Welcome to the first week of The Earthspark Read-Along. Each week, you will find a summary of that week’s readings, along with discussion points if you are wanting to read with a friend or join The Enchanted Book Nook for a broader book discussion.

Download the PDF of the story map.

Also, this is an epic fantasy, so it can be hard to keep track of characters at times. So to help you out, I’ve created a character list.

In case you missed it last week, here is the playlist I’ve put together to go along with this book.

Over these first chapters, we meet our main character, Princess Nienna Comstock. Nienna, who is a cartographer by trade, was tasked with creating the map that will be used to construct a new road from the silver mines at the northern city of Silverlen, to the capital of Solomon in Central Tellidus.

As she does so, she is invited to participate in an interview to become a professor at the university she loves dearly. However, obstacles ranging from environmental, to work obligations, and family expectations stand in her way.

Despite this, Nienna relentlessly pursues her dream to teach and live a life outside of the castle walls and ultimately gains what she desires.

However, that victory has unforeseen consequences.

Discussion points:

• Have you ever had an interview for a job or something else, that felt like it was going to be impossible to succeed? What did you do? How would you do things differently if you could?

• What family expectations have you experienced that have chaffed against who you really wanted to be?

• What is one thing you have always wanted to do? What would it take for you to start doing it?

Fun Facts:

• This story has been rewritten three times, with two extra revisions, since the day it was first published.

• When first researching for this novel, I came across a book that talked about professions of women in the Middle Ages. They ranged from seamstress, to artist, to childcare. The one that stuck out to me, however, was being a cartographer. That one fact sparked the whole idea of Nienna and her role in The Comstock Chronicles.

• The scenery of this novel was based off of much of the landscape of Idaho as well as a few other places I’ve traveled. See the inspiration below.