#Legend of the Storm Sneezer

[randomname3]

"Legend of the storm sneezer" and entry sentenced

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread    

Legend of the Storm Sneezer

quirky middle grade high fantasy about a winged girl with a magical stormcloud that causes trouble

kids with unstable magic in an asylum in a magical forest full of ghosts

she, her best friend, and her time-travelling future selves team up to solve the mystery of the past before it happens again

[make-space-for-as]

My First Experience with Major Aphobia

I've lived a pretty happy aroace life. With an exception or two, nearly everyone I've come out to has been kind and curious. I knew aphobia was a thing, of course, but I didn't know it personally.

Until two weeks ago.

I'm a fantasy author with two published books featuring aromantic and asexual teenage protagonists. I am so proud of my babies. They are everything my little aroace heart needed as a teenager.

I have an amazing publisher who is supportive of my characters' orientations. But we had an opportunity to team up with another publisher to create curriculum courses based on my first book, Legend of the Storm Sneezer, for schools. Everything was going swimmingly until I made a Pride post where I mentioned, as I had countless times before, that my main characters are aroace.

And this publisher dropped me like a hot potato.

I received an email terminating our contract. Their reason? Because my characters are aromantic and asexual. It was like a slap to the face. I couldn't believe it. I was heartbroken and angry and hurt. And it didn't end there. The publisher went on to make videos and interviews with conservative social media influencers to make fun of my queer identity and style, and even partook in a smear campaign where they stole my pictures and intellectual property and slandered me thoroughly in an article. It's honestly the worst thing that's happened to me in my career.

But guys, the backlash. The outpour of support for aroace folks. The people who took up arms and fought against aphobia, supporting me, my books, and our community's identities. It was so beautiful my group of aroace writer friends called it "Chickengate" -- the day we stood up to aphobia (the publisher's name has to do with chickens, FYI).

It was a hard blow, but I've come through this so much stronger. My community is stronger. My identity is stronger. My faith is stronger. So, when you face aphobia, remember Chickengate and be strong!

Also, if you want to REALLY stick it to the aphobes, you can check out my fantasy series The Stormwatch Diaries for SO MUCH aromantic and asexual rep. It's perfect for fans of Doctor Who and The Owl House.

[earlgraytay]

OKAY SO THIS IS MY WHEELHOUSE

If you're looking for recent fantasy aimed at young readers- like, ages 8-13- you want to search for middle grade. This is an industry term for books that are Too Old to be Chapter Books (think Bailey School Kids/Babysitters' Club if you're a millenial) but too young to be YA. There's minimal romance, lots of humour, they're usually pretty fast-paced and about kids the same age as the protagonists.

[eta: i JUST saw upthread you used the term, sorry for overexplaining. Also, I've added some books to the thread that weren't there before and cleaned up the formatting- I couldn't resist adding some older books that I really liked.]

Here's some (mostly) popular, (mostly) recent middle grade books you can safely recommend.

High fantasy:

Journey Across the Hidden Islands by Sarah Beth Durst.

The Wizards of Once by Cressida Cowell.

The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell.

The Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce.

The Rowan of Rin series by Jennifer Rowe.

The Unicorn Chronicles by Bruce Coville.

Urban fantasy:

Anything Rick Riordan writes and anything in the Rick Riordan Presents line. The Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series, Tristan Strong Punches A Hole In The Sky, Aru Shah and the End of Time, etc.

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor.

Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.

Island of the Aunts by Eva Ibbotson.

Which Witch, ditto- this one is good for a kid who will definitely be into paranormal romance in a few years.

Dune-like SF:

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (has All The Content Warnings, definitely closer to YA)

Puzzle-focused/quirky/thriller-adjacent SF:

Lexi MacGill and the Teleportation Tournament by Kim Long

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

The Greystone Secrets series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Fairy Tale:

Wishtree by K.A. Applegate

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente.

Horror/Ghost Stories:

Scritch Scratch by Lindsay Currey

Lockwood and Co. by Jonathan Stroud

Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea

Dial-A-Ghost by Eva Ibbotson.

Most of these are relatively recent, written specifically for young readers, and are pretty popular according to Goodreads. [I went back and added some older ones to the list because they're really good and AFAICT aged pretty well.] I can't vouch for the quality of all of them, not having read them all- but this is what's being written for the Kids These Days, and it's likely to be a lot more interesting to someone who's a reluctant reader.

Anyway unpopular opinion probably but the school system (and general book snobbery) fucks up by trying to force kids to read "classics" before they have the mental and emotional development to appreciate them.

This post is me telling you to consider revisiting that classic book you read in the 7th grade that you hated because the ability to understand a lot of literature gets unlocked later, for reasons a lot to do with emotional maturity

[reddjena]

Book Spotlight: Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea - Post Twenty-Five of Stay Home Order

Book Spotlight: Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea – Post Twenty-Five of Stay Home Order

Today, I am participating in the blog tour for Kristiana Sfirlea’s newly released Legend of the Storm Sneezer, book one in The Stormwatch Diaries. My original plan was to read and review this book, but due to my reading schedule (aka inability to focus on reading books at various times) I have not read this book. So today I will just be spotlighting the title instead with the intention of…

[aroaessidhe]

March Reading Wrapup

audio favourites

Something Fabulous - 3.5

A Day Of Fallen Night - 5

Nightvine - 4.5

Shadebloom - 4

The Priory of the Orange Tree - 4.5 (reread)

She Is A Haunting - 4.5

Godkiller - 4.25

The Master of Time - 3.75

Sailing By Carina’s Star - 4.75

Dragonfall - 3.75 

Legend of the Storm Sneezer - 3

Returning To You - 2

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - 5

Into The Midnight Void -4.5

Beating Heart Baby - 4.5

Structural Integrity - 3

Hurricane Child - 4

Tears In The Water - 4

The Shadow of Kyoshi - 4.5

Sasha Masha - 4

Into The Gray (short story) - 4.5

The Faithless - 4

Song of Silver, Flame Like Night - 2.75

The Way Back - 4

Angels Before Man - 3.75

Graphic Novels

Project Nought - 5

In Limbo - 4.5

Blackwater - 4

Currently Reading

The Art of Prophecy

Two Can Play That Game

The Daughters of Izdihar

[reddjena]

Cover Reveal: Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea

Cover Reveal: Legend of the Storm Sneezer by Kristiana Sfirlea

Today I am excited to share with you the reveal of the cover for an exciting, upcoming Middle Grade Fantasy novel, The Stormwatch Diaries: Legend of the Storm Sneezer. This debut from Kristiana Sfirlea is being released by Monster Ivy Publishing on May 5th and has been described as the timey-wimey mischief of Doctor Who meeting the stormy magic of Frozen so it’s a book you’re going to want to…