Riss M. Neilson in conversation with Rachel Menard

Join us on Friday, March 24th at 6:30 p.m. for a YA event with Riss M. Neilson in conversation with Rachel Menard.

Deep in Providence by Riss M. Neilson

"A powerful story about 3 teenagers and their mission to raise their friend from the dead. Not only is this book witchy and spooky, you get to feel for the characters’ real world problems and their passions. The familial, romantic and platonic bonds between these characters are beautiful to experience. This book has a little something for everyone. Plus it's set in Providence and is a local author’s debut novel!"--Reviewed by Vanessa

The Hazel Wood meets the nuanced realism of Erika L. Sanchez in this spellbinding YA grounded fantasy debut about three best friends who turn to magic when they're haunted by a friend's death...and perhaps her spirit.
Miliani, Inez, Natalie, and Jasmine grew up together in the south side of Providence, Rhode Island. The best friends have supported each other through the deportation of Inez's father, Natalie's mother's drug addiction, and the death of Miliani's beloved Papa, who taught them everything they know about magic.

Then Jasmine is killed by a drunk driver, leaving the girls haunted by grief...and Jasmine's lingering spirit. Determined to bring Jasmine back, the surviving friends band together, testing the limits of their magic and everything they know about life, death, and each other.

Suspenseful and absorbing, Deep in Providence is a story of profound yearning, and what happens when three teen girls are finally given the power to go after what they want.

Riss M. Neilson is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of the Rhode Island College, where she won the English department’s Jean Garrigue Award, which was judged by novelist Nick White. She is from Providence and lives for the city’s art and culture scene. When she’s not writing, she’s watching anime or playing video games with her two children. Deep in Providence is her debut novel.

Clash of Fate and Fury by Rachel Menard

Former circus performer Gen, heir to Arcadia Castor, and StormMaker Pollux must infiltrate the Elysium Empire and find the golden apples of Hesperides and the monstrous Cerberus for the Olympian Empresses, all while avoiding starting a war with Elysium.

Seventeen-year-old Gen may have rescued her beloved father from prison, but she hasn’t saved him yet. If she fails her end of a bargain with the Olympian Empresses, they will send him right back to his cell. To keep the Empresses happy, Gen must bring them the legendary golden apples of Hesperides and the monstrous Cerberus. But both are rumored to be in the neighboring Elysium Empire, which has a long history of war with Olympia. Making matters worse, Gen’s former enemy and newly designated heir to the isle of Arcadia Castor invites herself on the journey, hoping a golden apple could end Arcadia’s reliance on Illumium for storm vials. And Castor’s twin brother, Gen’s StormMaker boyfriend Pollux, has been pulling away from Gen due to troubles stemming from her mind magic. With Castor’s pirate-thief girlfriend and Pollux’s servant companion in tow, the unlikely team embarks on its voyage. But war is only an insult away in Elysium, and more than the Emperor has their eyes on Gen’s mission. The quest has caught the attention of one of Elysium’s Oracles, and trouble is sure to brew with Prophecy on the rise.

Rachel Menard was born in New Jersey, raised in Arizona, and then relocated to Rhode Island. Throughout her life she has been a barista, college radio DJ, singer in an alt-country band, marketer, designer, and finally, a writer. Her short fiction has been featured on the "Cast of Wonders" podcast, and her nonfiction work has been seen in Writer's Digest.