Hello, friends. I trust you all had a safe and happy holiday season. Are you ready to load up your TBRs for 2026? If so, be sure and visit us often to find new and new-to-you authors and stories.
And I can't think of a better person to be the first introduction of 2026 than Paige Reed. Paige and I have been critique partners for five years, and I have watched her stories transform from good to amazing. I've had a front-row seat to the hard work she's poured into the Guardians of Areli series.
Here's a fun fact: When we first started critiquing and Paige told me her word count, my response was, "No publisher is going to buy that book." She listened and reworked her 3-book trilogy into two 3-book trilogies. In the course of these past years, she's made even more changes, and her stories are fuller, richer, and more immersive because of her desire to share the stories God wants her to share.
I am not normally a fantasy reader, but Paige's books have a familiar, historical tone that makes her world-building both new and comfortable. And y'all, this lady can write. You will be swept away with her beautiful writing and her captivating storytelling. But you don't have to take my word for it. Here's what one reviewer said about Reviving Embers (Paige's debut novel):
Immersive, thought-provoking, passionate, and clever are only a few of the terms I could use to describe this novel. What a gem in the Christian fantasy realm. It definitely leaves you anticipating more.
Paige has generously offered to give one of our readers a signed paperback of Reviving Embers (her debut novel). Be sure to read to the end to find out how to enter the giveaway.
Let's welcome Paige to the diamond mine.
Meet Paige Reed
Suzie: Welcome, Paige. I am delighted to introduce you to our readers, so let's get started.
Would you rather live without internet for a year or without air conditioning and heating for a year?
Paige: The internet—as long as I had a different way to research, market, and publish my books, lol. I’m one of those sorts who are on the internet because I have to be, not because I love it.
But heating? I live in the north country and that is a desperate need in my life :-)
Suzie: I couldn't bear the Tennessee summers without AC myself (but I do use the internet every day)
Would you rather give up social media or eat the same dinner for the rest of your life?
Paige: For sure, social media! I’m a foodie, and foodies can’t handle “the same” anything too many times in a row.
Suzie: I agree with the social media (although I am okay with "the same" for a while). Tell us a little about you—family, hobbies, day job, or whatever you’d like to share that’s not in your bio.
Paige: I’m an avid gardener. At least, I avidly enjoy gardening. Unfortunately, flowers and herbs are the only things that have grown well—so I’ve never had enough surplus of produce to make canning worth it. My husband and I joke that if the economy goes belly up and had to live off my garden, we’d have one good day before starving to death ;-)
Suzie: I can't even keep flowers or herbs alive.
What are three books on your current tbr?
Paige: The Huntress by Carrie Cotton … because it’s a bestseller in my genre.
Sense and Suitability by Pepper Basham … because I’m a die-hard classics fan. So much so, if you would have told me I would be an author one day, I would have assumed I’d write historical fiction. But alas, my characters insisted their story be told in a different time and place, so I became a fantasy writer instead. And I might just love it.
Cerulean Rose by Demi Griffin … because I love fairytale rewrites with spiritual layers.
Suzie: What does your writing space look like?
Paige: I write at a standing desk, located in our house’s loft, that overlooks a panorama of rolling hills, trees, and huge, expressive sky. The view makes my heart incredibly happy and helps my creative juices flow.
But the surface of my desk is a wee bit crowded right now. Between writing a series and needing to have access to all of its parts and pieces at a moment’s notice, trying to figure out this marketing thing, and a plethora of art supplies for drawing fantasy maps for said series, I’m thinking I need a piece of furniture to help me stay organized while being able to still find everything. A cute, white or distressed-white dresser with three drawers stacked on top of each other should do the trick. And I think the color would pair with the buttermilk yellow walls and European cottage vibe I have going on up there.
And did I mention it would be cute?
Suzie: That would be cute. Would you share with us a little about your road to publication?
Paige: I tried to go the traditional route.
I studied craft.
I joined crit groups.
I entered unpublished contests—even won the Genesis and Virginia Christian Writers Awards—hoping to earn the attention of a trad publisher and agent.
I even met with one of the top agents in the Christian publishing world.
However, I didn’t realize how the publishing industry worked. Didn’t know that if the Christian publishing houses hadn’t built a market for romantic fantasy, then they weren’t going to pick up my manuscript no matter how well written it was or how popular the genre was becoming.
Which meant that this technology-challenged and marketing-adverse individual—who gets a grand total of two or three likes on any social media post—had to learn how to publish and sell her own books.
Don’t get me going on the desperate, overwhelming search to find professional-grade editors and cover designer …
But the Lord is right here in all the unexpected, guiding my faltering, inadequate footsteps. I’m inching forward. In July of 2025 I published my first book—Reviving Embers, prequel to the Guardians of Areli series. Then released the second book in October of 2025. Annnnnd—I have two more scheduled to release in 2026.
Suzie: The publishing industry is rough, no matter which route you choose to go. What are some of your favorite things about writing romantacy?
Paige: Always, I love the romance. There is something so intrinsically beautiful about the strong and powerful gentling themselves to woo the heart and trust of the fairer sex. It reminds me of how
Christ set aside His resplendent glory—that would have frightened or overwhelmed us—and took on the form of a servant to win His bride. I also adore the process of the MMC and FMC
I also enjoy world building. My approach to fantasy is probably different than most. I love using a different time and place to interact with foundational, eternal truths that are alive and real in our world. It’s my desire to magnify, articulate, and remember again with my reader the spectacular realities that get lost in our harsh, broken, now and now.
And I cherish the opportunity to organically weave in the truest and deepest delight of the human experience—that place where the finite crosses paths with the Infinite, or the sinner discovers the Savior, or the wounded meets the Restorer.
Suzie: Sounds like you are in the exact genre you are supposed to be in. Tell us more about your upcoming release.
Paige: Rending Hearts is the third installment in the Guardians of Areli series … and my favorite book yet.
And I’m not just saying that.
Middle books can be difficult to write—which is why a lot of fantasy writers go with the whole “one of the main characters is now possessed and their mind has been altered/hijacked,” as seen in the Hunger Games.
And there’s nothing wrong with writing or loving a story with that twist.
But between you and me, I don’t enjoy these deviations. When I go on a journey with a character, I want to discover who they are and watch them authentically grow and transform over the course of the story.
Yet going without a major setback along this order forces the plot and characters to carry the momentum. There is no “how will they get free?” taking up a lot of space and time.
And I’m thrilled to say this cast of characters nailed it all on their own. The book sort of wrote itself, and I can’t wait for my readers to get to experience the incredible lows and highs of this next installment in the battle for Areli.
Suzie: I'm looking forward to reading it. What are you currently working on?
Paige: The fourth and final book in the Guardians of Areli series—which brings my first epic romantic fantasy to completion. Three books' worth of threads and character development are coming to a climax, and it’s incredibly satisfying to build each scene. This final book is coming together better than my wildest
imaginations.
And … I’m also working on two companion novellas that cover the love stories of beloved secondary characters. I’m super excited about these stories because they will give us a glimpse behind the scenes and into both territories and struggles that I don’t have time to cover in the main series—but are super delightful and hopefully every bit as inspiring.
Suzie: It's bittersweet saying goodbye to a series. How can we pray for you?
Paige: Wow. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this question.
Two things come to mind—
1. That each book will reach its full potential.
2. That I will find my readers. I’m still in the infant stages of building my author career and it’s a pretty big, overwhelming world out there. Sometimes, it feels like I’m launching my stories into a void. But the Lord had specific readers in mind when He led me to write these books, and I would love to find them :-)
Suzie: Thank you for spending some time with us, Paige.
About Reviving Embers
He vowed to protect his people no matter the cost. But what if the cost is her?
Twelve years ago, the Shields of Power saved Paul Marshall's family from annihilation. Now a man, he’ll stop at nothing to earn a place among the elite council sworn to protect the Shields’ source of strength.
But no one with common blood has been appointed for centuries.
To rise, Paul must train with the nobility and secure influential connections in a world that doesn’t want him. His chances go from slim to impossible when he attracts formidable enemies—and the affections of a woman he can never have.
Verity Scillician, noble born and destined to marry the crown prince, struggles to accept the path laid out for her. Emptiness haunts her, forbidden pursuits call, and Paul tugs at every hungry place inside her. But breaking free from the expectations of her family and class could ruin her.
Subversive influences sweep Areli into a war of ideologies that threatens their past and future. As they fight to preserve their heritage, and the attraction between them deepens to love, Paul and Verity must decide if they will obey the ancient warning to stoke the fire within …
Even if the flame consumes their dreams.
About Revealing Shadows
There is treachery without. And treachery within.
Prince Beniah receives this cryptic warning when a lethal storm drives him to take refuge in the Western Cliffs. Yet the tension between him and his father compels him to hide his investigation.
Evidence of conspiracy continues to stack. A divisive treaty. Scarred earth. The opening of Areli’s borders to their ancient enemy. A murder. As the threat to his kingdom escalates, Beniah faces chilling questions …
Who is the mastermind? And who is their ultimate target?
Anne has lived her life cloaked in obscurity and rejection. Hidden behind a hair scarf and tinted glasses, she serves the High King and Areli with quiet devotion. But disturbing revelations force her to choose between staying safe in the shadows or betraying her sect by reaching across the class chasm for help.
As the web of mystery tightens, Beniah’s and Anne’s paths—and loyalties—cross treasonous boundaries, making discovery even more dangerous. Yet when their enemies close in, no safe options remain.
Either they step into the light and risk revealing their deepest-held secrets …
Or they let the shadows swallow them whole.
Giveaway
Would you like to read Reviving Embers? Paige is giving one of you a signed paperback (US addresses only). To enter, simply leave a comment and tell us which of the above tropes are you're most interested in reading about.
Giveaway ends at midnight CST on 1/14/26.
