There’s a version of motherhood we’re all sold. It’s calm. Organized. Meaningful. There are smiling babies, clean kitchens, and a mom who somehow has time to shower, exercise, and make thoughtful meals. And then there’s the real version. The one with crying babies, zero sleep, reheated coffee, and that quiet moment where you wonder if there’s a secret manual everyone else got… and you didn’t. If that sounds even remotely familiar, Family Magic by Michele Emmy might be the most relatable—and entertaining—Mother’s Day gift you could give.

Meet Family Magic

Tina is already overwhelmed. Life is chaotic, her baby won’t stop crying, and postpartum blues are hitting harder than expected. So when her best friend introduces her to a parenting class that promises something different—something easier—she’s willing to try it. This isn’t your average parenting class. This one teaches spells. At first, it seems harmless. Helpful, even. A little magic to smooth out the rough edges of motherhood? Honestly, who wouldn’t want that? But something isn’t right. There’s a strange pull toward a creepy building across the alley. Something darker is going on beneath the surface, and Tina can’t ignore it. What starts as a desperate attempt to survive motherhood turns into something far more unsettling.

Why This Book Hits So Hard (in the Best Way)

What makes Family Magic work isn’t just the fantasy—it’s how real everything feels underneath it. Michele Emmy taps into the raw, unfiltered side of motherhood. The exhaustion. The overwhelm. The moments where you’d honestly consider a spell or two if it meant getting through the day. And then she layers in humor, absurdity, and just enough darkness to keep things interesting. It’s funny without being fluffy, relatable without being heavy, and just unsettling enough to keep you turning pages.

About the Author

Michele Emmy is a Clarion graduate and Colorado Gold fantasy award winner who clearly enjoys putting her characters through a little chaos. She writes fantasy and science fiction with humor, strange twists, and just enough bite to keep things from getting too comfortable. When she’s not building imaginary worlds or wrangling diabolical creatures, she’s managing five Instant Pots and thinking—very seriously—about exercising. Her background in parenting and education adds a layer of authenticity to Family Magic that makes the story hit even harder.

The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift (For the Mom Who Needs a Break)

Not every mom wants another candle. Some want to laugh. Some want to escape. Some want to feel seen without having to explain anything. Family Magic delivers all three. It’s the kind of book a mom can pick up at the end of a long day and think, “Okay… at least I’m not dealing with cursed parenting classes.” And honestly, that alone might be worth it.

Grab a Copy for Mom

Right now, paper copies are 10% off through Mother’s Day, making this the perfect time to give a gift that’s a little different—and a lot more memorable. Because sometimes the best Mother’s Day gift isn’t something pretty. It’s something that makes her laugh, nod, and maybe wonder… what if a spell would actually help?

When she’s not wrangling imaginary realms or dreaming up unexpected plot twists, she can be found tinkering with her five Instant Pots and contemplating the idea of exercise—a vibe many of us deeply understand.

Here’s a closer look at the stories readers can’t stop talking about:

Gift Idea #1 Family Magic

Flunking motherhood? There’s a spell for that… or possibly a curse.

Motherhood is messy, magical, and occasionally monstrous, and Tina is drowning in the deep end. Between the sleepless nights and postpartum blues, she’s desperate for help, so when a friend introduces her to a “parenting class” promising simple spells to soothe stressed-out moms, she jumps at the chance.

The teacher seems kind. The magic seems harmless. But across the alley looms a strange squat building that calls to students in unsettling ways… and Tina can’t shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong.

Blending humor, heart, and creeping dread, Family Magic is the perfect read for anyone who knows parenthood is equal parts love, chaos, and sheer survival.

Available on Amazon and in Other Stores

Gift Idea #2 Pieces of Eight

Wetworld is dying. Dryworld doesn’t care. And one emissary stands between survival and extinction.

In this haunting ecofiction tale, the oceans have reached their breaking point. Rising temperatures and choking pollution drive Wetworld to send one of its own to Dryworld — our world — in a desperate bid to understand the enemy and stop the devastation.

But as the emissary uncovers the truth about humanity’s choices, she faces an impossible reality: saving one world might doom the other.

Thoughtful, gripping, and eerily relevant, Pieces of Eight explores the fragile connections between humans and the ecosystems we depend on. It’s eco-fantasy with heart, hope, and teeth.

Available on Amazon and in Other Stores

Gift Idea #3 Hex-A-Gone

If two wrongs don’t make a right… how many does it take to fix a magical disaster?

Thalia Gold knows exactly how fast a life can fall apart. One impulsive mistake at age twelve cost her everything: her family, her place in the magical community, and her own budding powers.

Now seventeen, she’s determined to rebuild, starting with a job at her Great-Aunt Sally’s rundown magic shop, Hex-A-Gone. But on day one she signs a cursed contract that lands Aunt Sally in prison, threatens the Charmed Community, and paints a gigantic magical target on her own back.

Every attempt to reverse the curse sends Thalia deeper into danger. Secrets unravel. Enemies close in. And someone far more powerful—and far more ruthless—wants to erase her before she uncovers the truth.

Fast-paced, funny, and packed with heart, Hex-A-Gone kicks off an irresistible YA urban fantasy series full of mystery, magic, and second chances.

Available on Amazon and in Other Stores

Why Readers Love Michele Emmy

Michele’s stories blend the fantastical with the familiar—family struggles, environmental anxieties, personal redemption arcs, and all the messy, wonderful imperfections that make characters unforgettable. Whether she’s conjuring domestic spells gone sideways, crafting underwater emissaries battling climate collapse, or dropping teens into cursed contracts, her writing always delivers tension, humor, and emotional punch.

With publishing credits across newspapers, magazines, and journals, and award-winning fiction recognized by RMFW, Michele brings serious storytelling chops wrapped in approachable, imaginative fun.

If you’re ready for fantasy grounded in humanity, with twists sharp enough to sting, Michele Emmy’s books are your next great escape.

I’m excited to officially reveal the cover for Family Magic, a witchy contemporary fantasy by Michele Emmy that blends humor, heart, and just enough creeping unease to keep readers turning pages late into the night.

About the Story

In Family Magic, Tina’s life is already spiraling. A colicky newborn has pushed her postpartum blues into survival mode, and motherhood feels like one long improvisation with no instruction manual. When a friend introduces her to a parenting class that teaches simple spells for stressed-out moms, Tina is desperate enough to try anything.

At first, the magic seems harmless—even helpful. The teacher is kind. The spells are practical. But something is wrong. Across the alley from the class sits a squat, unsettling building that seems to call to the students. As Tina digs deeper, she realizes the magic meant to save her family may be tied to something far more dangerous.

The result is a story that’s funny, heartfelt, and quietly unsettling—perfect for readers who enjoy fantasy grounded in real emotional stakes.

About the Cover Design

This design proves that fantasy covers don’t need darkness to carry power. Clean typography keeps the title readable at thumbnail size, while the silhouette and layered textures add depth and mystery. It’s modern fantasy with personality—exactly what Family Magic delivers on the page.

This cover was designed in Adobe Photoshop, using a manipulated stock image layered with textured elements and bold color grading to create a striking magical silhouette. The goal was simple and very intentional: stop the scroll, stand out on a bookstore shelf, and immediately signal fantasy—with a wink of humor rather than doom-and-gloom darkness.

I leaned hard into rich purples, glowing contrast, and a modern, painterly feel to reflect the story’s tone. Family Magic isn’t about grim spellcasting in shadowy towers—it’s about witch mothers juggling family life, exhaustion, love, mistakes, and magic that doesn’t always behave. The cover needed to feel approachable and contemporary while still clearly rooted in the fantastical.

If you’re looking for a magical read that balances humor, motherhood, and just enough menace to raise the hairs on your arms, Family Magic deserves a spot on your shelf.

Buy Family Magic in the store of your choice and discover why Michele Emmy’s stories linger long after the final page.

Cover design for Family Magic was created by Wendy Spurlin at ArmLin House Productions. Learn more about our professional book cover and illustration services for authors and publishers.

A while back we published Pieces of Eight by Michele Emmy, and recently we unveiled the new cover for the book, shown to the right. So, it's about time we post her interview.

Michele lives in Littleton, Colorado with her husband and son. A homeschool mom and tutor, she has written scores of parenting and education articles for newspapers and magazines, as well as fantasy and science fiction stories and novellas. A Clarion graduate, decades of daydreaming finally paid off when she won the Colorado Gold award for fantasy.

Hex-A-Gone is her first novel full length novel and we'll be publishing it in April. Pieces of Eight is an ecofiction novella about a desperate Wetworld confronting the reality of the world above.

Soaring ocean temperatures are destroying the oceans, the scorching heat and putrid waste slaughtering its denizens. A desperate Wetworld sends one of its own to Dryworld to assess and mitigate the threat. But as their emissary struggles to understand and confront their foe, she realizes that if Wetworld wins its battle for survival, something more vital will vanish forever.

Now, let's get to know Michele a little better.

Q: How would you describe yourself/life in seven words?

A: Obsessed with recipes. Delighted when sentences work.

Q: Besides being a writer, what other types of jobs have you held?

A: I've worked as a nanny, homeschool mom, tutor, presidential campaign staffer, customer service representative, medical practice manager, community and commercial barter club owner and operator, magazine editor, and social media advisor.

Q: How do you go about researching for a book?

A: That’s the beauty of writing fantasy. I don’t have to. I make it all up.

Q: What would you like your readers to come away with after reading your book?

A: Mostly I want them to enjoy themselves while reading.

Q: If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?  Explain?

A: Seriously? Because that’s what I said to my husband when he popped the question, and it kind of exemplifies my attitude towards life in general.

Thanks to Michele for sharing a few things about her life and writing process. Now here's a teaser from the beginning of Pieces of Eight that you can get on Amazon in eBook.

Pieces of Eight Opener

The language of octopi has no words, no concepts. Only senses. Thousands of them, distinct, each a harbinger of the world unfolding around us. The cease of motion when a predator glides past, the taint of death eddying around it. The cloying stench of coral, comparable to a human with questionable oral hygiene. The soft crack of newly hatched eggs.

We cannot smell, you say? Sounds are muted underwater, shadows distorted? To you, perhaps, who smell only through nostrils, hear only through ears. Wetworld creatures do not separate the senses—they are as tangled as a kelp canopy, accentuating one another.

Even when we hunt, we do not destroy, but envelop. Predator and prey become one as we consume, are consumed, and as part of some new entity, consume again. It is our dance, and we dance it through eternity. Wetworld exists, how would you put it? All for one and one for all.

Octopi are solitary creatures. We lurk in caves, nestle in crevasses—except when on the hunt. Then we glide, a deeper black against dark water. We unfold, senses prickling, until sustenance appears. And then we lunge. Buoyed by a blinding determination that temporarily thrusts aside our shyness—we MUST feed! we WILL feed!—we envelop what we need and retreat, sated. But not merely by flesh—it is the essence of our prey that sustains us, connects us. We savor this feeling, this unity, until our bellies shrink once again and hunger drives us outward.

That was all I knew of life. To me, it was enough. Until the day you plucked me from my world, and altered yours forever.

Cover design for Pieces of Eight was created by Wendy Spurlin at ArmLin House Productions. Learn more about our professional book cover and illustration services for authors and publishers.