Child of Air, Water, Earth or Fire: now that she is thirteen Storm must undertake The Choosing and be claimed by one of the Elementals, which will determine her whole life's work. But for Storm, daughter of a father murdered by Water and a warrior mother claimed by Earth, there will be no easy destiny. The Elementals bestow her with a great and terrible gift. Storm-bringer. Storm-rider. Storm-queller. Storm has powers that no one, not even the island Elders, can understand. And when the Drowned Ones - a savage band of pirates who roam the seas on floating towns - attack her island, will her powers help her to save the people she loves, or is her fate to betray everything she holds dear? Soon Storm faces a decision that will change her life - and that of everyone who lives on her island - forever. A powerful new fantasy series from Ellen Renner, prize-winning author of Tribute and Castle of Shadows. "Familiar themes are invigorated in this assured novel; its ethical conundrums, deft characterisation and sense of magic are reminiscent of Ursula K Le Guin's Earthsea series." - Guardian, Books of the Month "A whirlwind adventure which will sweep you into its enchanted world. At its epicentre is a strong heroine in a coming of age quest that will leave you breathless." - South Wales Evening Post, Children's Book of the Week "This is a strong story that had me gripped in an instant and has left me wanting for more with each and every chapter. So I can't wait for the next book" - The Reader Teacher (blog) "A strong start to the series which establishes the world and character and sets out Storm's dilemma. This will doubtless be a hit and I look forward to finding out how the story continues." - Book Murmuration (blog)

Presents an historical analysis of the Salem witch trials, examining the factors that may have led to the mass hysteria, including a possible occurrence of ergot poisoning, a frontier war in Maine, and local political rivalries.

My name is Scarlet Jones, and I'm a witch...of some kind. Probably. I grew up in a family full of strong Blood witches, in which my strange magic never belonged. I thought I was the only one of my kind out there, a true freak of nature, and I liked it that way. I lived on my own, learning to hunt these creatures nobody seemed to know anything about, a bunch of mindless thingies who were in the habit of sucking my magic dry wherever they found me. I even set up a party for them, just so I could teach them some manners.But my plan went to hell when four strangers crashed the party, people who apparently were like me. Just like that, I no longer felt like a special little flower. With four unconscious bodies at my feet and no idea what was going on, I thought that was the worst it was going to get. Boy, was I wrong...The rest of my life is only just beginning, and by the looks of it, it is definitely not going to be a smooth ride.

A sweeping historical romance about a witch who foresees her own murder--and the one boy who can help change her future. Sixteen-year-old Avery Roe wants only to take her rightful place as the witch of Prince Island, making the charms that keep the island's whalers safe at sea, but her mother has forced her into a magic-free world of proper manners and respectability. When Avery dreams she's to be murdered, she knows time is running out to unlock her magic and save herself. Avery finds an unexpected ally in a tattooed harpoon boy named Tane--a sailor with magic of his own, who moves Avery in ways she never expected. Becoming a witch might stop her murder and save her island from ruin, but Avery discovers her magic requires a sacrifice she never prepared for.

A novelette based on a true story of Witchcraft in the Scottish Orkney Islands during a dark period of the 1600s.Janet Forsyth played a heroes part in saving a ship and crew from certain death...She was tried as a witch...two hundred years later she would have been hailed a hero not unlike the hugely popular Grace Darling.Folk tales have always existed in island and rural communities, where witchcraft and sorcery was part of everyday life for centuries. Magical powers were considered part of the general lifestile and were not questioned. Attitudes gradually changed towards those who did not conform with increasing religious beliefs and witch-hunts began in the 1550s.In Scotland it is estimated between four thousand and six thousand people, mostly from the Lowlands were tried and executed for witchcraft between 1590 - 1660. Seventy five percent of the accused were women.Lying off the north coast of Scotland, the Orkney Islands (often referred to as the centre of civilisation in Neolithic times) were host to an intensive period of witch trials. From 1615 until 1645, sixty eight (a high percentage of the population at the time) were condemned to death, 90% were women.

“Clemens has constructed a world of magic that’s never been seen before, with a cast of beings who are so engaging and entrancing that you never want the story to end.”—John Saul Elena bears the mark of the wit'ch upon her palm, the crimson stain that testifies to an awesome power of unimaginable potency: wild, seductive, difficult to control. Only a mistress of blood magick can stand against the foul minions and all-corrupting evil of the Dark Lord. But Elena is not yet the mistress of her magick. Protected by an ageless warrior and a band of renegades, she quests for a lost city where prophecies speak of a mystic tome that holds the key to the Dark Lord's defeat. But if the Dark Lord finds her first, Elena will become his most fearsome weapon . . .