BOOK I: BIRTH OF THE ANIMA
“BIRTH OF THE ANIMA is a feminist fantasy novel with a serious hook.”
- Foreword Reviews
“Each Anima’s story is deeply compelling, as these complex women see their worlds upended by their new fate, and as they each find their own ways to lead.”
- Booklist
Over millennia, across the seven seterras of Aligaea, twelve women—the Anima—develop powers akin to apex predators. Along with their bestial strength and speed, they inherit the Task to restore ecological Order to the world.
Yet fulfilling the Task seems improbable as the Imperium spreads a plague of ecocide and despotism across the land, ushering in the apocalypse with its infectious Disorder.
Stout and smart Freda Johansson leaves behind a promising career, love, and community to seek the red-capped mushroom capable of turning her into the final Anima.
Whether it’s plant magic or free will guiding her from emerald forests to austere peaks, she doesn’t care. She only needs to find the mushroom before the Imperial Forces can seal the catastrophic fate of the planet.
The sacred balance of Life depends on the birth of the Anima—but even then, she must choose to own her powers as both woman and wild creature.
Hi! I’m Kelsey,
author of the Ancient Language of the Earth series.
This website is under construction as I finish creating an extended appendix on it. The website will include the world maps as well as illustrations I’ve created of the key places the story takes place within.
The second book in the series is coming in 2026 - stay tuned for more details and receive exclusive sneak peeks by signing up below for my quarterly journal, Salvaged.
Salvaged also includes a personal note from me about writing and life, recent artwork, conservation success stories, books of interest, and more.
Thank you for visiting my niche in cyberspace. With love,
Kelsey
