Category: J.J. Fischer

Cover Reveal - Caligo by J.J. Fischer

3/13/2025

Cover Reveal!

I'm excited to join in the cover reveal for Caligo by @jjfischerauthor releasing on May 15, 2025! This is the sequel novel to the award-winning post-apocalyptic fantasy series, The Nightingale Trilogy, and completes the story of the series’ most beloved character. It is best enjoyed after reading the trilogy but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. Caligo will be releasing in ebook, paperback, and special edition hardback formats.

Note: There might be some spoilers for The Nightingale Trilogy below.

The Nightingale Trilogy’s most beloved character finally gets his own book in this stand-alone sequel novel to the original series which is best enjoyed after finishing Memoria but can be read as a stand-alone novel. Caligo is a gender-swapped transformation of Beauty and the Beast where both hero and heroine are beautiful and beastly in different ways. This sequel is set in a land of monsters (not Caldera) and features enemies-to-lovers romance, a miniature chicken sidekick (who may be prophetic), a Pegasus, a Flynn Rider type hero, and a Mother Gothel like antagonist (with a twist).

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Hardback

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Celebrate Lit Blog Tour - Memoria by J.J. Fischer (Give.away)

12/20/2024

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Would you save a life if you knew it would destroy another?

In the deeply divided world of Caldera, nothing is as it seems. Taken captive by a faceless enemy, Sephone Winter fights to reclaim her soul as her gift spirals out of control and the deadly poison coursing through her veins begins to exact its terrible vengeance.
Meanwhile, Dorian and Cass are forced into an uneasy alliance in order to find the woman they both love . . . a woman who has all but vanished from the face of the earth, along with the Reliquary. Finding her becomes impossible as the identity of their greatest adversary continues to elude them.
When Caldera’s past catches up with the trio’s future, Sephone, Dorian, and Cass are forced to make decisions that threaten everything and everyone they care about. Each of them is offered a chance to sacrifice their own happiness for the sake of the other—but will they take it? And what will it cost them in the end?

Genre: Adult Fantasy
Release date: December 10, 2024

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

Each and everyone must make a choice....

J.J. Fischer had me hooked with the first book in the Nightingale Trilogy, she had me intrigued with the second book, but this third one was engrossing in a different way....

To be sure, J.J. Fischer's vivid worldbuilding, captivating attention to detail, and mad storytelling skills were ever present and accounted for, however, there was something deeper and even more heartfelt about Memoria. Even the title of this final Nightingale Trilogy novel, Memoria, has a more solemn and introspective feel to it.

Trust me, this book is full of emotion. And you will run the gamut as you turn the pages be they print or digital. The characters must face not only the utter darkness before dawn but they also must face themselves and the infinite need for redemption and forgiveness.

Bittersweet, it was and is a fitting conclusion to the Nightingale Trilogy, though there is supposed to be a companion novel that I am intensely looking forward to reading. As with any good fantasy/dystopian novel there is a dark tone to the series – particularly in Memoria – that not only makes it perfect for older teen and and adult readers, but is also makes the light of hope shine all the brighter.

Anyway, cannot recommend this series from J.J. Fischer highly enough. Read them in order but definitely do read them all if you are a fan of Christian fantasy and/or dystopian fiction. They really are a MUST read....

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Memoria by J.J. Fischer a 4.5 Bark rating.

(I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)

More from J.J.

Have you ever felt God’s comfort in the midst of a horrific trial?

In 2021, midway through writing Memoria (Book 3 of The Nightingale Trilogy), my husband Dave and I were blindsided by his discovery of several sizable lumps on his neck. Those lumps turned out to be lymphoma (cancer of the lymph nodes), requiring immediate treatment.

2021 had already been a shocking year for us (and everyone else!). I’d lost both my remaining grandparents in the space of a few months. We were in the middle of a worldwide pandemic and one of the harshest lockdowns my state of New South Wales (Australia) had yet seen—which would necessitate going into further isolation while Dave underwent chemotherapy. And while I’d just received a diagnosis for my chronic illness, my recurring migraines (sometimes multiple a week) made it difficult for me to reliably drive Dave to and from his chemotherapy sessions.

But in one of the hardest times of our lives thus far, God provided. Dave made it through his chemo and has been in remission for some time now (though we’re still dealing with the consequences of the treatment in regards to fertility). I was able to drive him to all but two of his chemo sessions, and family and friends supported us in incredible ways. I’ve now received treatment for my chronic illness, which has helped me significantly and allowed me to take on more work as a freelance editor.

Eventually, I got back to Memoria, and wrote the second half of the story. And now, in hindsight, I can see the importance of God’s timing. Because Memoria is a story about pain—how we respond to it, what we do with it, and how it can poison our soul, if we let it. And ultimately, this book points to Jesus, the only one who can handle that pain, that poison, without succumbing Himself.

Are you struggling with a well of pain and suffering (and/or sin) in your own life? Perhaps not just things that you’ve done, but things that have been done to you? Are you struggling to keep your head above the raging waters, feeling swamped and pummeled by all God’s waves and breakers (Psalm 42:7)?

For starters, I want you to know that God keeps track of all your sorrows, every tear you cry (Psalm 56:8). You might feel invisible to the world, but you are not invisible to God. He knows everything about you, even the things you’ve never shared with anyone before. Even the pain you might not yourself have acknowledged.

The second piece of encouragement I want to share is that God promises to one day wipe all those tears from your eyes (Revelation 21:4). He won’t let those tears fall endlessly into eternity, ruining the perfect future He has in store for you. He will comfort you. He will bring you into his house, rejoicing over you. He can handle your pain (even the poison) without succumbing. Even your death is not the end of the story, because death was not the end of His.

I wrote The Nightingale Trilogy partly to deal with the pain of things in my own life. But as this series draws to a close, I hope it is a blessing to you in whatever season you’re going through right now (or will go through in future). I hope it reminds you of Eternity, and that you are greatly loved by the God who died to reclaim your soul.

God bless,
J. J. Fischer

J.J. Fischer

J.J. Fischer’s writing dream began with the anthology of zoo animals shepainstakingly wrote and illustrated at age five. Jasmine began writing her first proper novel at age fourteen, which eventually became her debut fantasy series, The Darcentaria Duology, which was published in 2021. She is a qualified psychologist with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical psychology. When Jasmine isn’t killing defenseless house plants, she enjoys devouring books, dabbling in floristry, playing the piano, and wishing it rained more often. Jasmine is married to David, and together they make their home a couple of hours north of Sydney, Australia.

It's Time For A Giveaway!

To celebrate her tour, J.J. is giving away the grand prize of
a special edition hardcover copy of the book, a signed bookplate, and character art!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/00adcf54118

Blog Stops

A Reader’s Brain, December 14 (Author Interview)
Simple Harvest Reads, December 15 (Guest Review from Mindy)
The Lofty Pages, December 16
Back Porch Reads, December 17 (Author Interview)
Wishful Endings, December 17
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, December 18 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, December 19
Tell Tale Book Reviews, December 20
Fiction Book Lover, December 21 (Author Interview)
Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, December 21
Locks, Hooks and Books, December 22
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, December 23
Guild Master, December 24 (Author Interview)
Artistic Nobody, December 25 (Spotlight)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, December 26
Inspired by Fiction, December 27

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Celebrate Lit Blog Tour - Lumen by J.J. Fischer (Give.away)

12/13/2023

2 Comments

What if erasing the past cost more than you were willing to pay?

Having narrowly escaped their enemies, Sephone, Dorian, and Cass continue their search for the elusive Silvertongue, the only one with knowledge of the Reliquary’s whereabouts. But time is running out for Sephone, and with Dorian accused of high treason, the quest takes on a new urgency.
As secrets from each of their pasts drive a wedge between them, Sephone invests all her hopes in finding her homeland, Lethe—where her family may yet be alive. But nothing about Lethe is as she expects, and disappointment, betrayal, and danger await her at every turn.
When the truth about the Reliquary’s curse comes to light, the fragile bonds between the unlikely companions are tested like never before. Meanwhile, Dorian faces a terrible choice: to save the life of one who is beginning to mean more to him than the past he’s so desperate to forget, or to save his beloved Caldera from dangers outside and within.

Genre: Fantasy (adult)
Release Date: December 5, 2023

Click here to get your copy!

My Review

Their enemies are closing in fast...

I absolutely fell in love with J.J. Fischer's writing when I read the first book in The Nightingale Trilogy, Calor, a year ago. That book was everything that a fantasy novel should be and then some, so, since then I have been desperately waiting for the second book, Lumen, to release. And finally, I got my hot little hands on it and I dove in with glee.

Lumen was everything that I hope it would be. J.J. Fischer may have surprised me a few times with the direction this second Nightingale Trilogy book went, but I was never disappointed one iota. All of the characters that I've come to love, such as Lady Jewel, were back as well as the appearance of some old and new enemies. They kept me anxiously turning those pages and nearly unable to put the book down even to sleep. I was by turns delighted and dismayed as circumstances dictated on each new page as J.J. Fischer had me completely engrossed and involved in the lives of her characters. Her worldbuilding is exquisite and her pacing keeps the story moving forward at a fast clip.

I enjoyed every moment spent reading Lumen and I would highly recommend The Nightingale Trilogy to any older YA or adult reader who enjoys fantasy. The story is entertaining for sure, but there is also much more to it if you look. The only tough thing is now having to wait until the final book releases to find out just who will make it to the last page alive...

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Lumen by J.J. Fischer a 4.5 Bark rating.

(I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)

More from J.J.

Have you noticed how much less we’re participating in life these days?

Here in Australia, we have a show called Gogglebox where we watch people on their couches watching (and commentating on) our favorite TV shows from the last seven days. Sometimes, you don’t even need to have seen the shows. But it’s fun to watch other people watching TV, often because they have the same reactions we have to particular scenes.

The widespread popularity of a show like Gogglebox is telling because it demonstrates just how comfortable we’ve become with observing and commentating on other peoples’ lives. We’re quick to critique and criticize and dismiss. So much of our human experience is now mediated through screens and technology and social media that we’ve lost a great deal of the beauty and simplicity of life.

How often does a long walk through autumn leaves or a swim at the beach refresh our spirit, yet we rarely get out of the house or away from our busy schedules in order to do so?

In the post-apocalyptic world of The Nightingale Trilogy, people no longer have access to the technology and comforts of the “world-that-was,” so they choose to vicariously enjoy its pleasures by re-experiencing old memories, which can be physically extracted and drunk like potions. Nostalgia is the currency of the day, and the gifted individuals who can manipulate these memories—known as alters or mems—are exceptionally prized.

The female main character, Sephone Winter, is a young slave who can selectively edit memories with a single touch of a person’s skin. But Sephone is increasingly aware that there’s something different about the memories of the old world that she extracts from donors’ minds. They’re much more faded, and less vivid, than the real thing. And she begins to suspect that habitually enjoying these second-hand and third-hand experiences comes at the price of a person’s humanity, self-awareness, and even their capacity to love.

After meeting an old veteran with a first-hand memory of strawberries—who tells Sephone that even this is a shadow of the real thing—she begins a journey to discover what authentic experience really looks like, and if there’s something more to hope for than the faded artifacts of a long-dead world.

Sephone’s discoveries have relevance and meaning for all of us in this world where life’s pleasures are often smoke and mirrors. Since the Fall, our lives are full of counterfeit things. They sound good, they look right—more real, sometimes, than the real thing—but they’re ultimately an imitation that doesn’t satisfy us the way we thought and hoped they would.
As a Christian, I believe that if we rely on counterfeit things to satisfy our souls, we’re always going to end up hungry. As David Foster Wallace famously once said, worshipping the stuff of this world will inevitably “eat us alive.” False truth and false gods always break the hearts of their worshippers.

But unmet needs are a signpost pointing to a better way, a deeper truth. As C.S. Lewis wisely commented: “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
The Nightingale Trilogy is another world, a fantasy context, a different time period. But it’s really us. I hope, as you read, that it stirs in you a hunger for truth, for real things; a desire to connect with the Author of your soul. I can testify that He’s out of this world!

Cherish the Real,
Jasmine

J.J. Fischer

J.J. Fischer’s writing dream began with the anthology of zoo animals she painstakingly wrote and illustrated at age five. Jasmine began writing her first proper novel at age fourteen, which eventually became her debut fantasy series, The Darcentaria Duology, which was published in 2021. She is a qualified psychologist with undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in clinical psychology. When Jasmine isn’t killing defenseless house plants, she enjoys devouring books, dabbling in floristry, playing the piano, and wishing it rained more often. Jasmine is married to David, and together they make their home a couple of hours north of Sydney, Australia.