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Lily Firehands and The Secret of Warmth
Lily Firehands and The Secret of Warmth
Lily was born in a boat stuck in a frozen river. Growing up, she knew the cold, and only the cold. But one day, a thief steals a beam of wood from Lily's boat, and sends her on a quest that reveals a secret buried beneath the frost of her world.
So begins The Adventures of Lily Firehands, a story about a frigid girl who learns that one day there may be an end to the cold — if not in her world, then, perhaps, at the least, in her heart.
The Secret of Warmth tells the first step in Lily's journey.
Readers say...
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Brilliant & Heart-Warming Story
Such a gorgeous book, from the illustrations and coloring to the incredibly thoughtful and engaging writing. The world building is executed beautifully, and the central message (for readers and Miss Lily alike) is oh so insightful. A great read for all ages, and especially for those who need to remember to let the light in.
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Magical book
This is a great book, and my son and I are anxiously awaiting the next installments. It creates a whole world that is not like ours but that you somehow feel exists somewhere...
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A fantastic story for both children and adults
The story is terrific and the art is absolutely gorgeous. I loved the book and will absolutely recommend it to friends and family.
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A very good children's book...
A very good children's book that teaches a valuable lesson about the uncomfortableness of growing. It is not always rainbow and butterflies and sometimes it takes some heartache and tears to get through.
It was very cute but meaningful and sad all at the same time. I would recommend this to anyone as a book for their child or children. -
Lovely book for youngsters and adults alike
I loved this story and can’t wait to see what’s next! It has strong themes of empowerment, leadership, and courage among young women and girls. It’s the type of story I’d like to expose my children to from a young age so they organically learn that power comes in all forms
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Charming artistic children’s book
This is a great children’s book you can return to several times. The story is well written and the pictures included are attractive and unique. Great read
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A great kid's book...
This was a great kids book. I enjoyed reading it with my daughter and she said she really liked it. We both looked forward to the next time we would get to read it and now we're looking forward to the sequel!
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Captivating!
I was drawn to this book by the beautifully drawn and painted illustrations. They truly supported the intriguing story of Lily and her adventure. I found her quest and what she learned as it progressed to be captivating and enlightening. It was a delightful read and I look forward to the continuation of this series!
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Complex and layered
This book would serve quite well as a bedtime story to be read to a child as well as book to be cherished by an intermediate reader. The illustrations are lovely and help stimulate the imagination. “Lily Firehands and the Secret of Warmth” reminds me of “The Little Prince” in that there are many imbedded quotes that can be highlighted and savored by readers young and old and every life stage in between.
20+ Hand-Drawn and Painted Illustrations
Lily Firehands and The Secret of Warmth features an illustration for each chapter. Every illustration was drawn by the author the old fashioned way — paper, pencil, and ink. These illustrations were then watercolored by Nova Stardust, who applied a final digital layer to make her colors pop. Every piece of this book is a true labor of love for all involved.
The start of something big...
Lily Firehands and The Secret of Warmth is book one in a forthcoming eight book series.
Book two — Lily Firehands and The Kingdom of The Cold — is planned to release in Fall 2024.
The story behind the story
Lily first came through to me in March 2015.
There’s only so much I want to say about this.
Someone I loved, Little Bird, had called and told me she was sick, and deep into treatment. I came to the hospital to see her. We hadn’t seen each other in six months. The last time I saw her, she was herself in full, all of her. When I saw her in the hospital, all of a sudden, she was a skeleton. How that feels is my business, and hers, but that’s what happened.
That first night, I sat in her hospital bed with her and she asked me to tell her a story. That’s when Lily first appeared. I started talking about a girl born on a frozen boat who only knew the cold, but traveled to a cave and found fire and learned of warmth for the first time in her life.
I had never seen or known of Lily before, I had never thought about this character or this story in even the smallest amount. Not even a single little thought or glimmer of her, or her story, or her world. Lily came in that night, herself in full, seemingly out of nowhere.
I went home a few days later and started to write down Lily’s story, one chapter at a time. I emailed the chapters to Little Bird, then to her and her mom, then to her, and her mom, and a few friends as well. I started to draw a little as well, to make a little sketch for each chapter.
The first time I drew Lily she looked exactly how she looks now. Like I said, she came through in full, as her full self, from the very beginning.
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What more is there to say about all this? I got about halfway through writing and sketching this first book. Little Bird got better and began to recover. I don’t want to say much more about all that. It’s between me and her and no one else.
But Lily carried us through those years in her own way, popping in and out. I finished writing this first book sometime in 2017, sometime after Little Bird’s remission began. It was warm out.
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Lily first came to help Little Bird that night in the hospital.
Over the last nine years she has continued to come through to help me, to teach me, to guide me, through difficult times and mundane. She still does, with each new book.
And now Lily is here to help a whole lot more people — anyone and everyone who needs her.
Lily has a good heart, beneath it all.
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I don’t like writing about these things.
In part because it hurts and I don’t like going back there.
In part because it’s so personal for myself and others.
In part because I don’t like to take credit here, for this book, for any book I write really, but for this one in particular. Lily was always there, somewhere, waiting, it just took this moment before I could begin to see her, and speak for her.
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To me, Lily is a real person, and her story covers real events that happened somewhere, in some way. That’s how this feels to me — like a channeled work, and I am just a vessel she’s telling her own story through. Her translator.
My only job in all of this is to see and hear and feel clearly. Then, to do my best to put it all on paper, to bring it all into this world, and this weight, as best as my abilities allow.
So if Lily feels familiar to you too, maybe that’s why. Maybe you have your own connection with her, or your own memories and glimpses of the histories I’m recounting here.
These are stories that have been told many times before, and will be told many times again. I’m just the one carrying the water for this turn of the wheel. And it’s been a true honor.
-Craig, 05/16/2024