Category: Announcements

  • Meet the Author: Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince Rhode Island Event

    Meet the Author: Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince Rhode Island Event

    Join me for my first public author event in Rhode Island!

    On Thursday, August 6, I will be at the Field of Artisans Concert Series at South Kingstown Town Beach, signing copies of my debut fantasy novel, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.

    Come step into the Netherwood, meet a local Rhode Island author, and discover an award-winning story of two sisters, courage, trust, and brave love.

    Winner of the Chick Lit Book Café Book Excellence Award, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince is a fantasy adventure for young readers, families, and anyone who still believes that goodness can be brave.

    Families are especially welcome. Younger and older children may choose from two complimentary Netherwood coloring pages, and every book purchased at the event can be personally inscribed.

    Come for the books, stay for the concert, and enjoy an evening by the sea with local artists and makers.

    Event Details

    Thursday, August 6, 2026
    4:00–8:00 PM
    South Kingstown Town Beach
    719 Matunuck Beach Road
    South Kingstown, Rhode Island

    Available at the event:

    • Signed hardcover copies — $25
    • Founders Bundle — $75, including a signed hardcover and Netherwood sweatshirt
    • Personalized inscriptions
    • Complimentary Netherwood bookmark with every book purchase
    • Netherwood coloring pages for younger and older children
    • Bookish merchandise to carry you deeper into the Netherwood
    • A first glimpse into the forthcoming second book in the series

    I would be delighted to meet you there and welcome you into the world of the Netherwood. Save the date, bring your family, and please share this invitation with anyone who might enjoy an evening of books, art, music, and a little enchantment by the sea. 🦊🪾

    Will I see you at the beach?

  • Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince A Journey to #1 New Release on Amazon

    Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince A Journey to #1 New Release on Amazon

    Amazon category ranking screenshot showing #1 New Release for Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince (Feb 26, 2026).

    A Milestone for Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince has been reached!

    Today I am sharing an accomplishment that I honestly had not even considered before it happened.

    On February 26, 2026, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince was named #1 New Release in Classic Coming-of-Age Fiction on Amazon!

    I am so deeply grateful. This is a celebration that I am holding onto for the moment is the direct result of craft, leadership, and identity.

    Craft is the quiet part that people don’t always see. It’s the countless revisions. The belaboring over each and every punctuation. It’s learning to uncover the magic of what your story is actually about and having the courage to rewrite it until it finally matches the feeling in your chest you want to emulate.

    Leadership, in the indie author world, often looks like leading yourself. Choosing consistency and learning how to be disciplined. Creating the structure behind creating and keeping to imaginary deadlines where no one else is holding you accountable. Holding to those standards even when you’re bone tired.

    Identity is what remains when the excitement wears off. The sentence you return to when you’re not sure that you are supposed to be doing this. I am a writer. I finish what I start. I create worlds.

    If you’re new here, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince is a YA fantasy about two sisters, a forbidden forest, and the kind of courage I call wild-hearted bravery—the bravery that shows up while your hands are still trembling.

    Where to Buy

    Want the behind-the-scenes letters?

    If you want the story behind the story, the real-time journey, the world-building, and the quiet truths that built this book—come join Letters from the Netherwood on my Substack.

    Thank you for being here. Thank you for believing in this world.
    The Netherwood is calling—and today, I’m answering back, and I wish you would join me too.

  • Explore the New Netherwood Bookmarks and Stickers

    Explore the New Netherwood Bookmarks and Stickers

    • Netherwood sticker bundle (3-pack) featuring quote sticker and Fox Prince designs from Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.
    • Fox Prince sticker cutout from the Netherwood merch set. Bookish reader extra inspired by Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.
    • Exclusive Netherwood Sticker from the Netherwood merch set. Bookish reader extra inspired by Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.
    • Quote sticker from the Netherwood merch set. Bookish reader extra inspired by Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.
    • The official Netherwood Bookmark. Bookish reader extra inspired by Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.
    • Close-up of the official Netherwood Bookmark. Bookish reader extra inspired by Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.

    Please help me welcome the Netherwood into the physical realm.

    I’ve been working hard behind the scenes to bring these pieces to life. I have been taking time proofing details, refining the feel, and making sure that our first pieces of merchandise feel like a true extension of Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince…not just “swag,” but a story that you can hold.

    If you have started your adventure into the Netherwood and you feel like you can practically step into it, this experience is my sought-after ideal state. This is the next best extension, with more immersive merchandise coming soon!

    Shop The Drop

    Bookmark Bundle: https://sabrina-giacalone.myshopify.com/products/sera-lily-the-fox-prince-bookmark-bundle

    Sticker Pack (3-pack): https://sabrina-giacalone.myshopify.com/products/sera-lily-the-fox-prince-sticker-bundle-3-pack?variant=43010610495601

    Bookmark: https://sabrina-giacalone.myshopify.com/products/sera-lily-the-fox-prince-bookmark?variant=43010610298993

    The First Official Merch Drop

    Now available in my official author shop on Shopify

    These were designed as reader keepsakes, little forget-me-not physical remembrances to keep on your bookshelf, planner, and the pages you return to over and over again. Little reminders of trust, friendship, and wild-hearted bravery.

    Bookmark Bundle – $16.99

    This is the bundle that you can bring with you, a portal you can tuck into your current chapter plus instant digital access so the story is always within reach.

    This includes, an official Netherwood Bookmark, instant access to the eBook, and companion materials.

    This is the easiest way to support the project and bring the story home in one click.

    Shop the Bookmark Bundle

    Sticker Bundle (3-pack) – $4.99

    If your kiddos are like mine, then these small pieces of the Netherwood are priceless. They can be scattered into real life to bring the Netherwood into the physical realm. Place them on a water bottle, laptop, or journal. Add them to your Kindle case, or anywhere you want a reminder of courage, friendship, and the kind of magic that asks you to bring your wild-hearted bravery.

    This includes, a quote sticker, a Fox Prince cutout, and an exclusive Netherwood-themed design.

    These are best for gifts, stocking stuffers, book decor, journaling, and really anywhere you can place a sticker!

    Shop the Sticker Bundle

    Official Netherwood Bookmark – $3.99

    Finally, we have our polished, collectible reader extra that makes this book feel real to me. This is made for people who underline lines, dog-ear pages, and keep a story close long after finishing the closing chapter.

    This is best for nightly reading rituals, a simple gift, or even your bookstagram flat lays!

    Shop the Bookmark

    Please consider supporting this project

    When you support this project, you are supporting more than a shop update.

    You’re helping me to keep building good-natured stories for our young people. Stories that are rooted in trust, friendship, sisterhood, and wild-hearted bravery. The kind of stories that leave readers feeling steadier, softer, and stronger.

    The simplest way is to buy a book. You can also add a little Netherwood keepsake to pair with this new read.

    Help me bring more light-forward fantasy into this world.

    And keep an eye out because more merch drops are coming soon, and they are genuinely so much fun. With each one, I think of my daughters, whom I wrote this story for.

    This is a small-batch first drop, and I will restock as quickly as I can depending on demand. If you have been waiting, I recommend grabbing what you want now so you don’t have to wait for the restock!

    If you’d like to be the first to know when the next items launch, join the newsletter or follow us on social media.

    Subscribe on Substack

    Your in Ink,

    Sabrina

    P.S. If you post your merch, tag me! I would love to come along for the adventure of seeing the Netherwood stepping into your world!

  • Explore Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince on Amazon

    Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince is live on Amazon!

    Today is yet another remarkable milestone I have been dreaming about. Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince is officially available for purchase and download on Amazon and Kindle!

    Choose Your Reading Adventure

    Option 1: Kindle (Amazon) – $9.99

    If you love reading on your Kindle device or using the Kindle app, you can now get a copy directly through Amazon. It’s your very own copy to enjoy.

    Search for “Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince“, search my name, Sabrina Giacalone, or click here.

    Option 2: Direct Download From My Website – $14.99

    If you would like to support the book and me directly, you can purchase the Ebook from my website. This version includes bonus concept art. It serves as a thank-you for being an early reader. You are also helping me bring this world to life beyond this page!

    Your direct purchase from our website includes:

    • The Netherwood image download
    • The Kingdom of Light map download
    • Front Cover Art download
    • PDF Ebook
    • EPub Ebook

    Option 3: Pre-Order Your Hardcover Copy

    If you are like me, and prefer a hard copy to read, you will have to wait just a few more weeks. We are working together now with the printer to be able to bring this world into the physical realm.

    Along with your pre-order you will be receiving a few extra merchandise perks including:

    • Stickers
    • Bookmark
    • Print of The Netherwood

    Want to Support the Book in a HUGE Way?

    If you read and love it, please leave a review. This is one of the most powerful ways to help me as an indie author.

    No matter the format in which you read the book, please leave an honest review for me. You can do this either on the Contact page and/or on an Amazon review. It would mean the world to me!

    Even a few sentences make an enormous difference in visibility. They help the story find the readers it was written for.

    Are You Brave Enough to Adventure Into the Netherwood?

    Two sisters. One forbidden forest.

    Lily was named for the white lilies of the field, pale as winter moonlight, serene and thoughtful  until the moment her temper flashes and proves quiet does not mean weak. Sera—Seraphina—is honey-fire, quick-witted, fearless, and impossible to ignore, her laughter filling rooms as if it belongs there.

    They’ve been warned their whole lives to stay out of the Netherwood.

    But when the sisters rescue a small white fox and uncover a strange red-stoned pendant—an ancient relic whispered to be the Heart of Unity—they realize this isn’t just a haunted forest.

    It’s a curse.

    And the one who cast it is still out there: the Gnome, clever as poison, greedy as hunger, and obsessed with power—and with turning trust into a weapon. He doesn’t just want to win. He wants them to suffer.

    Now Lily’s quiet strength and Sera’s fire must hold against riddles, trials, and bargains designed to split them in two because the Netherwood doesn’t attack from the outside.

    It creeps in.

    It learns your voice.

    And it uses darkness to convince you to turn on the people you love most.

    …Welcome to The Netherwood

  • Unveiling the Kingdom of Light: Map Insights for Readers

    Unveiling the Kingdom of Light: Map Insights for Readers

    Today I get to share something I’ve been dreaming about for a long time. It is the official map of The Kingdom of Light. This is the primary kingdom in my debut YA fantasy novel, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.

    If you love fantasy stories that feel like stepping into a living world, you already understand why this matters. Every road hints at a choice, and every border suggests danger. A map isn’t just decoration.

    It’s a promise:

    This world is real enough to get lost in.

    Why “The Kingdom of Light”?

    In the story, the Kingdom of Light represents what is known. What is structured, named, and understood. It’s the realm where the rules make sense… before the Netherwood begins to challenge what the characters think is true.

    Behind the Scenes: How I Built the Map

    Whenever I design anything for this book, I first consider one question.

    Does this make the story feel more immersive?

    So while creating the Kingdom of Light map, I focused on:

    • It is easy to read
    • The travel logic makes sense
    • It helps to built character to pair well with the story
    • It creates a sense of wonder, because who doesn’t like the surprise of getting sucked into a separate world?

    I wanted it to feel like something you might find tucked inside an old book. I thought that it should be inked with intention and filled with quiet clues.

    The Kingdom of Light Map

    The Kingdom of Light from YA Fantasy Novel Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince

    What’s Next?

    This is the first of several world-building reveals I’ll be sharing. The Kingdom of Light is only the beginning… and as you can see, the Netherwood is always near.

    If you’d like to see more map details, leave a comment. Alternatively, you can send me a message.

    I love hearing what readers are curious about. If you want a future post breaking down landmarks without spoilers, let me know.

    Here are my questions for you:

    • Does anything feel confusing or hard to read at first glance?
    • What’s the first place your eyes go?
    • Does it make you curious about the story?

    Welcome to the Kingdom of Light.
    And if you’re brave enough… welcome to the Netherwood.

    —Sabrina

  • Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince: EBook Release

    Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince: EBook Release

    We are finally here. Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince is officially live—and I’m equal parts thrilled, grateful, and a little bit emotional, if I had to admit.

    If you’ve been following this journey, thank you so much for coming along on this adventure alongside me.

    If you’re just arriving: Welcome to the Netherwood!

    Where to Get the EBook

    1. Direct download from my website – $14.99
      • This option includes bonus concept art downloads as a thank-you for supporting the book directly.
    2. Kindle (Amazon) – $9.99
      • The Kindle listing is pending approval with Amazon. As soon as it is live, it’ll be available there at the Kindle price.
      • We have a pending 72 hour posting window as of February 7th, 2026

    Bonus: Concept Art Included

    You’ll receive a link to download the EBook once your purchase is confirmed. The link will also be sent to your email. You will also get a few special extras. These downloads include concept art bonuses that bring the world to life beyond the pages.

    Map Update

    The map is still being created, and I promise it’ll be worth the wait. If you purchase before the map is ready to download, you’ll still have access. This will happen as soon as the linework is finished and uploaded. No one is missing out–early readers will be first in line!

    Thank You for Being Here

    This story began as something I wanted to write for my daughters. It is a fantasy rooted in goodness and courage. It embodies the sort of love that holds steady when the world tries to pull you apart.

    And now it’s yours.

    If you read it, I’d love to hear what you think—your favorite line, your favorite character, the moment you felt the forest shift. Please submit an email on the Contact page.

    Share your experience and what you liked best about Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince.

    Welcome to the Netherwood.

  • Two Days Until Launch

    We Are Finally Here

    It is hard to believe that we are only two days away from the digital launch of my debut YA fantasy novel, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince. I’ve been writing, revising, world-building, and (lovingly) obsessing over this story for more than two years–and somehow, it’s finally time to send it off into the world.

    Where it All Began

    This path unfurled when I decided upon my next adventure: I wanted to write a children’s fantasy story rooted in goodness for my then 7 and 9-year-old daughters.

    Something warm.

    Something brave.

    Something meaningful.

    What started as a picture book idea with a moral lesson and a hidden twist (the kind you talk about over dinner) grew into something bigger: a 19-chapter, coming-of-age YA novel centered on two sisters–14 and 15–whose love for each other is tested by hinting shadows, old magic, and a forest that doesn’t just surround you…

    …it learns you.

    I have been pouring my heart and soul into these pages. I cannot wait for you to step into this world alongside me.

    Get Your Early Reader Materials

    Tomorrow (the day before the release), I’m sharing a special bundle of early reader goodies–perfect if you’re excited to preview the story, share it with a friend, or help spread the word.

    Here’s what will be available:

    • Early release of the first chapter

    Head on over to my contact page and sign up to receive it directly in your inbox.

    Where to Get Your Digital Copy

    I’m self-publishing through KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing), and you’ll be able to grab the ebook as soon as it drops.

    (And if you prefer Kindle, you’ll also be able to find it through Amazon via KDP.)

    Download it directly from the Books page.

    When is The Hardcover Copy Being Released

    The hardcover ship date is March 21st, 2026!

    If you want the hardcover, you can preorder your book here.

  • We Submitted the Copyright Application (February 2, 2026)

    Crossing a Threshold

    Yesterday—February 2, 2026—we submitted the copyright application for my debut YA fantasy novel, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince!

    I’ve been sitting with that sentence, letting it land.

    For the past two years, this story has lived in the quiet cracks of life. Notes I scribbled when I should’ve been sleeping, scenes that played in my head while life moved fast around me, and in the soft insistence that kept returning even when I tried to set it down.

    And now it has crossed a threshold.

    Not because it’s “done,” because creative work is never as tidy as we want it to be, and I have come to accept that. But because it’s real in a new way, it is named, protected, and moving forward with intention.

    What this moment means to me

    Publishing a first book is such a strange mix of emotions.

    It’s excitement—because I can finally see the path forward unfurling like a fern.
    It’s vulnerability—because stories are not just products; they’re pieces of a person, and I am usually pretty reserved.
    And it’s relief—because taking a legal, tangible step feels like planting a flag in the ground that says:

    This matters. I’m doing this. I’m honoring the work.

    A story about sisterhood… and choosing the light even in the midst of a shadowy darkness that studies you

    At its core, Sera, Lily & The Fox Prince is a story about two sisters and a forbidden forest.

    But the Netherwood isn’t the kind of danger you can outrun.

    It doesn’t only attack from the outside.
    It creeps in.
    It learns your voice.
    And it uses darkness to convince you to turn on the people you love most.

    I wrote this book because I’ve always been fascinated by the way trust can be tested—not just by villains and obvious threats, but by subtler forces: fear, doubt, grief, pride… and the stories we tell ourselves when we’re hurting.

    Lily and Sera are different kinds of strength—quiet moonlight and honey-fire—yet both are powerful in their own way. And watching them face something designed to split them apart has been one of the most meaningful things I’ve ever created.

    What’s next

    This week is about forward motion—steady, real steps.

    • Finalizing the steps for print and digital setup
    • Securing ISBNs
    • Prepping early-reader materials and updates
    • Building the foundations for launch
    • Scheduling our launch timeline

    If you’d like to follow along, I’ll be sharing updates here, and through my newsletter.

    Want the first chapter?

    If you want to be part of this from the beginning, you can join my email list for first-chapter access, bonus scenes, and release updates.

    No spam, I promise. Just stories.

    Thank you for being here at the very start.

    This is one of those moments I know I’ll remember.