The Phantastical Tale of Aster and his Red Gem

Death: the only certainty. Someone should really do something about it. 
 
There seemed no escape from grief after Aster witnessed the death of his mother, until he discovered a talent for crafting culinary delights. The praise for his savory creations and pleasant confections gave him reprieve from sorrow.
 
When a strange gem comes to light, Aster is drawn away from his calm life cooking at the local tavern. Trading culinary conjurations for elemental incantations, Aster learns to wield new magic as he helps keep the world from being ripped apart.
 
Venture into the far corners of the land of Thuidium where fantastical creatures lurk, danger awaits, and magic abounds.

Scott grew up in Sacramento, California the youngest of five children. He found his sense of imagination and held on to it. A love of the written word soon followed, as did a reading of the dictionary. Phantastical Tale is his debut novel, a culmination of years of consuming written stories and learning to work in the medium of words.

Ari Augustine is a writer of adult SF/F and Horror, who lives in the wilds of Tennessee with her husband and their two feline guardians of the void, Mori-kun and Little Fury. She enjoys writing stories with richly-imagined worlds, immersive magic systems, and morally diverse characters. Augustine was the Founder of CraftQuest, a Literary Agent Intern at TriadaUS, blogger for Writer In Motion (2021), and a panelist on the WriteHive Con (2020 & 2021). She is also the creator of Bookish Valhalla, a blog dedicated to stories off the beaten path.