny are left comatose after an automobile accident, they find themselves in Summervale, a beautiful and perilous realm straight from the pages of fantasy novels--which is ruled by a mysterious Dark Lord.

When Ashlyn discovers that Penny is being held captive, she enlists the help of a talking black rabbit and a scarlet knight to save her sister. She learns that Penny is deep within her own fantasy of Regency romance--and that she sees being in a coma as a way to escape from her daily struggles with cystic fibrosis. Ashlyn tries to rescue her anyway, but a fire-breathing dragon and a real-world seizure complicate her plans.

As Penny recovers from her injuries and leaves Summervale, Ashlyn is rescued by a servant of the Dark Lord who promises to show her just how precarious her own medical situation is. In the real world, Ashlyn's medical condition has worsened, forcing her doctors to consider risky surgery. Ashlyn rejects an offer from the Dark Lord to remain in Summervale forever, and chooses to raise an army of knights to fight for her freedom and independence.

Penny must face a choice of her own. As Ashlyn hovers between life and death, Penny learns that Ashlyn would be a good match to provide the donor set of lungs that Penny needs to free her from the constraints of cystic fibrosis.

As doctors battle to save Ashlyn's life, she leads her forces against the Dark Lord in a desperate conflict in the streets of an imaginary Manhattan--while Penny must find the answer to her own destiny in a dying circle of firelight. Can the sisters rescue themselves--and each other?

A CIRCLE OF FIRELIGHT blends postmodern fantasy and real-world emotional conflict in a daring tale that will delight adult and young adult readers alike.

Other Formats...

About The Author...

Curtis Edmonds

My name is Curtis Edmonds. I live a very quiet, boring life in the New Jersey suburbs. I am from Texas, and I cook barbecue and Tex-Mex just because that's the easiest way to get them where I live. I read a whole lot of Elephant and Piggie books to my five-year-old daughters. I listen to depressing country songs and balance my checkbook, although you shouldn't do both those things at the same time.

And I write. That is what I have always done. Twenty years ago, I used to write movie reviews, back when I had the time to watch movies. I switched to book reviews because it was easier to get books to review than it was to get DVDs from studios. I wrote four law review articles that no one will ever willingly read. I tried writing political commentary before I realized that the world doesn't need another knothead writing tripe about politics.

Sometime after we moved to our new house, I saw a deer wandering across a railroad track and wondered what the deer would say if he could talk. I wrote that up as flash fiction, and got it into McSweeney's Internet Tendency (http://www.mcsweeneys.net/authors/cur...), along with a lot of other humorous pieces over the years.

I self-publish because I enjoy suffering and misery. I have written two books so far. RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY is a poignant, wrenching story about a father’s love, a daughter’s compassion, and the universal need for forgiveness and redemption. It's the story of Will Morse, ex-NFL player and Coca-Cola executive, who lost three of his four children - one from disease, one from accident, and one from suicide. He lives alone in the Appalachian foothills of North Georgia, plagued by guilt and grief. Then, over Christmas, his remaining child tells him that she's getting married in the spring, and that she'd like him to attend.

It's a dark book that touches on deep psychological and physical needs, but there's a warm center, and the possibility of forgiveness and renewal.

WREATHED, the new book, is a lighter book about death, a funeral, an inherited beach house, and two people who might be good for each other if they can trust each other. It's a comic contemporary romance and it comes out in November and you should read it.

Other Books By Curtis Edmonds

Wreathed
Romance

A Circle of Firelight
Fantasy

A Circle of Firelight by Curtis Edmonds

About The Author...

Curtis Edmonds

Other Books By Curtis Edmonds

Latest Stats: