City of Lights 

(Book 1 in the Far from Home Series)

by Kelly Byrd

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GENRE: Middle Grade Fantasy

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BLURB:

What happens when oh so ordinary Mary Jingo, follows her instincts (and her nose) and ends up in a magical land Far From Home?

In City of Lights, author Kelly Byrd introduces readers to Mary, who is one week away from finishing fifth grade. Mary’s mind is on starting middle school in the fall and finally getting her own phone. But then this ordinary girl notices glimmers of light and meets a strange little man who conjures the best smell she has ever smelled. Before she even stops to consider what she’s doing, she agrees to accompany the man to the land of LeeChee, where our Mary Jingo from the Shadowlands in seen as warrior and a great hope.

Now this very ordinary girl must find a way to help save LeeChee from Thrall and restore the Everything—a magical life- and joy-giving force that somehow connects Mary’s world to LeeChee. How can she face the Void, the foul-smelling Shoeboxians, or the evil Mellie? And how can she do all of the Far From Home?

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EXCERPT

The Shoeboxians smiled even more nastily. Mary began to panic. The closer the Shoeboxians came, the more she could smell them, the more she wanted to run. She looked at Mikeala and whispered, “Do something!” 

Mikeala looked at her in bewilderment. 

“What do you want me to do? This isn’t the old days. I’m nonexistent without Bobble, and look at him—he can barely sit up. Besides, he has aftereffects! He can’t stop giggling.” 

It was true, Bobble was being wrenched by wave after wave of silent giggles. He lay on the ground moving silently and twitching. It was a wonder he wasn’t laughing out loud. 

“I sealed his mouth,” Mikeala said, as if she’d read Mary’s thoughts. “It’s not a particularly nice action, but he’s not right. And Mellie will not be laughed at. Besides, Bobble’s so stubborn; if he were right he’d have broken the seal by now.” 

Mary looked down into Mikeala’s large golden eyes and they looked trapped. Mary felt, deep inside herself, that this was wrong. If anyone should never feel trapped, it was Mikeala. Mary had never hated anything in her life. She hated that Mikeala felt trapped. 

“Mikeala, what happened to you?” Mary asked. Mary looked around wildly. There had to be something they could do. She had channeled or controlled or whatever on WindRunner’s back. Could she do it again? She searched inside herself and did not feel anything but fear. She suddenly remembered the trees, how alive they were. That this was their home. She knelt down and put her hand to forest floor. Quietly she whispered, “Please. Please. Help us.” 

Mary looked up to see Mikeala speaking to her when time slowed down. Mikeala’s mouth moved, but it took several seconds for her jaw to open. Mary turned her head, which took a lifetime, only to see the Shoeboxians unable to advance. Van Clare was frozen in mid-fling of a bomb from her Flike chain, toward one of the enormous Shoeboxian’s chest. Mary looked up above her to see a massive tree limb swinging through the air. The trees around them had responded to her call. And they were angry. While Mary and her friends and all of the surrounding Shoeboxians were frozen and unmoving, the limbs above them swung quick and angry through the night air, knocking Shoeboxians clear across the forest. 

The air around her snapped and time went back to its normal pace so suddenly that Mary felt it physically. Somewhere from her right, the wind from a swinging branch blew so powerfully that it knocked Mary and everyone else off their feet. A scream that sounded like Mellie’s voice was heard out of the darkness. Another blinding wind blew past and for a moment, Mary could not see. She heard a Shoeboxian somewhere nearby snarl and felt another rushing wind fly above her head. Then, silence.

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Kelly Byrd is a middle-grade author by choice, a writer by discipline, home-grown chef, and amateur gardener. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and two cute-as-buttons rescue pups. The Far From Home series is about growing up, finding your voice, and rescuing the Everything.

Website: https://www.kellybyrd.com/

Buy the book on Amazon: https://bit.ly/FarFromHome1

Follow Far from Home on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/farfromhomeseries/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FFHSeries

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

Kelly Byrd will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner

via rafflecopter during the tour.

a Rafflecopter giveaway