Have you ever picked up a book, devoured it, and been so completely giddy? On Hidden Wings is a book that I wish I had when I was a young teen, yet my inner child found it so satisfying as an adult. I first heard about the book in 2024, when it won a Realm Award for best Middle Grade book. I quickly ordered a copy, and I loved it so much that I reached out to the author to gush about it! As a result, Adare and I have become fast friends. We met briefly at the 2025 Realm Makers conference, and then we roomed together in 2026. Yep, it escalated that quickly. Writer friends are amazing like that!
When I finished On Hidden Wings, I may have asked Adare if there would be a sequel, and she hinted one was in the works. When I learned that book two would be released on September 1, 2026, I joined her hype team immediately. And here I am…HYPING! If you love mythical creatures, shape-shifting, political intrigue, strong family bonds, and creative magic systems, then you’ll love these books.
Continue reading to learn more about Adare Elyse, her author journey, and her books! If you aren’t already a subscriber to my newsletter, sign up for a chance to win a copy of On Hidden Wings (or a copy of On Tempest Wings if you already own a copy of book one…or want to snag a copy now so you are ready for the release)! The winner will be selected September 1, 2026 and announced in my September newsletter.
Without further ado…meet my friend Adare Elyse!
At what age did you first start seriously writing with the goal of publishing a book?
I started writing my first novel at age 12 as a 3-page “vocabulary essay” and asked my teacher if she would keep reading if I kept writing the story. She agreed, and as my novel unfolded, she said the magic words, “You could publish.” As an advanced reader who already loved Lord of the Rings and wanted more complex fantasy stories but wasn’t ready to tackle the darkness and evil in many adult books, I loved the idea of sharing stories that were full of hope and light with other readers like me. I started querying that first novel at age 14 and kept writing other novels and querying them as the years passed.
Can you share a bit about your author journey from unpublished to published?
When I first started pursuing publication, self-publishing wasn’t the readily available and respectable option it is now. I read books, attended writing conferences, and joined critique groups with the goal of getting a traditional publishing contract. I even earned a certificate in publishing from the University of Denver’s Publishing Institute. Every time I wrote another book, I slipped an old one into the drawer in favor of querying the new. As independent publishing became more accessible, I saw several writers I knew tire of the rejections and publish books I thought weren’t quite up to the standard that my studies had pounded into me. I resolved I wouldn’t make that mistake. I kept getting manuscripts to the finals in contests, but they didn’t win—and no agents or editors accepted them. I became very discouraged, feeling like my writing was never good enough. But 19 years after starting my querying journey, I felt God leading me to trust Him as the judge of my writing and to release it into the world that year. Since traditional publishing takes a year or two, or sometimes more, to release a book, I knew that meant I had to publish a book myself. In a frightening leap of faith, I hustled to release my book, On Hidden Wings, within a matter of months in November 2023.
Where did you find your inspiration for your trilogy?
Strangely enough, the inspiration goes all the way back to age 12 when I wrote a different story for a class assignment and came up with the side character of Becka, a winged Centaur. I liked her character and had the idea of her shapeshifting into her component forms, so I kept trying to slip her into stories where she didn’t quite fit (including a superhero story). Finally, I decided to make a world and a story around her. And that’s where the trilogy began. Originally, I planned to make it one standalone book that could expand into a series or remain happily on its own, but as readers have asked questions about what will happen next and requested to see more of the characters, I decided to continue the story after all. When I reached the end of book 2 (which is coming out September 1st!), I realized it would work best as a trilogy in order to give all the characters their time to shine.
What is the most inspiring feedback you’ve ever received from a reader?
My mom has always been my most dedicated reader. From reading those painfully bad first novels and speaking the most dreaded phrase, “That’s implausible,” to today, she has always been incredibly supportive and pointed out the most “brilliant” parts of my writing. She’s helped me work through plot holes and word choice and encouraged me to keep going through all the hard times.
What do you love most about writing middle grade fantasy?
This goes back to the reason I started writing novels in the first place: to write the kinds of stories I wanted to read and to share them with others. As I grew up, I started writing young adult, but over time it became a genre that was no longer “safe” but instead filled with just as much darkness as adult books. I originally thought On Hidden Wings would be a young adult book, but since the characters were younger and the themes focused more on friendship and accepting yourself than romance and finding your individual place in the world, I wasn’t sure if it fit the genre. A wise mentor said it was really a middle grade book, and that felt like coming home to my original 12-year-old’s dream. I love that middle grade can be a haven of clean, lighthearted stories that are still profound and beautiful.
While writing, did your characters run away with your plot, adding in unsuspecting twists and turns? Or did they stick to the script? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
Generally, I have an idea of the climax of the story before I get started but don’t have every single point along the way mapped out. I’ve tried both ways. With outlining, I found that my characters would not want to do what they needed to (or at least not on my timeframe) or I’d get bored. The one time I wrote a book without any plan, the plot wasn’t as robust and needed more fixing to make sense. So, I fall in between the two extremes. Sometimes characters do something surprising. For book 2 in the On Hidden Wings series, I found that one of the characters stepped up and claimed for himself a bigger role than I’d intended; he got a little off track, and I had to rework some things, but in the end he significantly influenced the cover and title.
Do you have a favorite character? If so, who?
I feel like it’s not very nice to pick favorites among characters I created, but…honestly, I love Ryandru. He is so delightful and fun, and I really appreciate his optimism and energy. I also love Becka, because she is more like me—quiet and cautious—rather than the feisty, sassy heroines that dominate a lot of books.
What was the weirdest thing you researched while writing these books?
My gut reaction is, “I’m a fantasy author, so I don’t have to research things!” But I do research anyway; I admit it. More random than weird, I researched the relative flight speeds of pigeons versus other birds like gray jays or blackbirds. Did you know pigeons can fly over 50 miles per hour? Insane! The gray jay is more like 25 mph.
Without giving spoilers, what is your favorite scene you’ve written in your books?
It’s hard to pick a favorite because some are exciting while others are heartwarming, but one of my favorites is where the two main characters, Becka and Ryandru, meet.
What advice would you give to a new author who is writing their first book?
For your first book, enjoy writing the story. Enjoy the creativity! Then understand that this process is hard, but hard is not always bad. Hard lesson number one…your first book might not be the first one you should publish. Every book you write will be better than the last while you keep studying and improving your craft. It’s valuable to go through the whole process start to finish, from having the idea to finishing the draft to editing to pitching to agents/editors, but a “no” to one book isn’t a “no” to you as a writer or to everything you’ll ever write. It might just be a “not yet.”
Do you have a recent young adult or middle grade, 5-star read you would like to recommend? What did you like about it?
There are so many good ones out there, but most recently I listened to the audiobooks of the Green Ember series by S.D. Smith. It’s Lord of the Rings meets Redwall and elegantly handles a range of huge topics in appropriate ways for middle grade readers. It’s been a long time since I’ve read something with the kind of epic elegance and lore that Lord of the Rings has, and this series captured it, too.
What other up-and-coming projects do you have in the works?
The sequel to On Hidden Wings comes out September 1st, 2026! It’s called On Tempest Wings, and you can find out all about at https://adare-elyse.com/book-table/on-tempest-wings/. There will be a book three…but right now I’m still in the brainstorming phase for it. I also have a couple of young adult books and a picture book out on submission to several publishers right now, so who knows what might happen?
Where can people find you online to follow along on your author journey?
The best place to find me is my website, https://adare-elyse.com/. You can join my newsletter to get the latest book news and free goodies, including an ebook and short story (plus sunrise pictures!), at https://adare-elyse.com/sign-up/. Occasionally, you can also find me on Instagram @adare_elyse.
Book Info:
On Hidden Wings
Published: November 2023
Awards:
Realm Award Middle Grade Speculative Fiction 2024
Realm Awards Book of the Year Finalist 2024
American Christian Fiction Writers Kingdom Kidlit Award 2025
On Tempest Wings
Publication date: 9/1/2026