J.A. Andrews Books In Order

Publication Order of The Aenigma Lights Books

Publication Order of The Keeper Chronicles Books

Publication Order of Keeper Origins Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

J.A. Andrews is a bestselling fantasy fiction author best known for the “Keeper Chronicles” series of novels. She grew up loving math, writing, and science but never once considered ever becoming a professional author. As a young girl and teen, everyone encouraged her to go into the sciences and since her father was an engineer, a career in STEM seemed a logical choice. As a teen, Andrews majored in engineering but soon after joining college discovered that it was not that much fun given that most of it was about measuring and deciding if a bolt was thick enough to support a bridge. The only engineering that got her fancy was aerospace engineering as she had developed a love for fantasy fiction and working in space science was the closest she could get to fantasy. While some physical laws apply in space, there are places with no atmosphere and very weak gravity that it is not the irresistible force on Earth which makes things quite interesting. It was a fulfillment of her fantastical dreams of being able to design craft that travel in such weird environments. But once she was done with college, she realized that rocket scientists were not in high demand and hence she took a step down by becoming a telecommunications engineer. She did not like it much and when she had her first baby, she had the perfect excuse to bail and try something else. JA Andrews published her debut novel “A Threat of Shadows” the first of the “Keeper Chronicles” series in 2016.

As a child and teen growing up, Andrews was a voracious reader of fantasy fiction from the likes of Terry Brooks, David Eddings, Raymond Feist, and Anne McCaffrey. She believes that her love for fantasy, her experience and studies in aerospace engineering has been instrumental in her career as a fantasy fiction author. Once she left engineering and decided to become a stay at home mother, she did not intend to become a writer but rather to homeschool her children. It was not until her doctor husband left home on a month-long trip and bored out of her mind; she was bitten by the writing bug again. It was the time before Skype or cellphones, and missing her husband a lot, she needed to find a way to communicate with him. JA would write one chapter every day to pass the time and each evening she would email her husband what she had written to give him something interesting and torture him with a cliff hanger. Once he came back, she put aside her manuscript but the urge to write was still there even though it was in the back burner for several years. JA Andrews eventually came back to the manuscript and after joining a few writer groups and getting some feedback, she finally self-published her novel “A Threat of Shadows” in 2016.

JA Andrews’ debut novel “A Threat of Shadows” is an intriguing fantasy novel about a man named Alaric. He was a Keeper, one of the men that were responsible for providing counsel to the queen, working magic to defend the land, and protecting the ancient histories and histories of his people. But while attempting to save his dying wife, he had abandoned his deepest held beliefs, his duties and fell into deep darkness. His wife has little time left but he has been failing at almost everything he has tried. But he has finally stumbled upon what he thinks would be the magical cure – it is hidden in a magical Wellstone that had remained hidden for more than a hundred years. Teaming up with several quirky friends, the cure may finally be his even though he soon realizes that they are not the only ones looking for the Wellstone. The quest for the cure is growing ever more perilous, especially when he learns that some of his companions have some dangerous secrets of their own. His quest seems even more unlikely when he hears rumors of the return of a malicious lord that had once been thought defeated. To save his wife and have the strength to face up to his enemy, he will need to cast off the form of the broken man he is and resume his role of Keeper. Will he be able to put his past full of pain and failures behind him and face the looming threat or will the darkness within and without consume him?

Andrews’ second novel “Pursuit of Shadows” opens to Alaric still searching for the Wellstone in Queensland. Things have become very dangerous for him as the list of people that could kill him keeps growing. These include; the unbending clan chief who is too unpredictable, a swarm of ice sprights that devour with claw and tooth, and an apprehensive ranger that is too observant. Will manages to convince the chief to let him travel north to live with them in their summer quarters. The ranger is still very suspicious of Will even though he has developed a strong friendship with chief Killien and they are hoping to make peace among the antagonistic Roven tribe. But Will had posed as a storyteller and it sees that his story may soon come crashing down and the ranger may be having suspicions about who he really is. The more Will gets to know the chief, the more disturbing things he learns. Killien hates the Keepers and while he is always talking of peace, he dreams of having a huge army under his control. But what Will does not know is that Killien is powerful enough to get everything he dreams of and that his sister is not the only thing he has taken from him.

“Siege of Shadows” by JA Andrews changes gears and tells the story of Sini, a woman who has found a new family in the Keeper but her past keeps coming back to haunt her. Sini had escaped a childhood on the street and years as a slave and she believes that she can live the idyllic life of a Keeper even though she feels that something is not right as she does not have a sense of belonging. The first point of contention is that she is the first female Keeper in several hundred years and her magic while powerful is very different and hence not that useful. Another thing is that Sini’s foster brother Lukas who protected her on the streets and during slavery is now charged with committing horrible things. When the Keepers are required to report to the capital to deal with the threat pose by Lukas, she does not believe it which further isolates her. There is growing evidence that her brother is mustering a huge army on the southern border, even if she does not believe it. He is an expert at magic and has been employing it to poison the minds of the people. Combining propaganda, magic and a dragon, he spreads destruction and death in Queensland. Sini needs to learn how to harness her magic if she is to help her new homeland and protect it from her vicious brother.