Young Adult Books
Down World was first published online, where it attracted thousands of readers. The book won a Watty Award for best Young Adult novel, which led to its publishing deal, a movie/TV option, and then a deal for the two sequels.
Though the book is over 100,000 words, I noticed a phenomenon of people commenting that they had read the whole thing in one day, so I decided to ask people who did so to start leaving the word “Sage” in the comments.
The joy of watching people discover these books, and the encouraging, heartfelt words they left below the chapters, still inspire me to this day.
What are people saying about Down World?
Down World Trilogy
Book 1
Marina O’Connell’s story begins as she follows her crush into the boiler room beneath the school, only to discover three doors labeled Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. One of these doors will unlock the key to rescuing her brother from the Other Side.
See what fans are saying on Goodreads.
Book 2
When the young and mysterious Adam Martel comes to town, Marina discovers that the door to Yesterday holds the secret to the former military fort the town is built on. But by traveling to the past, will she and Adam be able to stop the dark Other Side from permeating their own reality?
Read fan reviews on Amazon.
Book 3
The door to Tomorrow presents a terrifying version of the future, one in which the privileged live in a utopian dome while others are left to suffer. Can Marina and Adam stop the evil Alexei from his dystopian takeover of the country, or are we all doomed to this desolate fate?
Now available from Penguin Random House.
Other Novels
Wanderlust
At 20, Marjorie Shuman backpacked through Spain with her boyfriend Bruce–wild, impulsive, charismatic; his thick Scottish brogue laced with sadness. Maybe he wasn’t her soul mate, but in her darkest times, Bruce was there to show her the light.
Now, at 28, Marjorie hears a rumor that Bruce may have returned to Spain to throw himself off a balcony. It is up to her to retrace their steps, from Barcelona to Portugal, reconnecting with the people they’d met when they were younger while looking desperately for Bruce… and finding herself along the way.
Wanderlust is my first adult novel, the one that landed me an agent. Every author has the “book of their heart.” This one is mine.
In California
Inspired by my own journey to California to become an actress at 21 (yes, that is my old headshot), In California follows Sara Morgenstern and her boyfriend Axel from rural Wisconsin to Los Angeles.
The harder they run from their pasts, however, the farther away their dreams seem to grow.
It’s a story of ambition, heartbreak, broken promises, and the dissonance that springs up as childhood dreams morph into complicated realities.
It took me many years to attempt this story, and it is still a work in progress.
Wyrd
We first meet modern-day witch Annabel Zeblatsky on the day she kidnaps her ex-boyfriend Michael from his wedding to her former high-school bully, Penny.
Turns out, dragging him on a little witch-visiting odyssey from New Orleans up to Salem might be the only way to undo the curse she accidentally left on his arm the first time they had sex. (Hey, don’t judge. I said accidentally.)
Besides, what’s Penny going to do about it? Use her own witchy powers to stop them?
Oh.
Shoot.
In the tradition of Practical Magic and A Discovery of Witches, this fun, spicy romcom marks my return to speculative fiction… this time for the grown-ups.
(Painting credit: George Romney, 1782)
Rebecca Phelps 