akrasiel's avatar

akrasiel

bongo cat
2.9K
Watchers
150 Deviations
237.7K
Pageviews

Launch day is here! Crest, the third book in my alt-historic fantasy series The Call of the Rift, is now officially out. Currently it's available in hardcover and ebook, with the audiobook coming soon (probably in a few weeks. I've heard the final recording and it's amazing!)


I'm so proud of this novel and so excited to share it with you all. It takes place in a parallel world from the first two books, so if you haven't read those, this book is the perfect place to jump into the series!

“Another captivating entry in an expansive series.” ― Kirkus Reviews

Purchase links:

Crest Ecw

My hardcover copies haven't arrived in Australia yet, so I'm celebrating launch day by dressing up* and showing off my digital copy**!


*I am extremely proud of wrangling hip-length hair into this

**also showing off my cat, Salsa Stark

Crestlaunchday
Crestlaunch Salsa
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

I’m super excited to reveal the cover art for CREST, #3 in the Call of the Rift! 😍 This gorgeous illustration of Kako and Tiernan is by Simon Carr. This book is gonna be wild* and I can’t wait to share it with y’all on May 18th, 2021!


*hint: it takes place in a parallel world to the first two books Neko wink


Pre-order links:



Step through the portal into a world ravaged by chaotic spirits and corrupted magic in the third book of The Call of the Rift high fantasy series.


Kateiko Rin lives a quiet life with her parents and her people in the coastal rainforest. Everything changes when her estranged uncle washes up on their shores, harried and half-dead, trailed by two blue-eyed children no one knew existed. To protect her family, Kateiko secrets away her young cousins. Caring for them includes hiding their ties to the Rúonbattai, a warlike cult trying to claim the land for themselves along with as many lives as they can. With the immigrant mage Tiernan and his companions Jorumgard and Nerio, Kateiko enters into the fray, facing strange, dangerous magic that unwinds the fabric of time. She must end the war before it tears the land, and her family, apart.


In the third book in The Call of the Rift series, Jae Waller invites us into another dimension and introduces an alternate version of her captivating heroine in a world full of familiar and unknown faces, including many we thought long dead.

Crest

Praise for book #1, Flight:


“[A] stunning debut . . . An intricately lush and well-crafted new fantasy that deserves (and demands) a sequel.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review Star


“Waller’s world-building is impressive . . . While the magical and romantic elements of Waller's story are most likely to hook teen readers, it's the commentary on colonized cultures that really sets this novel apart from other YA fantasy tales.” — Quill & Quire


The Call of the Rift: Flight is a solid start to the series. I loved Kako’s journey, which truly came full circle. Each person she encounters is a fully-fleshed out character. The world-building is phenomenal! I felt as if I’d truly stepped back in time to early colonial Canada. I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys alternate history and fantasy.” — YA Books Central


Praise for book #2, Veil:


“Fans will be reengaged by Waller’s war-torn worldbuilding and original characterization . . . Adventurous, heartbreaking, and undoubtably open-ended.” — Kirkus Reviews


“Well-written, Veil, a complicated tale, would be enjoyed by those readers interested in adventure with magic, shape-shifting (Kateiko can turn into a wolf) and warriors riding on large birds . . . Recommended.” — Canadian Review of Materials

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In

The Call of the Rift is a YA fantasy series inspired by historic conflicts between Canadian First Nations and European colonists during the Age of Sail. Book #3 Crest is out now!


Purchase:

Flight: Amazon, ECW Press, Audible

Veil: Amazon, ECW Press, Audible

Crest: Amazon, ECW Press


Follow me:

Facebook: Jae Waller, Author

Twitter: JaeWalrus

Goodreads: Jae Waller

Instagram: JaeWalrus

NEWS: updated June 19


Crest has been out for a month now, and it's been a strange time – here in Melbourne we spent most of that time in strict COVID lockdown, so I couldn't hold a launch party, yet lots of exciting book-related things have been happening anyway!


  • I did an interview on CBC Radio with a journalist from my hometown, talking about lilacs: the colonial history of them, how iconic they've become in that part of Canada, and how I wrote them into Crest. Take a listen in the June 10th episode on Daybreak North; the segment starts at 54:30 and my interview starts at 59:07.

  • The audiobook is up on NetGalley now; book reviewers there can request a copy.

  • Sassenach the Book Wizard, a librarian and book reviewer, shows off a Crest hardcover in her latest book haul video.

  • And lastly, I spent part of my lockdown taking photos of my gorgeous books!


Veil Flowers2
Crest Flowers2

Flight

Book 1: FLIGHT

A rebellious Indigenous heroine faces a colonial world coming unstitched in Jae Waller's stunning debut fantasy


Seventeen-year-old Kateiko doesn’t want to be Rin anymore — not if it means sacrificing lives to protect the dead. Her only way out is to join another tribe, a one-way trek through the coastal rainforest. Killing a colonial soldier in the woods isn’t part of the plan. Neither is spending the winter with Tiernan, an immigrant who keeps a sword with his carpentry tools. His log cabin leaks and his stories about other worlds raise more questions than they answer.


Then the air spirit Suriel, long thought dormant, resurrects a war. For Kateiko, protecting other tribes in her confederacy is atonement. For Tiernan, war is a return to the military life he’s desperate to forget.


Leaving Tiernan means losing the one man Kateiko trusts. Staying with him means abandoning colonists to a death sentence. In a region tainted by prejudice and on the brink of civil war, she has to decide what’s worth dying — or killing — for.

Veil

Book 2: VEIL

Return to Jae Waller's wondrous and war-torn colonial world in this captivating second instalment in the Call of the Rift series


The Blackbird Battle has left all sides devastated. The wind spirit Suriel has disappeared. A hard winter is coming, and famine stalks the land. Kateiko Rin returns to her people, ready at last to rejoin her community, but the dangers of the unsettled times come raging to her doorstep.


Kako is left with no choice but to battle the forces that seek to open a rift between the worlds. Leading an unlikely alliance that includes her new love Airedain and her old one Tiernan, Kako must risk all to try and stop the coming disaster.

Crest

Book 3: CREST

Step through the portal into a world ravaged by chaotic spirits and corrupted magic in the third book of the Call of the Rift high fantasy series.


Kateiko Rin lives a quiet life with her parents and her people in the coastal rainforest. Everything changes when her estranged uncle washes up on their shores, harried and half-dead, trailed by two blue-eyed children no one knew existed. To protect her family, Kateiko secrets away her young cousins. Caring for them includes hiding their ties to the Rúonbattai, a warlike cult trying to claim the land for themselves along with as many lives as they can.


With the immigrant mage Tiernan and his companions Jorumgard and Nerio, Kateiko enters into the fray, facing strange, dangerous magic that unwinds the fabric of time. She must end the war before it tears the land, and her family, apart.

CONCEPT ART

The Regret of Things Done
The Horseman
Okoreni-Rin
Guard Duty
Chase This Light
Drummer Boy

CHARACTER PORTRAITS

CotR: Kako
CotR: Tiernan
CotR: Nili
CotR: Airedain
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In


Bushfire 1 by scarlet-rain
Australia is burning. Bushfire season began here in November, and it's gotten worse in the past couple weeks. So far it's 6x larger than the Amazon rainforest fires, and we've lost:
  • 23 people
  • half a billion animals, including 8000+ koalas and potentially whole species
  • 5.5+ million hectares (an area larger than the Netherlands)
  • 1400+ homes
Here in Melbourne, smoke has blanketed the city at least three times now (I've lost count.) I can taste it in the air; it's so thick that fire alarms are going off. Out in the bush, volunteer firefighters are working day and night in shocking and dangerous conditions.

ENfClszWoAAHlIe by akrasiel

But in the darkness, there is light. :love: #AuthorsForFireys is a grassroots Twitter auction with all proceeds going to our "fireys" (aka firefighters.) Australian authors and other publishing professionals are auctioning off a bunch of awesome things:

Goods: signed books, art prints, handmade crafts
Writing servicesmanuscript assessments, book trailers, publishing advice
Fun stuff: book club visits/chats, custom poems, cameos in authors' next books

Browse the hashtag to see the offerings! There are some great opportunities for aspiring writers.

How do I bid?


  1. Find a tweet offering an item you want to bid on.
  2. Reply to that tweet with an amount in Australian dollars.
  3. If you're the highest bidder, the item 'owner' will contact you.
  4. Donate the amount directly to the Country Fire Authority.
  5. Send proof of your donation to the item owner.
The auction ends 11th Jan, 11 PM AEDT (4 AM PST.) Bids must be placed in $AUD so owners can keep track of competing bids. If you're not in Australia, I recommend asking the owner if they're open to international bids, especially if it's something that requires shipping costs. More info about the auction here.

Can I offer things for auction?


Absolutely! There's an open invitation for all authors, illustrators, and other booky creators, even people outside Australia. All you need is a Twitter account and something to offer. Read the instructions here.

Are you auctioning anything, akrasiel?


Why yes! I'm offering a bundle: signed copies of books 1 & 2 in my climate change-themed fantasy series Call of the Rift + 4 art prints of book characters. I'll cover shipping to anywhere in the world. :aww: You can bid here.

Authors for Fireys 2020 by akrasiel




Skin by Dan Leveille
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In


It's been half a year since I posted a new journal (instead of updating my book-news one), so what better excuse than to share some photos from the launch of my second novel? :la:

The launch party for The Call of the Rift: Veil happened Oct 19th at Willows and Wine, a cute little wine bar/second-hand bookstore in Melbourne, Australia. It was a cozy affair with friends, family, fans, and a few strangers (aka new friends) passing through!

You can order your own copy in hardcover or ebook from Amazon, my publisher, or wherever you get books. You can also buy the first book, The Call of the Rift: Flight, in those formats or paperback and audiobook. Or, read more about the series here: The Call of the Rift: A Compendium :meow:

"[A] stunning debut . . . An intricately lush and well-crafted new fantasy that deserves (and demands) a sequel." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review of Call of the Rift: Flight Black Star 

The Blackbird Battle has left all sides devastated. The wind spirit Suriel has disappeared. A hard winter is coming, and famine stalks the land. Kateiko Rin returns to her people, ready at last to rejoin her community, but the dangers of the unsettled times come raging to her doorstep. Kako is left with no choice but to battle the forces that seek to open a rift between the worlds. Leading an unlikely alliance that includes her new love Airedain and her old one Tiernan, Kako must risk all to try and stop the coming disaster.

Author Jae Waller returns to her riveting alternate world of brooding rainforests in a colonial time and to her headstrong, troubled heroine in this compelling second volume of the Call of the Rift quintet.

The bookstore owner made this lovely display:

Scrabble by akrasiel

It's October, so I read a spooky Hallowe'en passage:

reading by akrasiel

A dear friend surprised me with flowers Love

flowers by akrasiel

Signed and sold some books:

signature by akrasiel

And the most important part of any book launch: cheese!

cheeeeeeese by akrasiel

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Featured

The Call of the Rift: A Compendium by akrasiel, journal

#AuthorsForFireys Charity Auction by akrasiel, journal

The Call of the Rift: Veil - LAUNCH PARTY! by akrasiel, journal

The Call of the Rift: Veil - COVER REVEAL! by akrasiel, journal

All things end... by akrasiel, journal