This semester launches the introduction of Sun & Moon Academy, a College of Supernatural Guardians that acts as an elite training program for a covert army charged with protecting the world’s supernatural community. Students are offered acceptance by invitation only, and after passing a series of gruelling trials to test their worthiness, the top tier are admitted to the hidden college under the mountain. This semester ten students will find themselves “marked” in a series of personalised trials that require them to defeat monsters and mayhem that threaten to destroy campus before time runs out. This is not your typical classroom exercise either. The longer each marked student takes to succeed, the higher the body count grows.

The first collection in the new Sun & Moon Academy spin-off features ten paranormal tales from some of the Collective’s award-winning and bestselling authors, including Kristie Cook, Tish Thawer, Belinda Boring, Rose Garcia, Victoria Flynn, EJ Fechenda, Amy Richie, Victoria Escobar, and Justine Winter. In addition to the collection’s variety of authors, the diversity of supernatural creatures you can expect to find in attendance at SMA runs from vampires to shifters, to angels, and even Valkyries. The students themselves, when they’re not practicing magic, include a host of new faces, familiar family names, and an inclusive student body that takes care to represent the diverse voices of a true university campus. SMA, with its Norse mythology flair and an under-mountain campus that makes Hogwarts Castle look plain by comparison, is truly a home for all furred, fanged, and feathery.

As with any collection, some stories are stronger than others, but all remain true to the unique voice of Havenwood Falls, proving again publisher and Universe-creator Kristie Cook’s unquestionable talent for collaborative world-building and visionary storytelling. Personal favourites in Sun & Moon Academy Book 1 include EJ Fechenda’s “Time to Live”, a story about a time-spinning witch who finds herself torn between the ghost of a boy she visits in a netherworld and her love interest in real time, and Rose Garcia’s “Chasing Time”, wherein Infiniti Clausman (a recent addition to Havenwood Falls High, the universe’s YA fantasy line) finds the power within herself to overcome her challenge.

Whether it’s a supernatural love-triangle you’re interested in or something a little darker, it’s impossible not to fall in love with these characters and their world. As for this reviewer, I’m still holding out for my Hogwarts letter, but if a wooden puzzle box with a star and moon etched on top shows up on my doorstep, I might trade in my wand and head to Havenwood Falls and Sun & Moon Academy instead.

Sun & Moon Academy Book One: Fall Semester is available from Amazon as of October 29th 2019.

Will you be picking up Sun & Moon Academy Book One: Fall Semester? Tell us in the comments below!

Synopsis | Goodreads

Ten paranormal tales and one page-turning supernatural academy story in this spinoff from the award-winning Havenwood Falls universe.

The brand new Sun & Moon Academy College of Supernatural Guardians is an elite training program for a covert army that protects the supernatural community around the world. After a series of grueling trials to test their worthiness, only the top tier of applicants are admitted to the hidden college under the mountain.

We are ten of those students.

We’re a powerful mix of shifters, witches, vampires, demigods, angels, and more, making SMA no ordinary university. Throw in classes about healing potions, inter-dimensional exploration, and combat training, and college life here is a bit . . . well, unusual. But we still must juggle studying, obnoxious roommates, and killer parties. And, of course, we always make room for romance. How can we not? No other place in the world teems with such a sexy fusion of brains and badassery.

But classes haven’t even begun when our campus is terrorized, and the dangers continue throughout the semester—a hacker who threatens to publicly expose our school, a string of vampire attacks, invisible beasts with deadly bites, cursed classrooms that devour those who dare enter . . . What the hell kind of place is this, anyway?

For some reason that not even the Board of Regents has been able to figure out, it’s up to the ten of us to defeat these monsters and mayhem—before the sands in the big courtyard hourglass run out. Yep, we’re being timed, and the bodies are dropping almost as fast as the crystals. If any of us fail, this first semester of SMA just might be the last one ever.

In this unique anthology of over 750 pages, you not only get ten paranormal fantasy novellas, but one sweeping story that will have you flipping pages until the end. Learn more at http://havenwoodfalls.com/.

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Havenwood Falls, a fantasy universe architected by a collective of award-winning and best-selling authors, is no different. Set in a box canyon in the picturesque western Colorado mountains, a couple of hours’ drive from the nearest box store and surrounded by snow-capped mountains, forested acres, and streams and hot springs, Havenwood Falls is home to more supernatural creatures than one could shake a stick at—vampires, shifters, witches, fae, and even a unicorn or two. The town, which is protected by memory wards to keep away unwanted visitors and protect the privacy of its residents, is populated by both human and non-humans alike, a careful balance that is monitored by the town’s Court of the Sun and the Moon—a covert, governing body which consists of leaders of the Old Families of the town’s earliest settlers.

Created in 2017 by author Kristie Cook, the Havenwood Falls universe has grown to include an impressive 71 titles (compiled into 14 volumes) that span four distinct series—the titular line (Adult/NA), the Havenwood Falls High (YA), the Legends of Havenwood Falls (historical), and a darker, steamier line of paranormal romance, Sin & Silk—that guarantee a new favourite series for every reader. Each title is a standalone contribution to the universe, comprising endless stories with new and recurring characters that exist in the Havenwood Falls universe.

In this interview we sat down with Havenwood Falls creator, Kristie Cook, to learn more about the inspiration behind the world and where its characters might take us in the years to come.

When you did start HAVENWOOD FALLS, and who was on your initial team?

The idea of Havenwood Falls sparked several years ago, but it was just a fun thing in the back of my mind until early 2017, when I decided to see what I could do with it. A few of our authors—T.V. Hahn, Kallie Ross, Morgan Wylie, and Lila Felix—were part of my initial sounding board, as was a group of my readers. By the time we publicly announced it, we had several authors and our amazing cover designer, Regina Wamba, contracted.

Why did you decide to build a shared universe?

Partly, because I thought it would be fun to have a place to play with my author friends. Writing is such a solitary activity, sometimes even lonely. I noticed more and more authors looking for co-writing and other collaborative opportunities, so I was inspired to take that little idea I’d had for years and run with it. But more importantly, I wanted to create something readers would love—an escape from their realities—brought to them by various authors they know and love as well as those new to them. I hoped they’d not only look forward to their next trip to Havenwood Falls, but at the same time, they’d discover authors they might have never known otherwise and find even more books to read and enjoy.

How do you select contributing authors, and how has this changed over the lifetime of the project?

In the beginning, I reached out to authors I knew well socially and professionally—writers who I knew were committed to producing quality, well-crafted stories and understood the business side, but also who I thought would be all-in on the creation and collaboration aspects. This is not a typical writing project, and collaboration and teamwork is key to making it all work. Most of our authors I’d worked with on other projects and knew they’d be an asset. From there, our contracted authors made recommendations of other writers they knew. Now, we have a huge waiting list of authors wanting to participate, and I often hear authors say that writing for Havenwood Falls is on their bucket list. That floors me!

What are the struggles of building a shared universe with so many contributing authors?

One of our biggest challenges is keeping track of the world elements—characters, places, rules, etc.—because we all use each other’s elements, so we have to ensure we maintain consistency. We keep a “world bible” that’s massive and can be overwhelming. Keeping that updated with the most recent information from new stories is a constant job, but necessary so we don’t have conflicting details. Thank the story gods for our proofreader who helps me keep track of everything! Readers often say they wish they could live in Havenwood Falls. Well, Liz Ferry, our proofer, and I often feel like we do! We’ve read every story (I read each one at least three times!) and constantly have our heads in the world, but that allows us to stay on top of those details.

Strong organisation is the only way to manage a project like this with nearly 50 authors. As long as we stay organised and closely monitor timelines, we’re good. But if we get off track at all, things can easily spiral out of control. So that’s a constant struggle, but fortunately, I’m pretty organised and very deadline-oriented.

What do you think HAVENWOOD FALLS’ strongest points/weakest are?

Our strongest points are our amazingly talented authors. I’m blown away with each story I read—they’re just so. Stinkin’. Good. I mean, I knew they were talented when I signed them on, but they just go above and beyond with these books. I fall in love with the characters and feel like they’re my neighbours. Our reviews are spectacular, so if they’re any indication, readers agree with how good these books are.

Our level of collaboration is another strong point. Each story has characters and places from other authors’ stories, making it feel like a real small town where you see familiar faces on the street and in the coffee shop. The way we all work together ensures readers get an experience that’s unique to Havenwood Falls.

I think our weak points are (or at least were originally) strong points—the length of the stories and the quick releases. Most of these books are novellas, easily read on a Friday evening or weekend afternoon. So yes, they can be read quickly—however, we have a new release almost every week, so you don’t have to wait long for the next one. This does mean we have a lot of books in the universe, but the good news there is that you don’t have to read them all if you don’t want to. It’s all designed so you can read those that grab your interest the most. We’re pretty sure, though, that you’ll want to read them all once you get started. Don’t be overwhelmed—just pick a book and start—but if you want an order, they’re numbered by series.

What do you want readers to take away from HAVENWOOD FALLS?

Havenwood Falls is like a TV show, where each episode is about a different set of characters, but they’re all intertwined in each other’s lives because they all live in the same town. Because of this, we say it’s like Supernatural meets Gilmore Girls. I want readers to wish they lived in Havenwood Falls—to feel like they’re friends with the characters, like they’re sitting in Coffee Haven or Napoli’s with them. So much so that they look forward to each release because they feel like they’re going home.

If you could be any HAVENWOOD FALLS character, who would it be?

I’d have to say one of my own characters, Addie Beaumont. My first main character, Michaela, owns the inn, and in the beginning, I thought she’d be at the center of things—involved with both the town and locals as well as any newcomers. But her BFF Addie, a badass witch who works for the governing body (the Court of the Sun and the Moon), inadvertently took that role instead. She shows up in nearly every book in the present-day timeline, usually helping the other characters solve a problem. She especially likes helping young women empower themselves—many are new to their abilities and often fear them. Addie encourages them to overcome those fears and embrace who they’re supposed to be. I love that about her! She’s also powerful in her own right, and she’ll do anything to protect her town and the people. She’s no-nonsense, no BS, yet she’s vulnerable in her own ways. She’s become an iconic character in the world, and I look forward to writing more about her.

What do you see for the future of HAVENWOOD FALLS?

I’d started this project saying that it will keep going as long as we have writers to write the books and readers to read them. But I’ve always envisioned it going beyond the books. There are so many ways to bring this world to the people—it’s prime for various forms of media. I’d love to even have a HAVENWOOD FALLSCon, a weekend of living in Havenwood Falls with other fans and the creators. Right now, though, we’re not even two years into building the brand, so we’re still growing the audience. Once we hit certain milestones, we’ll be exploring how to expand this amazing universe.

If you’re ready to take your first visit to Havenwood Falls, consider this columnist’s contribution, Of Salt and Stars, the universe’s first LGBT dark fantasy, coming May 24, 2019.

Havenwood Falls shared world is a collaborative project with multiple series, dozens of authors, and countless stories. Learn more at http://havenwoodfalls.com/.

Have you read any of the Havenwood Falls books? Tell us in the comments below!

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