YOUNG ADULT FICTION
COMING FALL 2026!!
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Trippyn Connely And The Scepter of Time
By M. Schimke and A. Morken
Available in Paperback & eBook
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Some spend their entire lives trying to silence the quiet voice that insists they were made for something more. Fifteen-year-old Trippyn Connelly has spent years doing exactly that.
Haunted by impossible dreams, burdened by the unexplained disappearance of his mother, and unable to shake the feeling that he doesn't belong in the life he's been given, Tripp has learned to dismiss the restless pull inside him as imagination. But when a mysterious symbol brands itself across his chest and a single message echoes through his dreams, "The mystery ends with you," everything he thought he understood begins to unravel.
Beyond the veil lies Ananta, an elemental world where emotion shapes reality, thought bends matter, and time itself has begun to fracture. As Tripp is drawn deeper into its mysteries, he discovers that the power capable of restoring the Continuity of worlds has never been hidden in an ancient artifact alone—it has been awakening within him all along.
Pursued by a ruler determined to reshape history, surrounded by forgotten truths, and confronted by a destiny larger than either world can comprehend, Tripp must learn that true strength is not found through domination, certainty, or control. It is found in stillness. In compassion. In forgiveness. In trusting the quiet voice beneath fear, because sometimes the greatest battles are fought not against darkness, but against the doubts that convince us we are too small to answer the calling placed upon our lives.
Blending epic fantasy, metaphysical mystery, emotional healing, and spiritual wonder, Trippyn Connelly and the Scepter of Time is the first novel in an unforgettable five-book saga exploring destiny, family, memory, manifestation, and the unseen forces that connect every heart across every world; for readers who believe that fantasy should not only transport us, but transform us, this is a story about discovering that the universe has been speaking to us all along.
The only question is...can he be still long enough to hear it?
YOUNG ADULT FICTION
AUTHOR BIOS
Ashley K. Morken
Melissa S. Schimke
Ashley Morken is a life coach, attorney, artist, educator, and author from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She holds two master's degrees, one in Environmental Law and Policy and one in Marriage and Family Therapy, as well as a Juris Doctorate. After a career in law, Ashley transitioned into life coaching, where she combines creativity, neuroscience, systems thinking, and personal growth to help individuals and families build lives of purpose and resilience.
A lifelong storyteller, Ashley earned her bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in Creative Writing and gained editorial experience with The Saturday Evening Post. She has also worked as a copywriter and published legal and environmental writing throughout her academic career. Today, she is the founder of Healing Hearts Publishing, where she writes stories that inspire courage, imagination, empathy, and meaningful conversation.
Ashley is the author of the children's picture books Lola's Tree and the Mermaids Don't Sleep series, as well as the creator of the middle-grade mystery series Bea and the Boys, beginning with The Secret of the Marble. Together with her mother, she is also co-authoring a five-book young adult fantasy series, Trippyn Connely and the Scepter of Time, an epic adventure exploring time, identity, purpose, and the choices that shape our lives. Ashley and her wife live in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with their five children, whose endless curiosity and imagination continue to inspire many of the stories she writes.
Melissa Schimke, Ashley's mother and co-author, lives in rural South Dakota with her husband, a retired farmer and rancher. Together they raised six children and enjoy visiting them all as well as their 15 grandchildren, who inspire many themes throughout Melissa's writing. She holds a degree in Biology and has spent much of her life nurturing a love of storytelling, poetry, and clever rhyme. Melissa is the author of the children's picture book Benjamin's Lost Sock Adventure and is currently pursuing her lifelong dream of writing adult fiction. Alongside Ashley, she is co-authoring the five-book Trippyn Connely and the Scepter of Time fantasy series, bringing warmth, wisdom, and imagination to a story generations in the making.