Dearest Squad, “Nabi” was one of the first Korean words I learned while watching Nevertheless in 2022. (It’s not my favorite drama…but it had some good stuff in it. They all do!) Nabi means “butterfly.” Butterflies are fabulous. Colorful. Beautiful. Ephemeral. They are symbols of freedom, transformation, and rebirth. They also represent chaos. The stone that starts the avalanche….
Dearest Squad, It was right around this chapter that I realized that I really needed to remember what time of year it was. Most of Thieftess is set in inns, on coastlines, in the Permafrost, or on the sea itself. But when Thursday’s crew returns to a familiar land, what exactly does that land look like? I mean, Arilland…
Got an email address and 5 minutes?Nominate THIEFTESS for the YA Dragon Award! Ch. 52 of THIEFTESS now live on Patreon!Get Thieftess In Print Now! “We are Black Roses. We know how to cry.”—Alethea on Stationhead, circa 2024 Dearest Squad, Right around the time I started writing this chapter, my favorite Korean indie rock band The Rose announced an…
Got an email address and 5 minutes?Nominate THIEFTESS for the YA Dragon Award!* Ch. 51 of THIEFTESS now live on Patreon!* Get Thieftess In Print Now! Who did you love before?Who did they love before you?—Better Than Ezra, “In the Blood” Dearest Squad, I promise to write this essay in the vaguest way possible so as not to spoil…
Nominate THIEFTESS for the MG/YA Dragon Award! All you need is an email address and the title & author of the book (Best YA/MG – Thieftess, Alethea Kontis) – make sure you check the box at the top and enter the very long number at the bottom. That’s it! No fancy sign in required. Then, when it’s tine for…
Ch. 50 of THIEFTESS now live on Patreon!Get Thieftess In Print Now! Dearest Squad, YES. Before a passel of y’all @ me, my spelling of “dwarf”, “dwarfs,” and “dwarfen” in all the Tales of Arilland was a CONSCIOUS CHOICE. Is is not incorrect. Don’t believe me? Look it up. (And if you even think about asking any kind of…
Dearest Squad, In 2016, I released Tales of Arilland and Trixter…and right around Trix & the Faerie Queen I began to realize that I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing as long as Harcourt had the rights to the first 3 books. And if I kept writing about Arilland—thus encouraging new readers to pick up Enchanted—I would never…
Dearest Squad, As soon as Saturday freed that dragon in Hero, I knew Thursday was going to be the one to have to deal with it. I just didn’t realize it would take me so long to get there. Hero released on October 1, 2013. I started writing the dragon chapters of Thieftess on April 1, 2026. What would…
tl;dr: You can buy it directly from the printer (Ingram), but I honestly make more when you tell a dozen people about my book (or give it to them…and your local library…and your kids’ school library…) I get asked this question a lot, and far more frequently when I have a new book out. Since I happen to have…
Dearest Squad, “Always write when you’re in love.” My mother said this to me once upon a time and, like many such things she’s said to me over the years (“Everything happens for a reason,” “Go write me a new fairy tale”), it stuck with me. Keep in mind—this is my mother we’re talking about. Mom Kontis. OG Mama…
Dearest Squad, “Nabi” was one of the first Korean…
Dearest Squad, It was right around this chapter that…
Got an email address and 5 minutes?Nominate THIEFTESS for…
