Besties Sara Miller and Judy Ramirez are enjoying their summer job at a tourist hotel near a National park. It’s their last months together before they head off to different colleges, after all. However, when Prince Kreshanaris of the Twin Worlds sneaks to Earth through a portal, on a secret mission, things go catastrophically wrong.
Judy finds herself snatched away to a strange world where a grumpy guard is assigned to her to ensure she can build a new life in a place that has casual magic all over.
Sara, on the other hand, is captured and imprisoned along with the prince on the same world, by his own guards, nonetheless, embroiled in a court intrigue that threatens the Queen’s life.
Through a twist of fate, Sara and Judy meet up again and then work together to protect the prince and foil the grim guard. But even the guard is not as cold he seems, which becomes obvious when magic touches all of them.
If you like magic, portals, and isekai, you will enjoy this enticing tale of adventure, courage, discovery and personal growth. So grab Steps of Courage now, your next fast-paced fantasy adventure that combines tropes from urban fantasy, portal worlds, shifters and coming-of-age stories.
Tags: isekai, magical portals, academy of magic, ill mother, caring prince, smart girls, enemies to friends, lots of cuddling, dark secrets, evil magic, surprise magic, shifters, terrible beasts, grumpy guard with a good heart, high adventure, a musical interlude, dangerous events, strange horses, creative goddesses, the author clearly had too much fun with this.
Hannah Steenbock is a German writer of Speculative Fiction. She uses both her native German and English as languages for her tales, as she loves English and tends to think in that language when plotting Fantasy.
She prefers stories with satisfying endings and generally refrains from slaying her characters. That's why she likes to call her stories “feel-good fantasy”.
After finishing university with a degree in English and Spanish, Hannah lives and works in Kiel, the northernmost state capital of Germany. Her other pastimes include working as a therapist, strolling along beaches, talking with trees, and devouring as many stories as time allows.
Her book "Sequoia" won two awards in the Turning the Pages Book of the Year Awards, for Best Short Story Book of the Year 2013 and Best Folklore Book of the Year 2013.
Her book "South Breaks" made semi-finalist in SPFBOX (2024).
Read more on her website: www.hannah-steenbock.de
Find her in the Fediverse (Mastodon): @Firlefanz@writing.exchange