https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news daily 0.75 2025-05-19 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news/2025/5/19/writing-advice monthly 0.5 2025-05-19 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news/2021/1/29/got-questions monthly 0.5 2021-01-29 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news/2020/4/4/reading-books-aloud-on-youtube monthly 0.5 2020-04-04 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news/2019/1/19/first-fan-art-on-the-new-site monthly 0.5 2019-01-19 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1547931267903-346SKQ6UI6GXHZHKK8M6/fan+art.PNG NEWS - First Fan Art on the new site! https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news/2019/1/10/frequently-asked-questions-faq monthly 0.5 2019-01-10 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/news/2019/1/9/a-new-website monthly 0.5 2019-01-10 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/home daily 1.0 2026-01-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/ff0513ef-6819-4f19-ae4d-81b1125d130a/covers+small.jpg Home https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1539275035498-R9C8NG4MBGYIGESP5AHW/81Fg88k1qRL.jpg Home - REVENGE OF MAGIC Thirteen years ago, several books of magic were found all around the world. And the spells within them worked … for anyone born on the day they were found or after. The government is able to hide that magic is real for over a decade, until creatures that shouldn’t exist attack Washington, D.C., and take Fort Fitzgerald’s father. All Fort wants is revenge, but instead, he’s offered a spot in a government-run school for magic. This could be his chance to find the power he needs to get justice for his father, if he can survive the Oppenheimer School. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1547066466051-FKZCE8VABPZE4IPX56FN/storythieves.jpg Home - STORY THIEVES Real life can be boring, if you’re a fan of books like Owen Connors is. But when he discovers his classmate Bethany has the power to literally jump into books, , life suddenly gets a lot more exciting. Bethany’s had this power all of her life, due to the fact that her father is a fictional character. But ever since her father’s gone missing and her mother banned all books from their house, Bethany’s been searching for her dad in secret, keeping her powers to herself. But what happens when her classmate Owen finds out about them? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1539274950789-08YLJ183909BRM7ANQV4/71PfbWvIxBL.jpg Home - HALF UPON A TIME/ ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME Jack comes from a family of adventurers, but All he wants is to live a normal, fairy tale life, in a realm where every fairy tale you’ve ever heard of is true. All of that changes when a girl from the real world falls from the sky right in front of him one day, and reveals that she just escaped seven dwarfs. Jack takes May on an adventure to find her missing grandmother … and the truth about how to be a fairy tale hero. https://jamesrileyauthor.com/half-upon-a-time-series daily 0.75 2019-01-09 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1539276161068-Z0DVDAI74QU35K9A4STI/71PfbWvIxBL.jpg HALF UPON A TIME - HALF UPON A TIME (BOOK 1) Jack lives in a fantasy world. Really. He's the son of the infamous Jack who stole the magic beans from the giant, and he's working hard to restore his family's reputation. He finds the perfect opportunity when a "princess" lands in front of him, apparently from the land of Punk, as her Punk Princess t-shirt implies. May is from our world, and she's utterly confused to find herself in the midst of the fairy tale characters she has read about. But Jack and May have more in common than they realize--and together, they embark on a hilarious and wild adventure in this highly accessible, modern middle grade fantasy novel. BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1539276212945-A0Q703S3M0SFG2TGB1UJ/81kjcvaD8RL.jpg HALF UPON A TIME - TWICE UPON A TIME (BOOK 2) Jack and May are back for another adventure in the world of fairy tales with a twist. Now that they know about May’s grandmother’s real intentions, they’re on the hunt to learn May’s true identity. The search for answers leads Jack and May to the world of the Sea King, where they land right in the center of a battle between mermaids and the Pirate Bluebeard. The laughter and action are nonstop in this book from author James Riley—the second in a trilogy! BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1539276224816-87VN1VS69FFAW6HDSTH2/81Xyf1nu7YL.jpg HALF UPON A TIME - ONCE UPON THE END (BOOK 3) Will there be happily ever after? Don’t miss the fractured-fairy tale conclusion to the action-packed and humor-filled Half Upon a Time trilogy! Jack and May have gone their separate ways, and each is now set on course to fulfill their destiny…or are they? Nothing is ever quite as it seems in the world of fairy tales, and the two friends are in for some huge surprises as they prepare to battle the Wicked Queen once and for all. Knights, fairy godmothers, giants, and beanstalks—all come together thrilling and hilarious conclusion to the Half Upon a Time trilogy! BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://jamesrileyauthor.com/biography daily 0.75 2023-08-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/771420ac-f68b-4d65-b8ac-ba0bb0c0c752/Sitting.jpg ABOUT Photo by Melissa Blackall https://jamesrileyauthor.com/tour-dates-events daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://jamesrileyauthor.com/story-thieves-series daily 0.75 2024-12-17 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1539449923040-IR8TQGF1GWWYN4VUTAVN/storythieves.jpg STORY THIEVES - STORY THIEVES (BOOK 1) Life is boring when you live in the real world, instead of starring in your own book series. Owen knows that better than anyone, what with the real world’s homework and chores. But everything changes the day Owen sees the impossible happen—his classmate Bethany climb out of a book in the library. It turns out Bethany’s half-fictional and has been searching every book she can find for her missing father, a fictional character. Bethany can’t let anyone else learn her secret, so Owen makes her a deal: All she has to do is take him into a book in Owen’s favorite Kiel Gnomenfoot series, and he’ll never say a word. Besides, visiting the book might help Bethany find her father… …Or it might just destroy the Kiel Gnomenfoot series, reveal Bethany’s secret to the entire world, and force Owen to live out Kiel Gnomenfoot’s final (very final) adventure. BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES HALF UPON A STORY THIEF (Crossover Short Story) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546969582701-W35VQE8YWR8OF96B8ARL/81O6TtwuvmL.jpg STORY THIEVES - STORY THIEVES: THE STOLEN CHAPTERS (BOOK 2) Owen, Kiel, and Bethany confront secrets, stolen memories, and some very familiar faces in the second book in the New York Times bestselling series, Story Thieves—which was called a “fast-paced, action-packed tale” by School Library Journal—from the author of the Half Upon a Time trilogy. Owen Conners’s whole life changed the day he found out his classmate Bethany was half-fictional, and could take him into any book in the library. Which story would they jump into next? Another fantasy, like the Kiel Gnomenfoot, Magic Thief books? Maybe something with superheroes? Owen’s up for anything except mysteries—those just have too many hidden clues, twists that make no sense, and an ending you never see coming. Then Owen wakes up in a real-life mystery with a memory that’s been erased and too many questions. How did Kiel Gnomenfoot lose all of his magic? Where is Bethany? And who’s the annoying guy wearing the question mark mask and Sherlock Holmes hat, taunting Owen and Kiel that Bethany is in grave danger? Bethany is trapped in a hidden room that’s slowly filling with water, and she can’t escape until her friends find her. But is she imprisoned by more than just chains and a locked door? What’s she hiding from Owen and Kiel? Maybe some mysteries just shouldn’t be solved… BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546969599789-Y4LK5Q3CEVYI9ZLJN8HU/secret-origins-9781481461269_hr.jpg STORY THIEVES - STORY THIEVES: SECRET ORIGINS (BOOK 3) Owen and Bethany have sworn off jumping into books for good. But they didn’t make any promises about not jumping through strange portals that lead to a comic book world. Jupiter City was once filled with brightly costumed superheroes and villains, but nowadays, there’s nothing left but the Dark. Even the villains are terrified of the Dark’s shadows, and most of the heroes have either disappeared or been lost to mind control. The one hero who might have stopped all of this, Doc Twilight, has been imprisoned by the Dark. But who is Doc Twilight really? And how can Bethany and Owen defeat the Dark without superpowers of their own? They’ll definitely need the help of some old friends and new allies to bring the light back to Jupiter City, and find out the truth behind the Dark. It all comes back to Bethany’s own secret origins. What really happened when her fictional father disappeared years ago? Who is Nobody, and why is he writing these Story Thieves books? And what kind of supervillain name is The Rotten Banana? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546969624617-RY37FHVJ649T7QPCGXNX/81t0KlI8S4L.jpg STORY THIEVES - STORY THIEVES: PICK THE PLOT (BOOK 4) Being able to jump into books used to seem like the greatest thing in the world to Owen Conners. But now Owen’s trapped in a time travel book where readers—that would be you—decide how the story goes. As if that weren’t enough, Owen’s also stuck in a prison for time criminals in a prehistoric era. He’s surrounded by bizarre fellow prisoners, including Kara Dox. How does Kara recognize Owen if they’ve never met before? She seems to think they’re old friends, but that can’t be possible. Still, Kara might just be the only chance Owen has to escape. And he has to find a way out to save his friend Bethany, who’s still in grave danger. Because unless Owen can stop him, Nobody is going to split Bethany into two, separating the fictional and nonfictional worlds forever. Will Owen be able to convince you, the reader, to help him find his way back to Bethany? Or will you feed him to dinosaurs just to teach him a lesson? It’s all up to you when you Pick the Plot. BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546969656898-76MB6HMT9P3GLW627PGL/image-asset.jpeg STORY THIEVES - STORY THIEVES: WORLDS APART (BOOK 5) Bethany and Owen have failed. The villain they have come to know as Nobody has ripped asunder the fictional and nonfictional worlds, destroying their connection. Bethany has been split in two, with her fictional and nonfictional selves living in the separate realms. But weirdly, no one seems to mind. Owen—and every other nonfictional person—have lost their imaginations, so they can’t picture their lives any differently. Then Owen gets trapped in a dark, dystopian reality five years in the future, where nothing is needed more desperately than the power to imagine. Fictional Bethany is thrilled to be training with her father as his new sidekick, Twilight Girl—until she realizes that the fictional reality will fade away completely without the nonfictional world to hold it together. In this final installment of the genre-bending Story Thieves series, Owen and Bethany will be forced to risk everything to defeat Nobody and save multiple realities. BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://jamesrileyauthor.com/revenge-of-magic daily 0.75 2020-08-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546876869101-QV1QWYCIOONKH74HME92/81Fg88k1qRL.jpg REVENGE OF MAGIC - REVENGE OF MAGIC (BOOK 1) Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of dragons. Only those born after “Discovery Day” have the power to use the magic. Now, on a vacation to Washington, DC, Fort Fitzgerald’s father is lost when a giant creature bursts through the earth, attacking the city. Fort is devastated, until an opportunity for justice arrives six months later, when a man named Dr. Opps invites Fort to a government run school, the Oppenheimer School, to learn magic from those same books. But life’s no easier at the school, where secrets abound. What does Jia, Fort’s tutor, know about the attacks? Why does Rachel, master of destructive magic, think Fort is out to destroy the school? And why is Fort seeing memories of an expelled girl every time he goes to sleep? If Fort doesn’t find out what’s hiding within the Oppenheimer School, more attacks will come, and this time, nothing will stop them! BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1547060003193-EMXI1JXVBYBUNRC8OVEP/RevengeOfMagic2_TestColors_fromViv2%5B2%5D.jpg REVENGE OF MAGIC - THE LAST DRAGON (BOOK 2) Fort Fitzgerald can't stop having nightmares about the day his father was taken from him in an attack on Washington, D.C. In these dreams, an Old One, an evil beyond comprehension, demands the location of the last dragon. But other than some dragon skeletons dug up with the books of magic on Discovery Day, Fort has never seen a dragon before. Could there still be one left alive? And weirdly, Fort's not the only one at the Oppenheimer School having these nightmares. His new roommate, Gabriel, seems to know more than he's letting on about this dragon as well. And why does everyone at the school seem to do whatever Gabriel says? What's his secret? Fort's going to need the help of his friends Cyrus, Jia and Rachel, if he's going to have any chance of keeping the Old Ones from returning to Earth. Unless, the Old Ones offer something Fort could never turn down .... BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1580131481482-SPE29DBO3I9ND46Y3CJA/the-future-king-9781534425750_hr.jpg REVENGE OF MAGIC - THE FUTURE KING (Book 3) Dealing with monster attacks and his missing father has been hard enough for Fort Fitzgerald in his first month at the Oppenheimer School. But there’s another school for magic, this one in the United Kingdom, that's about to create even bigger problems. Six of the Carmarthen Academy students found themselves lost in time when they first started learning magic. Now they’ve returned, with news of a coming war that the students claim only they can stop. But their new plan for the world might lead to an even worse future, one that Fort and his friends are destined to help bring about, no matter how much they might want to fight it. Can Fort change the future that the Time students have already seen play out? Or is he destined to pay for his past mistakes for all of time? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1596554476303-CEKJXOGP0G72PB7NMSR0/81IFnbCeYmL.jpg REVENGE OF MAGIC - THE TIMELESS ONE (Book 4) The future has been saved, but at a cost: Fort Fitzgerald has been expelled from the Oppenheimer School, and some of Fort’s friends have been lost in time. But time is the one thing Fort, Rachel, and Jia don’t have, as they’ll soon be facing one of the eternal Old Ones, the Timeless One, for the fate of the world. If they lose, the Old Ones will return, and humanity is doomed. If they win, the Old Ones will still return, and humanity is doomed. Because the Timeless One can see every possibility, and plan for it. How can Fort and his friends defeat a creature like that? And what does this all have to do with the real-life Merlin, from King Arthur’s days? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1596554544109-ULI3XMXVZIB1RLP6DMB7/image-asset.jpeg REVENGE OF MAGIC - THE CHOSEN ONE (Book 5) NO SPOILERS! BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://jamesrileyauthor.com/schools-educators-librarians-teachers daily 0.75 2025-05-15 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546968623775-HU17LH1LN82UC5OKZAOE/71PfbWvIxBL.jpg Lesson Plans and Resources - HALF UPON A TIME https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546968104045-MAUD18LA7JSTU3YQTPQZ/storythieves.jpg Lesson Plans and Resources - STORY THIEVES (BOOK 1) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546968390322-D1UYLP67ER62G2VWD8NC/81O6TtwuvmL.jpg Lesson Plans and Resources - STORY THIEVES: STOLEN CHAPTERS (BOOK 2) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546968450464-5R6JUCV2581YYYR2DARG/secret-origins-9781481461269_hr.jpg Lesson Plans and Resources - STORY THIEVES: SECRET ORIGINS (BOOK 3) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546968751921-11UFJR0BTVB99ASFKLAA/81t0KlI8S4L.jpg Lesson Plans and Resources - STORY THIEVES: PICK THE PLOT (BOOK 4) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1546968800553-O32DOV1EJN91LTD7DVC8/9140Ko2CN2L.jpg Lesson Plans and Resources - STORY THIEVES: WORLDS APART (BOOK 5) https://jamesrileyauthor.com/once-upon-another-time daily 0.75 2023-05-22 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/1633093631114-EVBY7ADJ2AIM5JYFZCM4/Once+Upon.jpg ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME - ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME (BOOK 1) Storybook characters collide in this first book in a new trilogy of twisted fairy tales from New York Times bestselling author James Riley, set in the world of his popular Half Upon a Time series! Five and a half feet might seem pretty tall for a twelve-year-old, but it’s not when your parents are giants. Lena has kept the fact that she’s a tiny giant secret, using magic to grow when out in the giant village. But hiding who she is has always felt wrong, even though she knows the other giants might not accept her. Fortunately, Lena has friends down in the Cursed City who understand that looking different doesn’t make her less of a giant. Someone who knows not to judge by appearances is Jin, a young genie currently serving one thousand and thirty-eight years of genie training that requires him to fulfill the wish of whoever holds his magical ring. In Jin’s case, it’s the power-hungry Golden King. At least the king only has two wishes left, one of which is for Jin to go to the Cursed City and capture its protector, the Last Knight—one of Lena’s closest friends. What Lena and Jin don’t know is how close the Golden King’s plans are to coming together, between his dark magic and his horrible Faceless knights. If Jin does find the Last Knight and bring him to the Golden King, why, that could doom the entire fairy-tale world. ...This sounds like it’ll end badly, doesn’t it? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/cc0965bb-b786-4bfa-b6f0-96c7d3da761f/71vWa6m6EYL.jpg ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME - ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME: TALL TALES (BOOK 2) Lena might finally be accepted by the other giants after helping to defeat the Golden King and his faceless army in the Cursed City, but that doesn’t mean life has become any easier for her. The power-hungry Golden King wants revenge and has begun spreading shadow magic out over the kingdoms, taking over the minds of anyone it touches, and instilling fear and hatred as it goes. The fairy queens, the most magical beings in the kingdoms, say their sacred book, Tales of All Things, claims that there is one person who can defeat the Golden King and his dark spells: Lena. But only if she first proves herself worthy by completing three challenges. All Lena ever wanted was to prove she is really a giant. Now she has to be so much more. Can she and her genie friend, Jin, save the human world that doesn’t trust them, or will they fall prey to shadow magic, and doom everything? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/af34904c-11e8-4913-ba85-9c1826eb49bf/Once+Upon_3_art.jpg ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME - ONCE UPON ANOTHER TIME: HAPPILY EVER AFTER (BOOK 3) Who doesn’t love a good Happily Ever After? The Cursed City is now the Blessed City, with its residents’ curses removed. Lena is now fully human, as are the rest of the giants, and together they live in peace with all the other humans in the city, all their differences now gone. And sure, Jin might have disappeared, but really, genie magic only caused trouble. At least, that’s what the magic spell in Lena’s head is telling her. But somewhere inside, she knows that this new world isn’t right, that no real Happily Ever After would take her giant heritage from her…and that Jin is in danger. When things are at their darkest, can a single Spark light the way? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://jamesrileyauthor.com/the-dragons-apprentice daily 0.75 2025-09-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/face8628-a069-40a0-9856-0b10358e043f/Dragons+Apprentice.jpg THE DRAGON'S APPRENTICE - THE DRAGON’S APPRENTICE (BOOK 1) A New York Times Bestseller! In this hilarious fantasy adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of the Story Thieves series, a girl strikes a deal with the ancient, cranky dragon she accidentally summoned to teach her the forbidden magic she needs to save her mother. STOP. Don’t read any further. There are magic spells in this book, and the Emperor has forbidden anyone from learning magic, because it’s way too dangerous! If you try one of the spells, any number of terrible things might happen (or so the Emperor says). Don’t be like Ciara, a twelve-year-old girl living in the tiny village of Skael. When she used a spell from within this book, she ended up summoning a dragon. A DRAGON! Those things breathe fire! From their mouths! She’s obviously doomed. And don’t listen if Ciara tells you that dragons won’t hurt humans, and that they even once taught us magic, a thousand years ago. Definitely don’t pay any attention to the fact that the dragon she summoned, Scorch, might be willing to help rescue Ciara’s mother and free her village from the Emperor and his Warden, because it’s all obviously a big lie. So put this book down, and forget about it. Magic is just way too dangerous. After all, you wouldn’t want to summon your own dragon, would you? BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5bbdf65c65a707816ee2cc62/47c811d1-1b94-406f-aa2c-5e09e5176fdc/Dragons+Apprentice+Book+2.jpg THE DRAGON'S APPRENTICE - THE DRAGON’S APPRENTICE: REVENANTS RETURN (BOOK 2) The fate of magic rests in the hands (and claws) of a cranky dragon, a feisty apprentice … and a prince who may not be all he seems? Get ready for the sequel to the New York Times bestselling hilarious fantasy adventure in the new series from the author of the Story Thieves. You were warned to stay away from THE DRAGON’S APPRENTICE. It was forbidden for a good reason, as it told the story of a village girl named Ciara finding her own book of magic and learning spells from a dragon of all things. These are dangerous ideas, and no one should be allowed to see them. Fortunately, Ciara’s story didn’t end there, or she might have doomed us all. No, thankfully, a true hero to the Draconic Empire, Prince Aiden, has come to Ciara’s village to stop her and her teacher, Scorch the dragon. The prince, like his father the Emperor, is a powerful magic-user. And Aiden uses his power to keep us safe from strange, forbidden books. If anyone can stop Ciara from teaching others magic and therefore summoning the horrible Revenants that once defeated the Dragon Mage herself, it’s the Empire’s beloved prince. Let’s just hope that Ciara can’t spread her knowledge of magic before the prince can find her and put an end to her evil deeds once and for all… BUY: AMAZON | BARNES & NOBLE | INDEPENDENT STORES https://jamesrileyauthor.com/half-upon-a-story-thief-short-story daily 0.75 2024-12-17