This story began with one artist inviting another to collaborate. “I’ll paint some backgrounds; you add characters,” said Brit. “Well sure, I’d be delighted,” replied Jen. A dozen boards and a year later, the artists decided the characters needed their own stories. In stepped Dana, who accepted the challenge of writing a story after the illustrations were already done—a backwards process. The resulting collaboration tells the story of a young girl, Arella, and her new mentor, Samira, the storyteller.

In Arella’s village of Loden, coming of age means becoming an apprentice. Though all of the villagers expect Arella’s sister to become the storyteller’s apprentice, Samira chooses the shy and quiet Arella. When Arella is forced to leave her childhood home and face her biggest fears, she follows an unexpected path of adventure, hardship, and enchantment. She learns to appreciate the power in a name and the importance of stories. Along the way, Arella comes to value her own talents and learns to see the beauty and magic that surrounds her. All she had to do was LISTEN.

The book incorporates a series of inner stories that help Arella grow into her gifts, and will inspire readers to do the same—to own their talents while being brave and kind and accepting that sometimes, accidents happen.

For Sales, visit thestorytellersapprentice.com