For the 15th episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by fantasy author Shannon J. Spann to discuss her debut novel, "A Stage Set for Villains."

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Shannon J. Spann is a debut writer and social media strategist. In her spare time, she loves knitting, wandering her local bookstore, and of course, theatre.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

"A Stage Set for Villains"

The gods are dead. All that’s left are the Players…

The performers of the Playhouse are as worshipped as they are feared, their enchanting shows bending hearts, minds, and even reality itself. Vicious, godlike, lethal.

An encounter with a Player left eighteen-year-old Riven Hesper with a curse that is slowly killing her. When the Playhouse announces the spectacle of a lifetime, Riven infiltrates the competition. There, she finds Jude, the Playhouse’s brilliant, merciless Lead Player, whose charm is as dangerous as his Craft, and strikes a deadly bargain to save her life.

But with time running out and the Playhouse’s secrets unraveling into a disturbing picture, Riven faces a grim possibility: she might not be the hero of her story after all. In fact, she may be the villain.

For the 14th episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by debut fantasy author and book content creator Cait Jacobs!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Cait is a new author who has found escape through the fictional worlds of books. Their love of literature inspired them to found BookTok and The Bookington Book Club.

ABOUT THE BOOK: Their debut novel"The Princess Knight" features a princess desperate to win back the prince who broke her heart. She follows him to his kingdom’s prestigious military academy—and in doing so, falls in love, saves the realm, and continues to look fabulous.

For the 13th episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by fantasy author Elise Kova.

ELISE is a USA Today and internationally bestselling hybrid author. She enjoys telling stories of fantasy worlds filled with magic and deep emotions.

Her latest novel is the first installment of an enthralling fantasy romance series, "Arcana Academy." It's about a woman who wields magical tarot cards and lands herself in a false engagement with the headmaster of a mysterious academy.

For the 12th episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by debut fantasy author Amber Clement.

Amber writes Young Adult and Middle Grade fantasies full of glitter, determined girls, and captivating villains. As a Mexican-American, it's important to her that the stories she writes are full of the representation she craved as a young reader.

Her debut novel, "Fortune's Kiss," follows best friends Mayté and Lorena, who enter a legendary gambling den together. But once inside, they realize that beneath the enchanting glamour, Fortune's Kiss hides treacherous secrets.

For the 11th episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by cozy fantasy author Sarah Beth Durst.

Sarah is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thirty books for adults, teens, and kids, including the cozy fantasies “The Spellshop” and “The Enchanted Greenhouse.”

For the 10th(!) episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by cozy fantasy author Maria A. Eden.

Maria is the independent author of The Elemental Realm. This witchy, cozy duology features "The Gray Prophecy" (which was my book club pick for January 2025) and "A Vision of Lights."

For the ninth episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by contemporary author Terry J. Benton-Walker.

He’s the bestselling and award-winning author of the young adult contemporary fantasy series “Blood Debts,” the apocalyptic middle grade contemporary fantasy trilogy “Alex Wise vs the End of the World,” and editor and contributor of the young adult horror anthology “The White Guy Dies First”

For the eighth episode of The Nerd Tea, I'm joined by author Megan Scott, whose debut upper YA/lower NA supernatural fantasy story "The Temptation of Magic" blew me away with its excellent writing, dark academia aesthetic, and fun characters.