A Stairway to the Stars

When fifteen-year-old Mari Tarazona inherits an antique book and carpet from her dear, departed Nona, she can’t imagine that such mundane objects would open a wormhole to a distant planet, far from her lonely life as a newcomer and outcast in a rural mountain town. But when the portal opens, and she drags her reluctant dog Whammy along with her down a spiraling golden stair to the distant planet of Apokylon, they find themselves trapped in a world of despair.

An evil usurper to the throne rules the land with a golden fist, slaughtering anyone who dares oppose him. But one long-lost heir to the dead king, seventeen-year-old Kyran, has escaped the bloodbath. He and his mother have been hiding in plain sight, clothed in the rags of impoverished, nomadic peasants.

Desperately homesick, Mari longs to return to Earth, and the only known wormhole is hidden deep within the palace of the cruel emperor. With help from freedom-fighters in hiding, she and Whammy assume new identities and embark on a dangerous journey to reach the palace, hoping to find their way home through time and space.

Along the journey, Mari and Kyran find each other - and an intense first love. But just as their friendship is blossoming into something deeper, their destinies are diverging. Summoned to an audience with the Oracle of Oaba, they learn that they must part - possibly forever - in order to ensure that Kyran will assume his rightful throne, and restore peace to the shattered planet.