Khalia Moreau

Two sisters are trapped on opposite sides of reality in this entrancing and deeply moving debut novel that weaves together a contemporary narrative with a parallel fantasy world.   One year ago, a tragic car accident killed 22-year-old Laine’s parents and left her 18-year-old sister, Alyssa, paralyzed and nonverbal. Now—instead of studying animal nutrition or competing as one of the few equestrians of color—Laine is struggling with predatory banks, unscrupulous health care organizations, and rude customers at the coffee shop where she works. That’s why when Lake Forest Adult Day Center offers to take care of Alyssa, free of charge, Laine is relieved. Alyssa isn't relieved, though. After all, in her mind, there was never a car accident. Instead, she and her parents—the king and queen of Mirendal—were attacked one year ago in the forest, her parents kidnapped while she was cursed, and now must spend her days in Lake Forest's Home for Changels—a temple caring for mortals such as herself. Perhaps there, she could meet other changels who show her how to embrace her new life. However, there is a dark prince at Lake Forest, one who has taken a peculiar interest in not only Alyssa but her sister as well. And while Laine struggles to make ends meet on an everyday basis, Alyssa finds herself leading a battle that threatens to destroy not only her and her sister but their entire kingdom.

Author of The Princess of Thornwood Drive, Khalia Moreau, returns with a Cain and Abel retelling set in post-colonial Trinidad, in which family rivalry drives one brother on a desperate quest to save—yet possibly damn—his older sibling.The Dead Live In Sapo. And They Will Claim A Soul, Come Hell or High Water. When sixteen-year-old Roran’s saintly and light-skinned older brother falls ill in 1963 Trinidad, people in his village, Sapo, blame obeah. Blaming dark sorcery, the same kind believed to have sunk the southern half of Sapo thirty years prior, is ludicrous to Roran. He's a boy of science and his brother is just ill, albeit the doctors aren’t quite sure with what. But when Roran hears the cries of those who died in southern Sapo, he seeks out Father Basdeo, a man rumored to have eyes that can see the living and the dead. Father Basdeo explains to Roran that Roran has the eyes on him, too, and only Roran can save his brother by communing with the spirits. He just needs to put his jealousy aside and risk the one thing most people in his village would never dare risk—having his soul trapped in Sapo’s sunken side.A historical horror-fantasy set in post-colonial Trinidad, He Burns By The River explores themes of colorism and racism while incorporating folklore and culture unique to the Caribbean. And, it just might keep you up at night. Come wade in the murky waters of Sapo, if you dare.