 WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, September 17, 2021 - Award-winning author Taylor Thomas Smythe revealed the title and details for his upcoming book series. Entitled Magic City Wonders, the new series blends elements of the science-fiction and fantasy genres and will span multiple mediums, including traditional books and scripted podcasts.
Smythe released a brief synopsis: “In 1980s Miami — a colorful and dangerous place known as the Magic City — a group of individuals discover supernatural powers. With crime on the rise, brave heroes begin to uncover a growing mystery.” “I’ve been explaining it as X-Men meets Miami Vice,” said Smythe. “You have all of the mystery and grit of the mutant-superhero tropes mixed with the glamor and danger and color of the early ’80s melting pot that we associate with Miami. I really wanted it to evoke the feeling of action-adventure movies from that era, and I’ve spent countless hours researching and gathering inspiration. There was one rule that I had at the top of my documents as I wrote: ‘Must be fun!’ I truly let that become the guiding principle with these stories. It’s been one of the most enjoyable things to write—the world, the characters—I think readers are going to love it all.” While the stories are completely fictional, Smythe hinted that they will be anchored in reality. “The story takes place in a very specific time in history, starting in 1980, which allows us to explore historical events and themes that mirror many of the things we’re wrestling with in the present. While many of these events take place at the periphery of my stories, I’m excited to see how they weave through and inform my fictionalized version of real-world Miami.” The first book in the Magic City Wonders series will arrive in 2022, and installments will be published under the recently-announced Lamplight Universe moniker. Taylor Thomas Smythe is the author of the award-winning Kingdom of Florida middle-grade fantasy series, which includes six published novels and a seventh releasing late 2021. The series, which draws inspiration from such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, follows the journey of a group of South Florida children as they discover a magical parallel world ruled by an evil prince. The first book in the series--The Golden Alligator—was recently chosen as the winner of the silver medal in the Children: Sci-Fi/Fantasy category in the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President's Book Awards and as a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. For updates on this exciting new series, visit www.magiccitywonders.com. More information on Smythe’s award-winning Kingdom of Florida series can be found at www.kingdomofflorida.com.  WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, September 16, 2021 - With six novels under his belt and another on the way this year, award-winning author Taylor Thomas Smythe announced Tuesday the launch of Lamplight Universe, the new publishing moniker under which forthcoming fantasy, science fiction, and adventure titles will be published, beginning in 2022.
“I’m thrilled to announce this project that I’ve been working on over the past year or so,” said Smythe. “With the Kingdom of Florida series coming to a close later this year, it felt like the perfect time to start this new chapter. Lamplight Universe will be the official publisher of all of my stories going forward in the new year. This will allow continued creative control of my stories while adding another layer of excellence to complement the level I strive for in my writing.” The name of the publishing house, says Smythe, is a nod to the Lamplight Society (the label of a secretive group in the Kingdom of Florida series and the source of its second installment’s title). “It felt appropriate that my future writings have this anchor in my earliest notes for the novel that started me on this journey in the first place. The idea of the word ‘lamplight’ has always evoked and represented the hopeful, wholesome, and mystery-filled approach that I take to storytelling, so it’s fitting that this now becomes the overarching banner for these types of stories.” Smythe added: “In the immediate future, Lamplight Universe will exclusively publish stories of which I am the author. However, there’s potential to expand that to include the works of others whose works fit within the same genres, styles, and sensibilities.” Lamplight Universe will primarily focus on the publication of books, but Smythe has plans to introduce other mediums of storytelling, including fiction podcasts and related audio formats. Plans for the first release from Lamplight Universe are yet to be announced, but future updates will be shared via the official website (www.lamplightuniverse.com) and social media channels (@lamplightuniverse).  WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, September 15, 2021 - Author Taylor Thomas Smythe announced today that the untitled seventh and final installment in his award-winning Kingdom of Florida fantasy series will be released late 2021. In addition, Smythe made two more announcements for the series: Kingdom of Florida, Volume II—a collection of books five, six, and seven in the series—is slated to arrive before Christmas 2021, and the author teased “more surprises” to come in 2022.
The seventh installment will be the final novel in the middle-grade fantasy series, which draws inspiration from such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, and follows the journey of a group of South Florida children as they discover a magical parallel world ruled by an evil prince. The first book in the series--The Golden Alligator—was recently chosen as the winner of the silver medal for the Children: Sci-Fi/Fantasy category in the Florida Authors and Publishers Association President's Book Awards and as a finalist in the National Indie Excellence Awards. Earlier in 2021, Smythe released a special hardcover collection, Kingdom of Florida, Volume I, which features the first four books in the series in a single volume. A paperback version was made available subsequently. Volume II will include the remaining three books in the series. The first six Kingdom of Florida books are independently published and available now via online booksellers and www.kingdomofflorida.com in a variety of formats including paperback, hardcover, and Kindle ebook. |
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