Melissa Bennight

The Bronze Mirror by Melissa Bennight

Ryu wasn’t expecting to find an old bronze mirror when he fell in the well. And he certainly wasn’t expecting to find a cursed old bronze mirror.

Now he’s a demon with horns, fangs, red skin, and a red hot temper to match, and it’s only thanks to the sacred jewel given to him by a Buddhist priest that Ryu is able to appear human and resume his normal life.

If you can call fighting demons in your free time normal.

As Ryu learns to live with his curse he finds himself facing off against a variety of creatures he had thought existed only in folktales, including cucumber loving kappa, fierce tengu, and beguiling snow women. Their master, Ka-an, is after the mirror, and the Buddhist priest who has taken Ryu under his wing believes that Ka-an wants it for nefarious reasons. But when Ryu discovers Ka-an’s true identity and purpose he wonders what side he really belongs on, and if his curse will ever be broken.

THE BRONZE MIRROR is a 46,000 word middle grade fantasy heavily influenced by Japanese folklore and religion.

I lived in Japan for four years. Originally hailing from Idaho, my husband and I moved to Nagoya, Japan three years ago. Prior to living in Nagoya we lived in the rural prefecture of Shimane, an area famous for being the place of origin of many Japanese gods and monsters.


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