ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Author Joan M. Miller has been writing for as long as she can remember, with one of her earliest successes being a poem she had published in her elementary school newspaper. She wrote several novels while still in high school, sharing them with her classmates one chapter at a time as she completed writing them, and has won honourable mention in two separate short-story-writing competitions. 

Joan kept her children amused—and encouraged them to read—by creating bedtime stories that she read to them each evening. She revisited these stories once she retired, and they eventually became the books of the Jessica’s Quest series. A Dragon’s Tears, Jup-Jup’s Giant Adventure, and now Zorianna, the Crystal Sorceress are the first three books of this series, and there are many more waiting to be published…. 
Joan and her husband are currently enjoying retirement in their home at Lake of the Woods, Ontario, where—in addition to writing new stories—she enjoys quilting, gardening, working with stained-glass, and spending time with family. 

BOOK ONE

The Dragon’s Tears

​Fourteen-year-old Jessica Graves is stuck spending the summer in the countryside with her eccentric Aunt Esmeralda. Feeling abandoned by her parents, Jessica expects the time to drag with no friends and nothing to do. But when her aunt encourages Jessica to read and leaves her alone in a library with towering bookshelves, something magical happens. Reading has always been hard for Jessica but an ancient-looking, red-leather-bound book entices her into its pages—quite literally. 

Jessica enters the Kingdom of Glimmer with turreted castles, magnificent horses, dashing knights, and a charming princess and prince who befriend her. But this exciting magical realm also holds danger as Jessica navigates uncharted feelings, evil spells, peculiar dragons, and wicked foes with the help of an oddly familiar mentor. Throughout the adventure, Jessica rises to new challenges, forges her own path, and realizes that she can be the hero of the story.
Young teenage readers will recognize their own trials in this coming-of-age modern fairytale. From dealing with insecurity and loneliness to defending others and standing up for herself, Jessica discovers the power of love and friendship—even when things are turned upside down. A charming tale that combines fantasy and magic with empowerment, The Dragon’s Tears is the first book in the Jessica's Quest series.

BOOK TWO

Jup-Jup’s Giant Adventure

​When fourteen-year-old Jessica Graves was sent to spend the summer at her aunt’s house in the countryside, she was definitely not pleased. She had much better things to do with her summer vacation. But that all changed when she discovered an ancient, red leather-bound book in her aunt’s library. 

The first time she opened it, Jessica found herself, quite literally, inside a world of magic and wonder. And she had been eagerly awaiting a chance to return to the Magical Realms ever since. 

However when that chance finally comes, she does not meet a charming prince and princess, and dashing knights in shining armour like she did the first time. Instead, she encounters a giant named Jup-Jup who is searching for more of his kind. As this unlikely duo travels together, Jessica discovers much about giants, and Jup-Jup learns how to live in a world of humans.​
The two share many adventures, including an encounter with unscrupulous giant hunters, a battle with a fearsome swamp creature, and a run-in with rogue, man-eating giants. Through it all, Jessica learns once again about the value of friendship and the necessity of doing the right thing—even when that might not be the easiest thing to do. ​

Oh, and by the way, their search is successful, and Jup-Jup finally finds more giants… but then what happens?​

BOOK THREE

​ZORIANNA, THE CRYSTAL ENCHANTRESS​​

Fifteen-year-old Jessica Graves could barely contain her excitement. The school year was finally over, and she was returning once more to spend the summer at her Aunt Esmeralda’s comfortable old farmhouse. It’s been almost a year since Jessica’s last visit to the Magical Realms—an amazing world of fantasy that she discovered within the pages of a very old and very magical book in her aunt’s library—and she was looking forward to the new adventures that awaited her there.

This time when she returns to the Magical Realms to visit her friends Jangova and Tadius, she is thrilled to meet their new baby, Prince Tamurn. But when the prince is kidnapped by an army of Dark Knights, Jessica learns that she must travel to the kingdom of Zorianna, the Crystal Enchantress to discover where the baby has been taken. The news is not good, for Zorianna reveals that the prince is being held in The Barren Lands by the evil sorceress, Queen Kalesh. 
At the request of Zorianna, King Anzee and his people, the Kai-Kai, agree to travel with Jessica and to help her on her quest—even though their previous dealings with Kalesh have not been pleasant … to say the least. When Jessica leads the small group into The Barren Lands, she soon faces the greatest danger that she has ever encountered in the Magical Realms. If she and her friends hope to rescue the prince from the dark magic of the wicked queen, Jessica must once again have faith that she will be able to do what is right—in the face of overwhelming odds that truly seem to be insurmountable.    

But how can the small group expect to defeat the evil magic of Kalesh ... or the awesome power of her Dark Knights? How can they hope to rescue the infant prince?  

Will they be successful, or will the Magical Realms be doomed … falling under the dark thrall of the evil sorceress, Kalesh, forever…

BOOK FOUR OF JESSICA’S QUEST

COMING SOON
​THE GREAT DARKNESS

When a Great Darkness threatens to overwhelm the Magical Realms, it also seems to affect the real world. The Earth Spirit of the East names Jessica Graves as the bearer of the emerald that is the source of all of her power, and she instructs the young woman to take the gem to the Western Region and place it on the Life Source—where the Serene Sapphire of the Spirit of the North is already in place. During her journey, Jessica meets a young woman named Monbeia, who is the bearer of the Ancient Ruby of the South, and a boy named Limtan, who is the bearer for the Canary Diamond of the West. The three friends must learn to trust one another and to work together, if they hope to defeat the evil powers of the Wizard Drakia—and if they are to succeed in destroying the Great Darkness and returning light to the Magical Realms.

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