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OZMA Award - Best Fantasy
In a time when hardship and famine rule the country, one boy finds an oasis of magic and the strength to fight for it.
The Dust Bowl uprooted a lot of families and orphaned even more children. No one knows this better than Nat, a teenager who rides the rails from town to town looking for work. After helping a girl accused of witchcraft, Nat stumbles upon a home for wayward children run by a vibrant woman named Camille. She takes in children who have been thrown away and teaches them how to use their untapped potential to do extraordinary things...like magic.
In this crazy new place, there are wonders he's never imagined possible. People who can paint portraits of ghosts, walk through walls, and hide windmills in thin air. But in a time of starvation and fear, Camille's magical home comes under attack from people who fear and discriminate against her. It is up to Nat and the other children to rally behind Camille to save their oasis in the dust from utter ruin.
About the author
Michelle Rene is a creative advocate and the author of a number of published works of science fiction, historical fiction, humor and everything in between. She has won a number of indie book awards for her historical and speculative fiction, including Chanticleer Reviews' Best Book of the Year for 2017.
When not writing, she is a professional artist and all around odd person. She lives as the only female with her husband, son, and ungrateful cat in Dallas, Texas.
