Kell Woods

Kell Woods is an Australian historical fantasy author. She lives near the sea in Jervis Bay with her husband, two sons, and the most beautiful black cat in the realm.

Kell studied English Literature, creative writing and librarianship, so she could always be surrounded by stories. She has worked in libraries for the past twelve years, all the while writing about made-up (and not so made-up) places, people and things you might remember from the fairy tales you read as a child.

Ginger. Honey. Cinnamon. Flour.

Twenty years after the witch in the gingerbread house, Greta and Hans are struggling to get by. Their father and stepmother are long dead, Hans has his debts, and a bloody war has ravaged the land. But as long as Greta has her gingerbread recipe (found in a book from the witch long ago), she can keep their small family afloat.

But dark magic is returning to the woods. Wolves howl in the night, there have been bodies, gruesomely murdered, found in the woods, and Greta has even caught sight of an enormous black bear wandering the forest.

In a village full of superstition, Greta, with her red hair, her past with the witch, and her mysteriously addictive gingerbread, is a source of gossip and suspicion. But something dark looms on the horizon, and Greta’s secret magic—a magic she is still discovering herself—may be the only thing that can stop it.

Upon a Starlit Tide is a dark and enchanting historical fantasy combining elements of "The Little Mermaid" and "Cinderella" into a wholly original tale of love, power, and betrayal.

Saint-Malo, Brittany, 1758. For Lucinde Leon, the youngest daughter of one of Saint-Malo's wealthiest ship-owners, the high walls of the city are more hindrance than haven. While her sisters are interested in securing advantageous marriages, Luce dreams of escaping her elegant but stifling home and joining a ship’s crew. Only Samuel—Luce’s best friend and an English smuggler—understands her longing for the sea, secretly teaching her to sail whenever she can sneak away. For Luce, the stolen time on the water with Samuel is precious.

One stormy morning, Luce’s plans are blown off course when she rescues Morgan de Chatelaine, the youngest son of the most powerful ship-owner in Saint-Malo, from the sea. Immediately drawn to his charm and sense of adventure, she longs to attend the glittering ball held in honor of his safe return and begins to contemplate a different kind of future for herself.

But it is not only Luce’s hopes that are at stake—the local fae are leaving Brittany and taking their magic with them, while the long-standing war with the English means Saint-Malo is always at risk of attack. As Luce is plunged into a world of magic, brutality, and seduction, secrets that have long been lost in the shadowy depths of the ocean begin to rise to the surface, as dangerous as any reef. Even so, she finds that the truth of her own power is growing brighter and brighter, shining like a sea-glass slipper.

Or the scales of a sea-maid's tail.

“Kell Woods is a born storyteller with a wonderful imagination.”—Natasha Lester, New York Times bestselling author of The Three Lives of Alix St. Pierre