WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, May 4, 2021 - During a special YouTube premiere event at noon on May 4, author Taylor Thomas Smythe revealed the title, synopsis, release date, and a new illustrator for the forthcoming sixth installment in his Kingdom of Florida fantasy series. Kingdom of Florida: Coral and the Treasure Hunters, book six in the ongoing middle-grade series, picks up a few years after the events of last fall’s The Curse of Coronado and continues the adventures of now-teenage heroes Oliver, Ellie, Ben, and Annie.

Coral and the Treasure Hunters takes readers on three intertwined adventures set in two different eras in the Kingdom. While readers jump back into the continuing story of Oliver and his friends, they’ll also find plenty of surprises in the thrilling, swashbuckling quest that runs parallel to it. This secondary storyline is set several decades in the past, and follows the early days of Princess Coral on her mission to reclaim a treasure that was taken from her family.

“There are countless easter eggs sprinkled throughout the new book, and they connect to hints that I dropped in the earlier books,” Smythe noted. “As an author, it’s incredibly satisfying to see so many of those moments come full circle, and I think my avid fans are going to love it. Plus, we’ll get to experience a few familiar moments from a new perspective.”

In addition to the title and synopsis, Smythe also introduced viewers to artist Samantha Pollack, who will provide illustrations for the new story. Pollack, a Florida native now based in Pittsburgh, follows in the footsteps of Alice Waller, the illustrator for the first five installments in the series. As the story takes place several years after the prior books, Smythe explained that he wanted to add another artist to the Kingdom of Florida family to flesh out this new era in the world and timeline. 

“I’m super grateful to Ali for her incredible work,” said Smythe. “And I’m thrilled for readers to see the equally-brilliant work that Sam brings to the table. The two of them have captured my literary vision so well and in unique ways.”

Kingdom of Florida: Coral and the Treasure Hunters will be available in early June. It is the penultimate novel in the series, which draws inspiration from such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, and follows the journey of a group of South Florida children as they discover a magical parallel world ruled by an evil prince. Smythe shared that the seventh and final book is slated to arrive in 2022, and he hinted at an additional surprise before the end of 2021. 

The first five individual Kingdom of Florida books are independently published and available via online booksellers and www.kingdomofflorida.com in paperback, hardcover, Kindle ebook, and — for the first two installments — audiobook. ​

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, April 13, 2021 - Kingdom of Florida, Volume I, the special, single-volume hardcover collection of the first four books in Taylor Thomas Smythe’s middle-grade fantasy series, is now available. 

The new hardbound book clocks in at 732 pages and features the full texts of Books 1 - 4 in the Kingdom of Florida series--The Golden Alligator, The Lamplight Society, The Place Beyond the Sea, and The Fountain of Youth—along with the original black-and-white illustrations by Alice Waller. The colorful dust jacket bears a matte-finish design featuring eye-catching tropical blues and greens. 

The release comes after last fall’s debut of The Curse of Coronado (Book 5) and ahead of the upcoming, penultimate sixth novel in the series.

The series, which draws inspiration from such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, follows the journey of a group of South Florida children as they discover a magical parallel world ruled by an evil prince.

Kingdom of Florida, Volume I is available today. The first five Kingdom of Florida books are independently published and available via online booksellers and www.kingdomofflorida.com in paperback, hardcover, Kindle ebook, and — for the first two installments — audiobook. 
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WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - Author and creator Taylor Thomas Smythe announced the upcoming release of Kingdom of Florida, Volume I — a special, single-volume hardcover collection of the first four books in his middle-grade fantasy series. The collection is available for pre-order now with a release date scheduled for April 13, 2021.

“It was always a dream of mine for these stories to become a hardcover treasury,” said Smythe. “I debated over the timing of this—whether I should wait until the whole series was complete, or whether to split it roughly in half and release the first part sooner. So, I’m thrilled to be offering this beautiful new edition of the first part of the Kingdom of Florida story. I hope it allows more readers to fall in love with this enchanting world and its quirky characters—and to catch up before the next book comes out.”

The new hardbound book clocks in at 732 pages and features the full texts of Books 1 - 4 in the Kingdom of Florida series--The Golden Alligator, The Lamplight Society, The Place Beyond the Sea, and The Fountain of Youth—along with the original black-and-white illustrations by Alice Waller. The colorful dust jacket bears a matte-finish design featuring eye-catching tropical blues and greens. 

The release comes after last fall’s debut of The Curse of Coronado (Book 5) and ahead of a formal announcement of the upcoming, penultimate sixth novel in the series, which is expected later this year.

The series, which draws inspiration from such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, follows the journey of a group of South Florida children as they discover a magical parallel world ruled by an evil prince.

The first five Kingdom of Florida books are independently published and available via online booksellers and www.kingdomofflorida.com in paperback, hardcover, Kindle ebook, and — for the first two installments — audiobook. Kingdom of Florida, Volume I drops April 13 and is available for preorder today from a variety of retailers.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, October 27, 2020 - Kingdom of Florida: The Curse of Coronado is now available for purchase in paperback and Kindle ebook formats. The Curse of Coronado is the fifth—and longest—novel in the imaginative, middle-grade Florida-fantasy series from author Taylor Thomas Smythe. The series, which draws inspiration from such classics as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, follows the journey of a group of South Florida children as they discover a magical parallel world ruled by an evil prince. 

“The first four books happened over the course of one summer in the story world and told a very sequential story arc,” explained Smythe. “The new book picks up a year after The Fountain of Youth (the fourth book in the series), so we get to see how things have changed since we last left our heroes. Without spoiling too much, I can say that what starts in the opening pages as a light-hearted birthday celebration quickly goes awry. A mysterious package shows up and propels the children into a new quest.”

Readers can expect a lot of familiar faces—and a couple new ones. “The first several chapters are full of sweet reunions with many of the characters in the Kingdom that we’ve grown to love over the past couple years,” Smythe hinted. “I think readers will be pleased that we get to explore some of the characters who maybe weren’t quite at the center of the story before.”

As with the first four novels, artist Alice Waller returned to illustrate the world of Kingdom of Florida for the new novel. Though she moved out of state just before the release of book four, Waller—formerly based in West Palm Beach—had already been in talks with Smythe to bring the images the fifth book to life. “They’re some of her best yet,” Smythe noted.

Kingdom of Florida: The Curse of Coronado is now available at www.kingdomofflorida.com, along with the first four books, in paperback, hardcover, Kindle ebook, and (for the first installment) as a digital audiobook. ​