Amberjack Publishing Titles

Readers, beware: what you hold in your hands is a dreadful fairy book.

I wish I were narrating almost any other fairy story, but alas, this is my lot. Whatever expectations you have of delightful and whimsical fairies are sure to be disappointed. There are certainly fairies, but most are not proper fairies. Some who are supposed to be nasty are disappointingly nice, while some who should be kind and helpful are disconcertingly surly, dishonest, and generally unpleasant company.

Our heroine is, perhaps, the worst offender—a sprite more interested in books than carefree games, who insists on being called Shade. She is on a quest, albeit with rather questionable companions, to find a place her outré self can call home. A place of companionship, comfort, and, most importantly, positively filled with books.

In Holland 1633, a woman’s ambition has no place. 

Judith is a painter, dodging the law and whispers of murder to try to become the first woman admitted to the Haarlem painters guild. Maria is a Catholic in a country where the faith is banned, hoping to absolve her sins by recovering a lost saint’s relic. 

Both women’s destinies will be shaped by their ambitions, running counter to the city’s most powerful men, whose own plans spell disaster. A vivid portrait of a remarkable artist, A Light of Her Own is a richly-woven story of grit against the backdrop of Rembrandt and an uncompromising religion.

Story behind the story . . .

The trail of Judith Leyster’s career was so faint that only years after her death in 1660, collectors began attributing her few surviving paintings to other artists. She signed her work with only a beautiful, stylized monogram. Credit went to Frans Hals, Jan Miense Molenaer, and others. She would remain lost to history until 1893.

Seventeen year-old Chelsea Knowles is your average teenager. But she's harboring a secret that very few people know: she and her dad can't pay the bills. Broken by his wife leaving, Chelsea's father ignores his parenting responsibilities. Between cheer costs, grocery bills, electricity, and other financial burdens, Chelsea knows it'll be up to her to keep the lights on. She manages to sneak into a casino, and her first big poker win sparks the beginning of downward spiral. Money stops being a problem, but a complicated web of lies begins to spin out of control, threatening to reveal her bluff.

A Best Middle-Grade Book of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews

“[Dewey’s] string of triumphs will have readers cheering him on, rolling in the aisles, and wishing they could line up for consultations.” — Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

Dewey Fairchild isn’t just good with parents, he’s great with them. He’s so good at handling parents that he’s built a thriving business out of it. He even has an assistant, Clara—a great alibi and an even better baker. Dewey settles the most troublesome of cases, from an overprotective mom who won’t let her child go to class on her own, to a dad who can’t stop picking his nose any chance he gets! 

Dewey has no problem handling other people’s parents, but when he overhears his parents’ conversation, he discovers a challenge he never expected. Dewey can solve any problem parents may cause, but what will he do when the parents who are causing problems are his own?

Every night Babe dreams of a boy she’s never met before named Zat. But Zat is no ordinary daydream. He’s actually a human from the distant future, who has travelled back in time to be with Babe in the only way that he can be—in her dreams. But the dreams leave Babe more and more tired and pained each morning. Zat is determined to help her, even if it means never sharing dreams with her again.