Erika Johansen Books In Order

Publication Order of The Queen of the Tearling Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Author Erika Johansen is the debut author of the famous novel series ‘The Queen of the Terling’. She has graduated from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop, which is considered a celebrated workshop among in the community of the writers. Erika says the inspiration behind her writing is a speech given by the then-Senator Barrack Obama in the year 2007. Erika says that she was so much inspired by that speech that she went on to create the ideal heroine of the series named ‘Kelsea Glynn’. She began writing about the characters and the plot of the series in the first year of her law school and was able to complete the novel in four years, during which time she also finished her law school. Erika Johansen was born and brought up in San Francisco. She grew up and still lives in the Bay Area of San Francisco. After her schooling, Erika attended the Swarthmore College before earning her MFA from the Iowa Writers Workshop. After that, she became the attorney, but continued her habit of writing all the way through her career. The character sketch of Kelsea Glynn given by author Erika Johansen is as follows:

KELSEA GLYNN:

Kelsea Glyn was born as Kelsea Rayleigh Glynn to the late Queen Elyssa Rayleigh of the kingdom of Tearling. There is no information about her father. As the Queen of Tearling, Kelsea tries to overcome the evils of her kingdom. She also tries to overcome the plotting of the monarch of the kingdom of Mortmesne, The Red Queen. Her kingdom is in the neighborhood of the kingdom of Tearling. Kelsea was made to hide for days before her mother was assassinated. Barty and Carlin Glynn raised her secretly. They also trained and educated her till the age of 19. Carlin and Barty were the loyals of Queen Elyssa. Carlin served as the mentor to the Queen and a noble, whereas Barty was a medic on the Queen’s Guard. When Kelsea reached the age of 19, Carroll came to the Glynn cottage to take her along for ascending the throne of Tearling.

Carroll was a former Guard of the Queen Elyssa. They together bid farewell to Barty and Carlin and began their journey to the capital city of Tearling, New London. In the way of their journey, they come across Caden, a secretive group of assassins. They were commissioned by Kelsea’s uncle Regent. Another group of thieves named The Fetch also followed them. In order to get her safely to the keep, the group separates and Kelsea dons Pen Alcott’s armor. After that, she finishes the journey along with Lazarus, the second in command of the Guard. However, four members of the Caden group catch them. Even though Lazarus becomes successful in slaying those four Caden assassins, he and Kelsea get imprisoned by The Ftech thieves. The novel series written by Erika Johansen comprises of two novels published in the years 2014 and 2015. A third untitled novel of the series is also ready to be published soon. The first novel of the series was published with the same title, ‘The Queen of the Tearling’ by the Harper publications.

The plot of the novel opens up on the 19th birthday of Princess Kelsea Glynn, who is forced to be raised by others in exile. She sets out on her journey to ascend the rightful throne of the kingdom of Tearling. She is described as a simple girl who loves learning. She has a little resemblance to Queen Elyssa. In order to protect her, a Tearling sapphire hangs round her neck. The sapphire is full of magical power. She is also guarded by brave soldiers like Lazarus. In her journey, Kelsea comes across various threats which try to prevent her from ascending her throne. In spite of having the royal blood, Kelsea does not know anything about the kingdom. However, she was about to discover something in the capital city of Tearling, New London that would change her. The confronting horrors were about to give her haunting experiences. She faces the challenge of whether to trust her servants and aristocrats or not as she is about to face the dark magic of The Red Queen. Kelsea is set to meet her destiny through the journey, an attempt that would make her a legend.

The novel introduces to the readers a world full of terrifying experiences. The characters of the novel are quite vividly described by the author Erika Johansen. They seem to be intriguing till the very end. The plot of the novel is full of thrilling action and twisting turns. Author Erika was praised for her efforts of her magnificent debut. The novel is reported to be made into a movie with the actress Emma Watson set to play the main character of Kelsea Glynn. She is expected to become the executive producer of the movie, which is in early production. Warner Bros. is going to be the distributor and David Heyman will be the producer. The second novel of the series was titled ‘The Invasion of the Tearling’ and was published by the Harper publication in 2015. The plot of the novel opens with Kelsea Glynn as the new Queen of Tearling. She grows, with a new sense of responsibilities as the Queen. Now, she has come across the monarch of the neighboring kingdom of Mortmesne, The Red Queen by stopping the shipments of the slaves.

The Red Queen is infamous as a brutal ruler. She derives her powers from the dark magic. The Red Queen is set to send an army of fearsome fighters in the kingdom of Tearling in order to take back what was hers, according to her. The invasion is believed to be unstoppable. As the army of Mortmesne keeps getting closer to the kingdom of Tearling, Kelsea mysteriously develops a connection with the time that was before the Crossing. She seems to rely on an unknown woman named Lily, who is possibly dangerous. She fights for her life in the male dominated world. It seems that now, the fate of Kelsea and the kingdom of Tearling lies with Lily and her secret story. However, Kelsea does not have time to find it out as she has to save Tearling from the invasion.