Daisy Russell - Author

08/08/2025

This was me.

This story was told to an adult daughter by her mother, about an incident at the public library when she was a first grader.

Even though the young girl had only recently started reading with any kind of ease and her library card was brand new, she loved books. Her only previous library experience was with her school library, which had a checkout limit of two books per child.

Child: “Mom, how many books can I check out?”

Mom: “Why don’t you ask the librarian over there?”

Satisfied with being given a route to an answer, the girl chased after the librarian, who had just decided to move to a nearby section. The mom stayed put, wanting to give her child a little independence, knowing she wouldn’t go far.

When the girl returned, the librarian trailed behind her to make sure she got back to her mother. The mom, however, related that she had been focused on her daughter, specifically, the almost diabolical ear-to-ear grin on her face.

Mom: “You look rather pleased with yourself. What did the librarian say?”

Child: Still apparently a little drunk with the power she’d been given, in a gradually increasing volume exclaimed: “She said I could check out AS MANY AS I COULD HANDLE!”

Thus began years of checking out as many as twenty books at a time — enough that carrying them was a test of the strength of her book bag, but always finishing them in a week.

The mom still laughs at the thought of that giant grin on the girl’s face as she first realized the power of a library card.

Submitted by a fan.

08/06/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

You know that squirmy sensation in your gut when you ha…

08/04/2025

🍪 Happy National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day! 🍪
In honor of the day, I made good old Pilsbury. And, since chocolate chip cookies are their own recurring baked good in my Wicked Kingdom series, here are two excerpts, one from the first book, and one from the second book, a current work in progress.
👑 🍪 🥛
Wicked Rebellion, Wicked Kingdom, Book 1
Excerpt
Brina sucked in a breath and snatched up a cookie and munched on it for a few quiet moments. She took a sip of milk, then put the glass down with a thump. Her mind spun. There were three possibilities that she could come up with. Jayson was making stuff up and pulling a really cruel prank on her. She was going crazy and the time she spent in the cemetery and letting her imagination run wild had finally driven her to madness. The third option was that this was all true as unbelievable as it seemed.
Considering every possibility, Bri stared down at the cookie in front of her as if the answer was coded in the gooey chocolate chips.
If she believed the third option, which part of her did, then she was in fact the Princess of Hell. What did that even mean? Was she cut out to be a princess? She hadn't taken any classes in high school designed for rulers of magical realms. They didn't offer them. So if she was a princess, then what? Was she going to let her kingdom fall to pieces? Who had been handling everything until now?

Brina leaned back in her seat and burst out laughing. Jayson cringed and focused his gaze on her in bewilderment. His stunned expression combined with the cookie crumbs trickling down his face just fueled the laughter. She rocked back and forth in her seat. She ducked her head, doubled up and pressed her hands to her aching stomach. She wheezed as she tried to get the words out.
"I just...Jay, we're sitting here casually talking about hell while having milk and cookies." She managed to get the words out, but another round of laughter started.
"I really don't get it." Jay said, but cracked a grin in spite of himself.
"It just can't get any weirder, can it?" She rested her head against the tabletop for just a moment or two. "Can it?" she demanded suddenly, straightening up so fast she nearly slipped off the bench.

👑 🍪 🥛
Wicked Ascension, Wicked Kingdom, Book 2
WIP
Excerpt
Dragging her mind back to the task at hand, Brina slid the baking sheet into the oven and set the timer. The oven was roomy enough to bake a mammoth in. Did Hell have dinosaurs? She prayed not. They waited in comfortable quiet while the timer ticked along. When it went off, Jayson was the one to go retrieve the cookies.

“This feels so much like last time. It’s the cookies. It’s a sensory memory. Smell cookies, remember the day your best friend told you that you were the princess of Hell.” She grinned.

“Yeah, but now we’re sipping hellequine milk out of crystal goblets and eating cookies made from scratch in the palace kitchen.” He grinned at her through his bite of cookie.

“I miss two percent,” Brina groaned, then bit into her cookie with a smile.

08/04/2025

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The final, thrilling instalment in this extraordinary s…

08/04/2025

🧡 50 days to complete my manuscript 🧡
for Pumpkin Spice by September 22nd for a tentative publication date of October 21st 🍂📚
1200 words to write per day ✍️
I got this 💪🍁💕

08/01/2025

I’ve ridden to war on the backs of dragons
walked through Middle Earth with Hobbits
worn the red of the handmaid
and the armour of a knight
cried the tears of a newbornand screamed the wrath of the wronged
fled from monsters, too many to name
ran into the arms of lovers unending
You see;
to travel to the ends of the universes,
just open a book

Shan Williams (copyright)



07/31/2025

Tomorrow, I’m starting a reading challenge for the American Cancer Society.
I’m combining my love of reading with a good cause to support those affected by cancer.
I could list the names of the teachers, family members, and friends in my life who have been impacted by cancer, but this post would go on and on. I don’t think there’s a person in this world who hasn’t been touched by it in some way.
For the month of August, I’ll be reading, raising money for the American Cancer Society, and sharing my progress along the way.
Please consider donating, or even just sharing this post, to help spread awareness.
📚💪🎗
Sincerest thanks and strength to those fighting cancer, and to their incredible support systems.

https://facebook.com/donate/1167766725158144

07/31/2025

From Jamaica to Jaipur, these literary festivals celebrate the power of the written word and offer you a chance to hear from celebrated and up-and-coming authors—as well as fellow bibliophiles.

07/31/2025

Happy National Paperback Book Day! How fun is it to have a day commemorating the first Penguin paperback released in 1935? Celebrate with adding one to your TBR pile. 📚

07/30/2025

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When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in t…

07/29/2025

07/28/2025

Yes, please. Do these things. And thank you in advance! 🤗