Read this article by Eric Barker and thought of my time funding ’Rune of the Apprentice.’ Hope it is helpful to anyone currently funding... or anyone still trying to be productive!

How To Be Productive Without Being Miserable: 8 Proven Secrets

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There’s plenty of good advice on how to be productive. But most of it makes you feel like you need to turn yourself into a machine. You don’t want to be Robby the Robot.

Here’s the thing: you often don’t need help with the doing part. You know what to do. Sit down and finish the damn task. But you don’t. Why? Often it’s about feelings.

What really gets in your way?

• "It scares me."
• "I don’t feel like it right now."
• "This sucks and I don’t wanna do it."

Those are feelings. And if you don’t deal with those feelings, all the mechanistic lifehacks in the world aren’t going to help you scratch things off your to-do list.

The best productivity system is the one you stick with. And if a system makes you miserable, it’s not going to last. End of story. So can you be more productive without turning into Siri or Hal 9000?

The research and experts say the answer is, "Yes." Let’s get to it...

Start The Day Happy

The sound of the alarm clock should not signal, "Time for the pain to begin."

So indulge yourself a little in the morning. Whatever puts you in a good mood, allow yourself some of that. TV, video games, something tasty -- whatever.

Research shows your mood in the morning affects your productivity all day:

Researchers found that employees’ moods when they clocked in tended to affect how they felt the rest of the day. Early mood was linked to their perceptions of customers and to how they reacted to customers’ moods. And most important to managers, employee mood had a clear impact on performance, including both how much work employees did and how well they did it.

You’ll never be as productive as you could be if you don’t make a little effort to improve your mornings.

(To learn the 7 step morning ritual that will keep you happy all day, click here.)

Okay, you’re starting the day off happy and that leads to productivity. But how can you come up with new ideas and clever solutions to problems without a machine-like 27 step brainstorming process?

This answer is easy, fun, and feels great...

Scrub Your Way To Creativity

Research shows there’s a strong relationship between feeling relaxed and being creative. And what’s the most relaxing part of the average person’s day? That morning shower.

Scott Barry Kaufman, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania, found that 72% of people have new ideas in the shower — in fact, far more often than when they’re at work. Here’s Scott:

We did this international study and found that more people reported having great insights in their shower than they did at work. Disconcerting, I guess. It seemed like there’s definitely some benefits to being in a relaxed state.

So step into the shower with more than soap -- bring a problem to noodle on. You’re primed to be at your most creative, so take advantage of the opportunity.

(To learn what Harvard research says will make you happier and more successful, click here.)

Your rubber ducky is giving you the "Eureka" moment you needed. But bad feelings can be an obstacle to getting things done once you hit the office.

Your mind can be filled with worries that play over and over like a song stuck in your head. This common condition has a name. And a solution...

Close Loops To Kill Worries

Researchers call it the Zeigarnik effect. But nobody can pronounce that so you and I will just call it, "Oh-Lord-God-Please-Make-The-Anxiety-Stop."

When you’ve got something you know you need to take care of but you haven’t done anything about it, your brain is like an annoying smartphone app that won’t stop with the notifications.

And guess what? The problem is even worse than you thought. Those constant worries aren’t just annoying and anxiety-inducing, studies show they also make you stupid:

Five studies examined whether the processes associated with unfulfilled goals would interfere with tasks that require the executive function, which has a limited focal capacity and can pursue only one goal at a time. In Studies [Study 1] and [Study 2], activating a goal nonconsciously and then manipulating unfulfillment caused impairments on later tasks requiring fluid intelligence (solving anagrams; Study 1) and impulse control (dieting; Study 2).

So how do you clear your head? Write down the concern along with a quick plan of what you’re going to do to address it.

Once you’ve done that, your brain can relax. It closes the loop and ends the Zeigarnik effect:

Committing to a specific plan for a goal may therefore not only facilitate attainment of the goal but may also free cognitive resources for other pursuits. Once a plan is made, the drive to attain a goal is suspended–allowing goal-related cognitive activity to cease–and is resumed at the specified later time.

(To learn how to use writing to overcome anxiety, tragedy or heartache, click here.)

You’re happy, creative and your head is clear. But now the task in front of you is filling you with dread. How can you get motivated to start something you absolutely do not feel like doing?

Make Awful Tasks Your Own

Dan Pink, bestselling author of Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, says the research shows one of the keys to motivation is a feeling of autonomy.

From Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us:

Think for a moment about the great artists of the last hundred years and how they worked—people like Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Jackson Pollock... Nobody told them: "You must paint this sort of picture. You must begin painting precisely at eight-thirty A.M. You must paint with the people we select to work with you. And you must paint this way." The very idea is ludicrous.

So take five minutes and find a way to make an awful task your own. Rather that mechanistically following a standard process, think about what you can bring to this. How will you choose to handle it?

How much of yourself can you inject into the process? What will make this more interesting? How can you leverage your strengths or your abilities to do it your way?

The more you make the work something uniquely "you", the more motivated you’ll be.

(To learn more from Dan on how to motivate yourself, click here.)

The dread is dead. But you still might procrastinate. You can make a task your own but you might be downright afraid of it, overwhelmed or just insecure about your ability to handle the project.

How do you get those awful feelings out of the way so you can unleash the kind of productivity that will put a dent in the Earth?

Break Down Procrastination

Anything that increases your perception of control over a situation — whether it actually increases your control or not — can substantially decrease your stress level.

Via Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long:

Steve Maier at the University of Boulder, in Colorado, says that the degree of control that organisms can exert over something that creates stress determines whether the stressor alters the organism’s functioning... Over and over, scientists see that the perception of control over a stressor alters the stressor’s impact.

And don’t just trust the research. Astronauts, Special Forces soldiers and even Samurai agree: a feeling of calm control can reduce how much you stress about a task.

But what’s an easy way to get that control flowing through your veins?

David Allen, the guy behind the popular Getting Things Done productivity system, says we often feel stressed because projects seem too big and scary. So break intimidating tasks down into tiny steps that you can easily manage.

From Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity:

Defining your work entails clearing up your in-tray, your digital messages, and your meeting notes, and breaking down new projects into actionable steps.

I’m pretty sure Genghis Khan’s to-do list didn’t say, "Remember to conquer Asia tomorrow." Whoa. Too big.

The post-it note on his desk probably said, "Just decimate the tribe next door." And then the next tribe. And then the next. That’s manageable. And before you know it, you’ve got your own continent.

(To learn how to stop being lazy, click here.)

Okay, you’re conquering the bad feelings that prevent accomplishment. But how do you increase the good feelings to get even more done? It’s not hard...

Keep Progress Visible

You probably have a "to-do" list. But I’ll bet you don’t have a "did-it" list.

When I spoke to the awesome Josh Kaufman, bestselling author ofThe Personal MBA, he said a "did-it" list is a critical tool.

It allows you to see your progress. And Teresa Amabile‘s research at Harvard found that the single most motivating thing is progress in meaningful work.

Via The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work:

This pattern is what we call the progress principle: of all the positive events that influence inner work life, the single most powerful is progress in meaningful work; of all the negative events, the single most powerful is the opposite of progress—setbacks in the work.

So keep a list of all the things you’ve accomplished today where you can see it. That’s dehydrated concentrate of motivation, that’s what that is.

You might think, "Well, I know what I did today." That’s not enough. Write it down. Take a tip from the happiness research. When you take a moment to write down the things that made you happy that day, they have more power.

(To learn the best way to manage your time, click here.)

So you do all these things... but you’re still not as productive as you need to be. And that makes you feel lousy. How do you prevent those feelings from putting you back in the productivity doghouse?

Forgiveness Keeps You Going

When you don’t get everything done that you expected to, the most common reaction is to beat yourself up. Again, mood and productivity are connected. And guess what?

Beating yourself up only makes it harder for you to get things done.

Forgiving yourself is like a miracle drug. Instead of "letting you off the hook" and making you lazy, research shows it actually reduces future procrastination, increases creativity, and boosts self-control.

Want to be more self-compassionate? It’s easy. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend who was feeling down about not being productive. Kristin Neff, a professor at University of Texas at Austin, explains:

One easy way to be self-compassionate is just ask yourself, “What if I had a very close friend who was experiencing the exact same thing that I am experiencing now?” The idea is you use that same quality of warmth, support, encouragement, tenderness, understanding with yourself that you more typically show to other people.

Be nicer to yourself when you screw up and you’ll not only feel better -- you’ll get more done.

(To learn the schedule that the most productive people use every day, click here.)

Alright, we’ve learned a lot. Let’s round it all up and get the final tip on the emotional path to improving productivity...

Sum Up

Here’s how to be productive without becoming a miserable robot:

• Start the day happy: How you wake is how you work. Having a little fun early means better results later.
• Scrub your way to creativity: Bring a challenge into the shower and come out with a solution.
• Close loops to kill worries: Make a plan and write it down to silence the voice in your head.
• Make awful tasks your own: Put your own spin on how you do something and you’ll be more motivated.
• Break down procrastination: Conquer Asia one tribe at a time, Genghis.
• Keep progress visible: Put a "did-it" list next to the "to-do" list for motivational rocket fuel.
• Forgiveness keeps you going: Beating yourself up kills productivity. Treat yourself like you would a good friend.

These days one of the biggest enemies you deal with is distraction. But there’s a fun solution to this: work near a super-productive friend.

Even if they’re not helping you, just being around them can improve your focus. How powerful is this? Powerful enough to help people with ADHD.

Via Friendfluence: The Surprising Ways Friends Make Us Who We Are:

Just having friends nearby can push you toward productivity. “There’s a concept in ADHD treatment called the ‘body double,’  ” says David Nowell, Ph.D., a clinical neuropsychologist from Worcester, Massachusetts. “Distractable people get more done when there is someone else there, even if he isn’t coaching or assisting them.” If you’re facing a task that is dull or difficult, such as cleaning out your closets or pulling together your receipts for tax time, get a friend to be your body double

You won’t be super-productive by trying to pretend you’re a machine.

If you really want to get things done you can’t just keep your head down. You also need to keep your smile up.

@Jane-Holly Meissner - Nicely done, loved it :)

I had toyed with this idea after the 2nd week of TSSF, but I had no idea how to figure out the rest of the order because of the way it’s listed. Kudos for figuring it out(or at least getting close!) lol, way to go!

I’m impressed, Faoii. This obviously took you a lot of work, seeing as everything below the top 10 are in order of when they joined the contest rather than how close to the top they are. Thank you for doing this.

Wow, @Jane-Holly Meissner ! I’m impressed that you spent so much time giving us a heads-up about 11-25. I’m sure those authors appreciate your hard work too. Thanks so much for this post!

@Joey Angotti has been going a great job with the weekly updates on the Top Ten for the Geek & Sundry FantasticInk contest, but I thought we could do with a bit of a spotlight on the current runners up, the ones just beyond the top ten. And so, may I present to you, the Top Eleven Through Twenty-Five!

All of these are great books, and you may have missed them! I encourage you to click through, read up, and follow these fantasy books. They’re unique and interesting takes on the fantasy genre, and some just need a little push and they’ll be on the leaderboard too.


11. The Last Faoii by @Tahani Nelson 
84 readers / 100 orders

After her monastery is attacked and her sisters slaughtered, Kaiya-faoii is left alone to fight a war at the heart of a broken empire-- or watch everything left of her nation and heritage fall to darkness.

You’ve all seen Tahani Nelson’s updates, leading her followers fearlessly into the battle for a top three placing in the Geek & Sundry contest. The Last Faoii was picked as the July 2016 selection for the Teen Read Syndicate.


12. Kingdom of Dreams by Kevin O’Coffey
67 readers / 119 orders

A troubled twelve-year-old boy must ally with his daydream to prevent his recurring nightmare from conquering the Kingdom of Dreams.

Jimmy Reve just wants the bullies in his life to go away—for good. So imagine his surprise, when one by one, they mysteriously go missing from his school. That’s a cool development… but Jimmy senses his messed up home life might be the least of his problems. His suspicions are confirmed when he meets Burks, Jimmy’s snarky recurring daydream who suffers from ADD, and one of the two narrators of the story. Burks has a mission for Jimmy: find his way into the Kingdom of Dreams and fix the damage he’s caused. If he doesn’t, he’ll be the next to disappear along with everyone else that dreams. Permanently.

An illustrated fantasy novel, recommended for ages eight and up. Click through and check out O’Coffey’s illustrations, you won’t be disappointed!


13. Witherfist by @J. Graham-Jones
55 readers / 57 orders

The true name of a demon is inked into her flesh. To return to her daughter and home, the warrior Irusai must break the binding the ink has created. In doing so, she will ally with a princess in exile and together bring justice to the Last Empire.

What’s in a name?

In the the Last Empire, a name is the most powerful weapon you can possess. If you can write the true-name of a person, you can bind it to your will. In the great vault of the First City, the Book of Names lists the true-names of every loyal Imperial subject, binding each of them to their place in society and in servitude to the Empress Lian. There are some names, however, that even the Empress will not write...

Hated and feared - spoken of in hushed whispers throughout the Empire and beyond - the notorious warrior known as Witherfist was once a territorial lord, overseeing the lands and subjects of the Last Emperor. On the wrong side of a political power-play by the Empress Lian, she and her fellow lords made a terrible bargain: inking the names of ancient demons into their skin in a contract that will grant them supernatural powers. Though she is unmatched in combat, her blackened and withered sword-hand is rumoured to drain the soul of whoever she touches. Now, she is banished by the Empress Lian from the lands she once swore to protect and now must find a way to return not only to her home and her family but also her humanity...

When a coup deposed Arren Kalendra’s father from the throne of the Last Empire, the young princess was branded a fugitive and stranded outside of the land’s she was once destined to rule. To restore just and rightful rulership to her homelands, Arren must seek out new allies and gather force capable of challenging not only the might of the Imperial Army but also the political cunning of her mother, the Empress Lian. She will delve deep into forbidden magics and threaten to plunge the world into all-out war, as she dares to speak the true-names of a dead tyrant and his centuries-frozen army...


14. Her Latent Charm: Book 1 in the Bridge Series by @Dana Brentson
51 readers / 61 orders

The world thinks magic is a myth, and Brigid is a young woman discovering she has an innate, if wild, talent for it.  Her strength begins to reawaken the magic of the world around her, preparing her for the battles to come.

Brentson says about her book: I have been playing with this particular story for about six years, with two other books in this series I am crafting in production, both of which were madly concocted in the furious race to finish NanoWriMo.

While this is the story of one woman and her personal struggle with magic and enemies from her past, the series will ultimately take her on a much larger journey that could shape her world.

First and foremost, I write for the love of it. But I hope to find some small modicum of success with this novel, so that I can explore the rest of Brigid’s story as it unfolds.


15. Earthshard by @Eli Vaughn Plaskett
51 readers / 54 orders

In a world recovering from war, men strive to bind the forces of nature in shards of crystal. As a new power threatens to unbalance the tenuous peace, three strangers realize they have no idea how they got into this mess. I blame Steven.

In Vai, magic flows through all things. For millennia, it was beyond the reach of man, but as time crawled by, the Craftsmen emerged. Braving furious storms and terrible flames, these men and women harnessed the magical forces of nature into crystals called aethers. With aethers, magic gave birth to machines both wondrous and terrible, and Vai changed forever.

Earthshard is the story of three people who never wanted to meet. Aaron is an apprentice Craftsman learning to harness the magical forces that flow through the world of Vai and desperately trying not to die in the process. Laurel is a mechanist intent on seeing the world aboard an airship, but trouble keeps her tied to the ground. Ricand is a veteran doing his best to simply drift through life, but he cannot ignore the drums of war.

Unfortunately for them, a woman working in secret has created something new, an impossible aether that will shatter the balance of power in Vai, and a dangerous fanatic will do anything to take it.


16. Dragonford - The Long Highway by @Brendan Thompson 
46 readers / 60 orders

A company of veterans must cross a continent to found a settlement in a hostile wilderness. Facing cultists, monsters, and assassins, the greatest peril they face will be their own secrets and legacies of betrayal.

Thompson says about his book: Hello, readers! Dragonford is a series of novels I have been working on for a few years. This project is the planned first installment. In tone, it is quite dark, with a heavy emphasis on characterization, intrigue, and betrayal. While there is still plenty of swashbuckling and adventure, the core concept is a diverse group who have to cooperate and learn about each other in order to survive their mission. In genre terms, this is a gunpowder fantasy that reads a lot like a Western.

I am a veteran of the US Air Force who is currently living in South Korea, where I teach English as a Second Language. I have a life long passion for books and storytelling. I have always enjoyed fiction that takes me to other worlds, where we can explore what it might mean to be a person living under very different circumstances.

17. Glassbreaker by @Julia Perroni
46 readers / 57 orders

A girl finds herself dragged unwillingly into a journey meant to save the world from a dark curse, and must leave behind her home, her best friend, and a life that was at its beginning. Whether she lives or dies is out of the hands of fate.

Glassbreaker is a young adult high fantasy novel starring my daring female protagonist, Miri Marshall. The book follows her as she’s dragged off on a quest to save the world and into a lot of danger, very much against her own will. Along the way she faces off against kings and monsters, plus has to deal with hostility even from within her own travelling party. She’s not the kind of person you’d imagine as the hero of this kind of story - she’s not much of a hero at all, even by her own admission - but she’s tough and she’s dedicated, and she has a life and a best friend just waiting for her to return from her harrowing journey.

Perroni says of her book: The world of Glassbreaker is an undeniably fantastical one, populated by winged people, elves, and merfolk, alongside humans of several differing cultures; there is magic woven into the fabric of Trinna, and though Miri’s no mage, magical forces definitely play a part in her journey. Including the sinister Darkness, a curse which has been causing ever-increasing death, to the point where it has become clear that it cannot be ignored and will not be easily defeated. What can be done to stop it, however, is a mystery that has yet to be discovered; finding that solution and enacting it is Miri’s task, and no one, especially her, is quite sure she’ll be able to do it. At the very least, it’ll take a journey to the four corners of the Trinnan map, far from the bounds of Miri’s isolated home village and beyond anything she’s ever experienced.


18. Exile, Magus by @Thomas J. Arnold
42 readers / 47 orders

A young dwarven magus must enter a world he grew up only hearing of. As he strives to find his place and faces numerous dangers (and at least one too many gnomes) his naivete in life and love may bring more danger than any enemy ever could.

Pentaz Muix, a young man native to a reclusive nation of dwarves, feels he has no choice but to flee his homeland in order to escape punishment after revealing his study of magic in order to save his people.

As he takes his first clumsy steps out from the isolation of his island home into the wide and varied world of the mainland, he searches for a family to replace the one he has lost. Along the way he meets a wandering warrior named Buscidia and falls in love with her, but his own fear of losing her may well spell their undoing.

While he explores the mainland and its many perils, he is unaware that his homeland has not let go of him as easily as he believes. Unbeknownst to him, he is pursued by the last surviving member of his family, his brother Palkaz. Their reunion follows closely on the heels of Pentaz’ biggest mistake and tragedy, and they find themselves facing off against one another amidst a danger neither of them had imagined. Can they put aside their differences long enough to survive?

Exile, Magus was backed in August 2016 by the Epic Fantasy Syndicate.


19. The Soul Decision by @Michael J. Palumbo
41 readers / 57 orders

A collection of disillusioned criminals, rebellious outsiders, and fallen heroes can unite the lands. But before they convince kings to trust one another, they must learn to trust each other, face their own demons, and be the heroes the world needs.

The story involves a core group of main characters, each with their own issues to overcome. Each has removed themselves from society in some way, and yet as they come closer to saving society, they become more invested in it. Given the nature of the criminal world and its opposition to civil society, there are a variety of personal conflicts that arise. The heroes are forced to make hard decisions about what’s important to them, and sometimes they surprise themselves. They both save the world and rejoin it, saving themselves in the process.

20. Raven and Bone by @Allison C Waechter
40 readers / 45 orders

Ava Aurildis is a witch with anxiety, a lot of anger and a past so dark it’s kept her running for centuries. To save her family she’ll have to confront her demons before time, or something worse, catches up with her.

Ava Aurildis has been running and hiding for a very long time, but at least she has her friends. Lex and Viv have been at her side for decades-- they’re more than friends, they’re her heart’s family.

When Viv is brutally murdered, and Lex is rendered incapable of helping, Ava must unravel the mystery that’s haunted them on her own. If she wants any chance of putting her family back together she’ll have to confront her past before time, or something worse, catches up with her.


21. Man’s Damnnation - Lore of the Aos Si by @Christopher Lee
37 readers / 39 orders

It is 3002BCE. Mankind is subject to Fae law. Four young souls will rise as the ancient forces of the world continue their age-old feud. As MidSummer’s Eve approaches, the first and greatest world war will erupt once more between Man and the Fae.

Our ancestors once lived in harmony with the creator. It was a Golden Age, where man lived in the fabled Garden of Eden where none suffered and all needs were fulfilled. The Primordial Goddess was their mother and her first child was Adam.

Adam, the first man, and father of mankind was charged with the protection of her sacred creation. The power bestowed upon him proved too great for Adam thus was born the folly of man. The Goddess rested for the act of creation had drained her of her power. Adam was filled with hubris and named himself God among men.

His pride corrupted the creation of the Goddess and perverted mankind. War between Adam and the Goddess raged in the heavens. The Fae, the siblings of mankind, waged war on their rebellious brothers and sisters. The Goddess claimed victory over Adam and mankind was banished from Eden and stripped of their ability to wield the gift of magic.

It is the year 3002 B.C.E. in the Silver Age. The Fae King Dagda rules over the four houses of the Seeley Court of Tír na nÓg. Mankind is scattered across the realms of Tír na nÓg and Tír nam Beo. Tensions between the Fae and Man are reaching a breaking point. As the Silver Age draws to a close the world will be thrown into chaos by the return of the Usurper Adam. Four young souls will rise as the ancient forces of the world continue their age-old feud. As MidSummer’s Eve approaches, the first and greatest world war will erupt once more between Man and the Fae.


22. The City Will Fall by @Kim Whale
34 readers / 37 orders

Anna was just a Blank, one of the powerless few in a City of powerful people. She dreamed of being something more. She dreamed of saving the world. Now she is the most hated terrorist of all time. The question is, what happened to Anna?

Anna is trying to start a better life. Tired of her menial job and bleak future, she dreams of one day finding a magical talent, born from her soul. She dreams of being just like everyone else, more than just a talentless Blank; however, this is all but impossible for those like her. Blanks are the invisible minority that talented society both pities and fears, and there is no hope for them.

Cassandra, a talented Architect born to wealth and privelege, is disturbed by the surge of hatred and intolerance toward Blanks. With the police turning a blind eye as Blanks begin to disappear, she turns to a legend for hope. In Anna, she sees a soul capable of doing great things, given the proper guidance.

Everything will change. A prophecy has been written. The City Will Fall, and Anna will be it’s destroyer. It will take two dedicated reporters and a jaded cop to find out why.


23. Seven Days a Servant by @Trick Dempsey
34 readers /36 orders

In the palaces of Brilliance, the fear of death is a distant memory. When a young heir discovers the rotten truths behind her ideal nation, she must choose between justice and order.

Dempsey says: Seven Days a Servant is in a universe called "Iron Immortals". This setting is shared across three projects right now: this novel, a video game in development at The Crooked Thimble, and the Iron Immortals podcast.

Iron Immortals is the result of a six-year collaboration with my wife, Briana Dempsey, which began by asking simple, foundational questions about a fantasy world that we would soon call "Promise." The first question revolved around the role of death in this magical universe, and soon spun into huge revelations about the cultures and economies that could be defined by their relationship with this foundational question.

"What is death?"


24. Erin and the Deadly Tattooist by @Amanda Claassen
33 readers / 34 orders

Erin’s kicked into a wild adventure to save her parents from The Tattooist, he’ll stop at nothing to find The Great Guitar. She’ll solve mysteries and travel across the world in a flying ship to South Africa and uncover magical places and creatures!

Claassen says about her book: I’m very nervous and excited to submit my idea to you. I’m from South Africa and now live in the UK. I can’t remember a time where I haven’t preferred to lose myself in silly made up places and create adventure within my imagination.

My idea started as a way to write a story about the beautiful places I grew up in, but I wanted to tell it by creating new mythology around some old South African folk tales. My heroine Erin is 8 years old, she’s pushed into a wild magical adventure with her best teddy Flumpy to save her parents from the deadly Tattooist. They take a flying ship to South Africa, where they travel to the magical city of Sakharvia that’s hidden within a cave, they go to the depths of a diamond mine and even try to find an invisible castle on top of Table Mountain.

This is written for a younger audience, but if you fancy a Harry Potter style adventure mixed with some new ideas on South African folk stories, then I think you’ll be in for a treat.


25. Fae Child by @Jane-Holly Meissner
32 readers / 38 orders

A child slips through a portal into the land of the Fae and traverses the Otherworld with the help of a young elf, while her parents are left to deal with the changeling that was left in her place.

Abbie must negotiate the land of the Fae, the Otherworld, when she is unexpectedly transported there. Desperate to find her way back home, she and her dog quickly find allies to help her - but how much can she really trust these strangers? Back at home her changeling double is ingratiating itself to Abbie’s mother, while her father views the ’girl’ with suspicion. What secret is he hiding? He can, and will, do anything to get the real Abbie back - even make a deal with the mysterious Cat.

Fae Child was backed in Sept 2016 by the Rite of Passage Syndicate.


I hope you stuck through the list to the end, and enjoyed reading a little about each book. I wish you all the best of luck in your campaigns!

edit: all done editing in the links!