The Secrets of Jin-Shei (as Alma Alexander)

BookSense Pick, May 2004
Highly Commended, 2005 RWA Prism Awards
Finalist, 2005 Washington State Book AWards
Finalist, 2005 Endeavour Award
Nomine, 2005 Orange Literary Prize

• SF Site: "Vivid and involving, The Secrets of Jin-Shei is both an exotic journey into the imagination, and a graceful exploration of the heart." Read the review.
• New Zealand Herald: "Readers who enjoy historical novels and can suspend belief a little will savour this complex saga." Read the review.
• MyShelf: "This compelling tale full of conflict, adventure, joy, and tragedy can be enjoyed by many tastes. ... This is one for the keeper shelf that will probably get read more than once and which operates on several levels. A rare treat." Read the review.
• Orlando Sentinel: "Alma Alexander expertly weaves the lives of characters into a plot full of intrigue and magic in The Secrets of Jin-Shei." Read the review.
• The publisher has some other excerpts from critical and reader reviews.
• Reader comments: Kristen aka Krispies, Amazon

Changer of Days (Books 1 & 2) New Zealand edition
titled "The Hidden Queen" and "Changer of Days" in the US

Sir Julius Vogel Award 2002 finalist
World Fantasy Award nominee
WordWeaving Excellence 2001, 2002 award winner

• WordWeaving: "One of the most stunning books to have crossed my desk for review. ... The rich tapestry of magic, exotic and deadly landscape, betrayal and intrigue are neatly woven into a smooth, flowing narrative of extraordinary depth. ... The mythology that weaves the various cultures together ... will capture readers' imaginations and linger long after completing the book." WordWeaving Award for Excellence. Read the review of Volume 1 and Volume 2.
• Crescent Blues: "Changer of Days represents a respectable series opener ... a strong yet sympathetically vulnerable heroine and an absorbing depiction of the desert culture that shelters her. ... Hromic presents a fully realized, magical world peopled with characters that prove easy to either love or hate." Read the review of Volume 1 and Volume 2.
• Swans: "By the time I finished the fifteen-page prologue I was captivated. ... It is a beautifully woven story that leads the reader to savor every detail, as every detail has meaning somewhere down the road." Read the review of Volume 1.
• Portal: "Hromic unravels a few of the standard fantasy conventions with strong female characters and an intelligent insight into the basis of power. ... A reflective novel from a mature and developed writer. ... Touching, spiritual, thoughtful and sensitive." Read the review of Volume 1 and Volume 2.
• SF Site: "An involving, intelligent novel. ... Many of the plot elements are familiar, but Hromic's thoughtful and sensitive treatment lends freshness to these popular themes. ... Characterization is a particular strength of this novel." Read the review of Volume 1.
• Altair Australia short review: "Powerful characters and a powerful setting help to deliver what I am thrilled to say is a great bloody book." Read the review of Volume 1.

Letters from the Fire

• New Zealand Herald: "What do you do with your helpless rage and grief when, an exile, you watch as your city and country are destroyed by bombs -- as the landscape of your memory is torn away like a boat wrenched by a storm from its moorings?" Read the review.
• Sydney Morning Herald: "Makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Kosovo crisis, bringing it back from the abstractions of international relations to the minutiae of ordinary life, ... A readable, thought-provoking introduction to one of the most important international crises of the late twentieth century." Read the review.
• Investigate Magazine: "A passionate, gripping, political novel that will also have internetters nodding their heads in agreement over the virtues of email." Read the review.
• Swans: "It is so real that I felt at times as if I was eavesdropping on the characters' conversations and unfolding relationship. And at the same time, I could not stop reading. It is intensely powerful, emotional and challenging." Read the review.

• The Zone interview: "Yugoslavian-born, UK and South African educated with a degree in microbiology, fortysomething, world-travelling writer Alma Alexander, nom de plume of Alma A. Hromic, gradually transitioned from penning science articles, a memoir of her early life in Africa, a collection of three fabulist tales, an epistolary novel co-composed with the American journalist she would later marry, to her real fantasy genre breakthrough in October 2001." Read the interview.
• CriticWeb interview: "Recently Critic talked to her via email about her life, her writing, and her new book, The Secrets of Jin-Shei." Read the interview.
• SFSite interview: "While this is Alexander's fifth full-length novel, it's her first to appear in America. In this e-mail interview, Alexander talks about her new novel, about language, and about writing." Read the interview.
• Portal interview: "I was fortunate to catch up with Alma A. Hromic last year, while she was in New Zealand, publicizing her new book Changer of Days. She kindly invited me to her home in Auckland to discuss her craft." Read the interview.