AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT
E.R. VALDEZ
E.R. VALDEZ
FacebookEnglish E.R. Valdez writes stories about ordinary people standing at the edge of extraordinary change. A lifelong believer in the quiet courage found in family, community, and second chances, he crafts novels that explore the places where brokenness and hope meet. Before turning to fiction, Emilio spent years working in education and youth development, experiences that shaped his understanding of resilience, belonging, and the complicated ways people learn to trust again. Those threads run through all his work, but especially through The Calling Begins, a novel born from his fascination with redemption, responsibility, and the healing power of showing up when it matters most. When he isn’t writing, Emilio can be found with his family — the people who ground him, challenge him, and remind him daily what love looks like in practice. He lives in Midwest United States, where he continues to build stories that honor the quiet, unseen moments that shape a life.
THE MISADVENTURES OF MARIGOLD EMBERBRIGHT: Book One: The Sneeze Before the Storm
by Emilio Valdez
Marigold Emberbright never means to cause trouble. Trouble just… finds her. It hides in pepper shakers, lurks in enchanted kitchens, and apparently waits for the perfect moment to explode out of her nose.
When one spectacular sneeze accidentally summons Fizzwhistle — a sparkly, contract‑wielding chaos spirit with questionable ethics and excellent showmanship — Marigold’s quiet morning becomes a magical disaster. Mushrooms march, kitchenware revolts, and ancient magic stirs beneath the world for the first time in centuries.
And all of it seems strangely interested in her.
But Marigold has bigger worries: proving she’s not the Emberbright who always messes things up, keeping her responsible older sister from panicking, and preventing Fizzwhistle from “helping” in ways that definitely do not help. Unfortunately, the sneeze that summoned him also activated a magical contract — one that grants Marigold three unpredictable boons she can’t refuse and can’t control.
As the Whisperwood rustles with warnings, the Vault of Found Things trembles, and forgotten magic begins to wake, Marigold must face the truth she’s always feared:
Sometimes the trouble you cause is the trouble you’re meant for.
A whimsical, heart‑bright fantasy full of chaotic magic, mischievous creatures, enchanted kitchens, sisterly bonds, and a girl who discovers that being “too much” might be exactly what her world needs. Perfect for fans of Pratchett humor, Ghibli wonder, and middle‑grade adventures with heart.
The sneeze has spoken. The chaos has begun. And Marigold’s destiny is about to get very sparkly.
Kindle Price: $4.99
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The Distance between Fathers: A Story of Fatherhood, Responsibility, and the Systems That Break Us
by Emilio Valdez
In 2024, after fifteen years of raising other people's children in a struggling youth home, Daniel Reyes was
arrested. Not for quitting. Not for failing. But for showing up.
What began as a calling — moving his family from Texas to rural Ohio to work as house parents in
residential youth care — became one of the most defining and devastating chapters of his life. Daniel and
his wife, Maria, gave everything: raising their children inside a dorm full of traumatized boys, navigating
burnout, compassion fatigue, and a system always on the edge of collapse.
He rose from house parent to Assistant Director. He guided the home through staff crises, emergencies,
and a pandemic. And then one chaotic night undid it all. A wrongful felony charge. Public accusation. Job
loss. Jail time. And the long, hard road back.
The Distance Between Fathers is a memoir about what it costs to serve others when the world stops
protecting you — and the faith, family, and stubborn hope that rebuilt one man from the ground up.
Perfect for readers of trauma-informed memoirs, faith-based nonfiction, social work narratives, foster care
stories, and redemptive true accounts of survival.
Kindle Price: $4.99
LEARN MORE NOW!Category: Religion & Spirituality
The Treaty of Two Worlds: A Steampunk Fantasy of Prophecy, Chaos, and Cracked Skies (The Aetherforge Chronicles Book 1)
by Emilio Valdez
When the sky cracks open and blue‑white aether spills across the dawn, three lives collide in a realm where magic misbehaves, machines have opinions, and prophecies refuse to wait their turn.
Aerin Vaelcrest never asked to be the Bridgeborn — the mythical child of two worlds destined to stop an ancient hunger from waking. He just wanted a quiet morning, a working wrench, and tea that didn’t glow ominously. Instead, a celestial crack brands him with a living glyph, every aether‑powered device in Brimvale tries to chase him down, and a very tired scholar informs him that destiny has filed a formal complaint.
Far across the realm, Princess Elowen Starcrest feels the shift ripple through the roots of Vael’thalas. Graceful, disciplined, and bound to the ancient forests, she has trained her whole life to protect her people. But nothing prepared her for the moment the trees whisper a single truth: He awakens. And she is the one who must find him.
And in the wilds between them, Mira Sunwhisper — a fae healer with too much sunshine and too little restraint — gleefully recites prophecies that may or may not rhyme, certain that destiny is finally getting interesting.
As the crack in the sky widens and the Devouring Eye stirs beneath the realms, Aerin, Elowen, and Mira are pulled into a collision course shaped by ancient magic, fractured prophecy, and a seal that was never meant to break.
To save their worlds, they must face:
- A reluctant chosen one who wants nothing to do with fate
- A principled elven princess whose fire runs deeper than her calm
- A chaotic fae healer who treats destiny like a hobby
- A prophecy with terrible timing
- A realm where magic and machinery both have opinions
- An ancient hunger waiting for the Bridgeborn to slip
A mythic‑warm, steampunk‑laced fantasy full of heart, humor, reluctant heroism, and sky‑shattering stakes — perfect for fans of Pratchett’s wit, Ghibli’s wonder, and character‑driven adventure.
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The Calling Begins: A Novel of Redemption, Reckoning, and Second Chances
by Emilio Valdez
When Daniel Mercer leaves Texas for a failing youth farm in rural Ohio, he isn’t chasing a dream — he’s answering a debt he’s carried for fourteen years. A debt born on a porch lit by a flickering bulb, a terrified boy, and a moment of hesitation that still haunts him.
Now, at thirty‑five, Daniel steps into a world of frost‑bitten mornings, broken fences, and boys who’ve learned to expect abandonment long before they expect kindness. The Southeastern Youth Farm & Academy needs a leader. The boys need stability. And Daniel needs a chance to become the man he once promised he’d be.
But healing doesn’t come quietly here.
Jonah, a soft‑spoken fourteen‑year‑old with shadows under his eyes, wakes from nightmares he refuses to explain. Mason, older and sharper, tests every boundary, daring Daniel to flinch the way every adult before him has. The staff is exhausted, the funding is thin, and the land itself seems to hold its breath — waiting to see if Daniel will stay or break.
As winter deepens and old memories claw their way back, Daniel finds himself caught between the man he was and the man these boys need. Every dawn in the barn, every late‑night crisis, every small moment of trust becomes a step toward something he never expected:
A calling.
A chance to rebuild what was broken — in them, and in himself.
A deeply emotional, character‑driven novel about redemption, found family, trauma recovery, and the quiet courage it takes to stay when running would be easier. Perfect for readers who love heartfelt contemporary fiction with grit, hope, and healing.
The past is calling. The boys are waiting. And Daniel’s reckoning begins now.
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Wake Up, Kylan Korr: A Psychological Thriller About the Morning That Changed Everything
by Emilio Valdez
The morning he woke up wasn’t his. The wife wasn’t his. The children weren’t his. But the symbols were.
Ten days into his honeymoon, Rylan Korr vanishes. When he wakes, he’s in a suburban home with a woman who calls herself his wife, five children who call him Dad, and a life he doesn’t remember living. The symbols — spirals, broken circles, a door with no handle — are etched into the walls. The children whisper truths no one else hears. And the Architect is watching.
As Rylan fights to reclaim his memories, he begins to unravel a terrifying truth: this reality is a correction. And he woke up wrong.
A haunting blend of psychological suspense and cosmic dread, Wake Up, Rylan Korr is a mind-bending thriller about identity, memory, and the cost of waking up the right way.
Kindle Price: $2.99
LEARN MORE NOW!Category: Mystery, Thriller & Suspense