Hello friends!
It’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for! We are so excited and honored to announce that we will be hosting a post-publishing Book Tour for Blazewrath Games by Amparo Ortiz! We all know that this is Nat’s book, so let’s hear why she’s been dying to share this with you.
I’ve been excited about this book since the minute I heard about it! As a Puerto Rican Creator, the Latinx diaspora and the struggles with feeling estranged from your island really hit home for me. Moving to the mainland has always left me feeling like I don’t quite fit in, and I am excited to see this explored in the context of fantasy. Modern YA takes on Puerto Rican MCs are hard to come by, specifically in a book that doesn’t center on our pain, but instead provides an escape. I luckily have an ARC of this amazing book, but it would mean the world to me if I could put it into the hands of other readers like me.
-Nat
We are looking for #OwnVoices readers that identify as Puerto Rican. If that’s you, be sure to fill out the form here. If you know someone that identifies as Puerto Rican, pass along this information to them so they can see if they are interested. Remember, we have 30 spots open for all tours, and our goal is to have the full tour consist of #OwnVoices reviewers.
Amparo Ortiz was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and currently lives on the island’s northeastern coast. Her short story comic, “What Remains in The Dark,” appears in the Eisner Award-winning anthology PUERTO RICO STRONG (Lion Forge, 2018), and SAVING CHUPIE, her middle grade graphic novel, comes out with HarperCollins in Winter 2022. She holds an M.A. in English and a B.A. in Psychology from the UPR’s Río Piedras campus. When she’s not teaching ESL to her college students, she’s teaching herself Korean, devouring as much young adult fiction as she can, and writing about Latinx characters in worlds both contemporary and fantastical. Her debut novel, BLAZEWRATH GAMES, hits shelves on October 6, 2020 from Page Street Kids.
Blazewrath Games
by Amparo Ortiz
Publisher: Page Street Kids
Release Date: October 6th, 2020
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
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Experience the World Cup with dragons in this debut fantasy, set in an alternate contemporary world, in which riders and their steeds compete in an international sports tournament
Lana Torres has always preferred dragons to people. In a few weeks, sixteen countries will compete in the Blazewrath World Cup, a tournament where dragons and their riders fight for glory in a dangerous relay. Lana longs to represent her native Puerto Rico in their first ever World Cup appearance, and when Puerto Rico’s Runner—the only player without a dragon steed—is kicked off the team, she’s given the chance.
But when she discovers that a former Blazewrath superstar has teamed up with the Sire—a legendary dragon who’s cursed into human form—the safety of the Cup is jeopardized. The pair are burning down dragon sanctuaries around the world and refuse to stop unless the Cup gets cancelled. All Lana wanted was to represent her country. Now, to do that, she’ll have to navigate an international conspiracy that’s deadlier than her beloved sport.
