What to expect from Emily Golus fiction
Looking for clean, richly imagined fantasy that lifts you up?
Welcome to your new favorite books.
Clean fantasy
The world of young adult fantasy has become a kind of Wild West, where some publishers are pushing explicit content to entertain adults—ignoring the teens the books are supposed to be designed for.
While my books don’t shy away from dealing with real-world problems (there’s plenty of peril, some grief and heartbreak, and occasional physical fighting), my promise to you is that there will be no graphic violence, no foul language, and no sexual content.
Also, I don’t routinely kill off characters just for shock effect. Feel free to get attached. You’re welcome.
Rich Worldbuilding
The World of Vindor isn’t just a backdrop for a story—it’s an exceptionally detailed world full of nuanced cultures and extraordinary places.
Vindor features 12 diverse people groups—some fully explored in the books, and others only mentioned. From the undersea city of the Loray merfolk to the rugged mountain farms of the Kavannan centaurs, from the rustic woodland camps of the Huntsmen to the science-fiction sophistication of the Rikeans—whatever speaks to you, there’s a Vindor culture you can call home.
Discover the full extent of Vindor’s peoples and geography at WORLDOFVINDOR.COM
Rooted in love
Personally, I don’t like a story that brings me down. My fantasy works deal with the brokenness of the world—prejudices and conflicts, disappointment and difficulty, the problem of evil—but while these things are unavoidable in life, there’s something bigger going on.
I believe, at its core, the universe runs on love—starting with the infinite love of God and trickling down to the smallest acts of kindness between human beings. And while there are plenty of people who choose selfishness and hate, love is always stronger and will triumph in the end.
My stories aren’t all unicorns and butterflies, but they’ll always leave you with hope.
For preteens to adults
I wrote Escape to Vindor and Mists of Paracosmia with middle school readers in mind. Megan and Arden face crises of self-confidence, learn to build friendships in unexpected places, and discover they’re part of something bigger than themselves—things that young teens will readily relate to. But many of my readers are former middle schoolers of all ages. If you love a good story about fantastic worlds and becoming the best version of yourself, you’ll love escaping to Vindor.
My newest book, Crack the Stone, features grown-up characters dealing with issues such as regret, starting over, and entering parenthood. These themes tend to resonate better with readers who have more life experience—but the story is still free of graphic content and bad language. If you’re a teen who enjoys reading about characters in a different life stage than your own (and I hope you do!), then Crack the Stone is for you, too.