Ros Dando ✨A Gift of Wild available now!✨

@rosdando.bsky.social

1681 Followers 1192 Following

Level 43 AuDHD chaos gremlin. Author, artist, teacher, and owned by three cats. 141 RAADS-R score. Ace and tired. A GIFT OF WORDS and A GIFT OF WILD (middle grade contemporary fantasy) out now from D&O Publishing Found in the wilds of Cumbria, UK

“Don’t worry about her,” Loman reassures him. “The second Ginny came over here—ow!—I changed what she can see. As far as she’s concerned, we’re all working beautifully quietly, and Ginny—OW! Quit hitting me!—found a seat at the back of the room, where she’s equally well-behaved.” Loman rubs his upper arm and scowls at Huginn. “Why is violence always your first answer to solving a problem?” “Why is annoyance yours?” she retorts. “Hurry up, would you? I’m not opening a portal in the middle of a classroom full of students. You never know what might go wrong, and I don’t want to start finding out today.” “Spoilsport,” Loman mutters, but he chucks his own work into his bag and stands. “Come on, then.”
Heir of Swansgrove by KJ Pritchett
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Digital artwork of a young teenage girl with long, ginger hair dyed purple at the tips. She's wearing a black jumper and behind her is a snowy field and bare-branches of woodland. Tracks in the snow shift from paw-prints to footprints as they come closer.
Digital artwork of a boy with golden curls carrying a girl with red hair, the tips dyed blue, through a snowy woodland.
A Gift of Words by Rosalind Dando. Cover image shown against an autumn background. White text reads: BBNYA 2025 finalist! "Filled with magic and heart" "Four of my five children read this and loved it" "Fab blending of everyday life, magic, and Norse mythology."
A young boy and girl in the snowy woods. The girl is having a piggyback and they are both laughing. He has blond wavy hair and she has long ginger hair with blue tips.
Book covers for A Gift of Words and A Gift of Wild. Fuck all people see my posts on here these days, so if you really want these describing, let me know.
Image shows the full cover for A Gift of Wild. Dark blue background with runic symbols. Golden knotted frame surrounding a digital image of a young teen girl with long ginger hair, wearing a black jumper, smiling slightly at the viewer. Behind her is a snowy, wintry scene of woodlands. Above the frame is a raven, wings outstretched. The title, A GIFT OF WILD and the author's name, ROSALIND DANDO, are in capitals and a Norse-inspired golden font.
A partial cover reveal, with part of the titled 'ft of Wild', a black feathered bird wing, and a blue background with runes.
Cover reveal, July 5th 2025 Image shows a mostly-covered book image, with a sliver of a teenage girl with red hair, a section of gold border, and a dark blue background.
Image shows a crop of a Word doc screen, with the title 'A GIFT OF WEIRD' in Norse runic font. The cursor is just beneath.
Trope map for A Gift of Words: Grumpy raven girl, Dinosuars (no, really!), MC has anxiety, Magical origami, Norse mythology, Supportive family, ADHD bestie.
ARC applications now open. Google forms link in description.
Digital artwork of a dad with a young son and daughter
A chibi character of Alice being very excited next to A Gift of Words.
Two digital artwork images, side by side. A young man in grey scale, very anime vibes. A young girl with long red hair, arms folded, in full colour. Text reads: 2021 to 2025. (Only looking at digital art here; I've been drawing a lot longer than the last four years!)
Theo isn’t someone who gets frightened by anything or anyone. He’s a fighter, a protector, someone who’ll step between you and the monsters and keep them from hurting you. He’s one of the bravest people Alice has ever known, and he’s terrified. It’s there in his eyes, the fear and panic, although he’s attempting to mask it. But she knows him too well.
Digital artwork of five pre-teens, drawn in a cartoony style.
It hadn’t always been the easiest of things, going to school. There had been a few teachers she really got on with really well, and friends she argued with as much as had fun with. There had certainly been times, when she was at primary school and Milo was in infants, when she’d had screaming disagreements with adults and other children. Sometimes those were even about Milo, about how weird and different he was. Avery hated those arguments, in part because she knew, deep down, she was weird and different as well, and had simply learned to bury some of those parts deep enough inside her where nobody outside of family could see them or know about them. But she enjoyed learning, and she liked spending time with the people she got along with. The idea of saying goodbye to all of that was a miserable one.
Digital artwork of a young white man with black, wavy hair, wearing a leather jacket and grey t-shirt with a ring on a chain around his neck.
Goblin was not his intended name. Avery couldn’t remember what they’d planned on calling him, but the moment Dad laid eyes on the tiny kitten with huge ears in the animal shelter, he’d laughed and said it wasn’t a cat, but definitely a goblin. And the name had stuck. Even now, fully grown into his ears, and a striking black smoke colour which shifted from pale grey to deep charcoal, he was and forever would be the goblin kitty.
“You sound so sure, little one. The memory plays such tricks, especially on one who finds it hard to distinguish between fantasy and reality.” Mirai’s voice was calm, patient, like a river eroding its path through rocks. If it took her an hour or a year to break Avery’s will, it wouldn’t matter to the faerie either way.
Picrew images of the six main characters in Midsummer Secrets.
Digital art of a pre-teen girl with long ginger hair, the ends coloured blues and purples. She's wearing a black jumper, her arms folded, and staring at the viewer with greenish hazel eyes and a knowing smile. The background is pale greyish purple in tones.
She liked the idea of the violin, but as to how good she would be… She hated starting new things as much as she enjoyed the concept of them, because most of the time she would be terrible at whatever the new activity was. It didn’t matter if a teacher or Dad told her everyone was bad when they began – she didn’t want to be.
She also can’t quite bear the thought of changing into another animal just yet; she’s barely resisting the urge to wag a tail she doesn’t have.
Alice turns to glare at the teacher, fury blinding her. “It is! He broke it and you don’t even care!” She lashes out, her boot kicking the ruined model across the floor where it thumps into a table leg, then runs out of the classroom before anyone has a chance to catch her.
Expansive landscape picture of the fells and lakes, reflecting back an unsettled sky. White serif text overlaid reads: "Avery, you are exactly what Black Hallow Farm needs. The next of the Randall family, future guardian of the Keepers and watcher of the hollow hills." ~ Midsummer Secrets at Black Hallow Farm
White background with THE END written in capitals
The girls’ toilets aren’t the nicest place to spend time, though, and smell distinctly unpleasant. More so than usual. Maybe she’s kept some of her beagle-form’s sense of smell after this morning’s jumper-hunt. Instinctively, she checks behind herself. No tail—phew. It would be just like her to go and forget something like that.
Book map of A Gift of Words.
OC artwork by Avis Raveni. Shows a teen girl with short teal hair and a big smile 😁
The Chaos Kids from A Gift of Words. Digital artwork.
Graphic showing the cover of in the name of honour, with a starry background. Now available.
Featuring: ~ mental health ~ a wolf ~ flying ~ besties (I love them) ~ some extremely bad decisions (looking at you, Theo) ~ cosy family vibes (gotta have those} ~ and fan favourite Alice is the PoV character (this book went darker than its snuggly predecessor, but hopefully some of the humour is still there as well) Gorgeous artwork by the talented @rominajeeou
Wide-screen panorama photo of snowy landscape with dry stone wall in foreground and views extending to the fells in the far distance.
This was my first foray into the world of verse novels, and it was such a great place to start exploring this format. The Girl in the Walls tells the story of V, who goes to live with her grandmother for the summer, and the conflict between them. V is everything I saw in myself at that age – creative, weird, socially awkward, with a love of bright socks. I saw many of my own experiences echoed in V’s story (such as falling out with friends when they realise you’re not ‘growing up’ the same as them, or being judged by family for displaying neurodivergent behaviours). The intergenerational trauma is covered with care and nuance, and the characters are believable and intensely real with their flaws. The story is full of beautiful description, vivid characters, and I am desperate to get into an UKS2 classroom and share it! Brilliant and highly recommended. The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt will be available from 20.05.25
Thea sat on the frosty grass, hugging her knees to her chest, her fixed stare focused somewhere in the rivers depths. She didn’t turn as Fox approached, but her frustrated sigh misted the air in front of her. “What do you want?” Fox’s heart jolted at the bitterness in the girl’s voice, and her footsteps faltered. Thea turned, her gaze cold as the water. “What?” “I…” Fox’s jaw tightened, the muscles going rigid as her back teeth ground together. An all-too-familiar defensiveness burned across her skin. “Nothing. Waste of time.” She turned and began the long march back to the school buildings.
A snow covered road with a steep left hand bend at the top.
Announcement! Book 2 in the Gifts Trilogy will be published in August 2025. Image shows A Gift of Words next to a blank book with the title A Gift of Wild.
Cover artwork for The Girl In The Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt. A young girl with dark wavy hair is opening boxes in an abandoned room. She's wearing brightly coloured socks and carrying a doll. The title is in white text above her, and above that is a second girl, all in tones of blue, with a wicked smile, reaching downwards and over the text.
Two white late teen girls, one with short teal hair and a sparkling attitude, the other with short black hair and a judgy expression. Both in school uniform.
Mood board for current WIP. Text reads "How can I find my soulmate if nobody ever shows me their soul?" YA romance & horror WIP. Images include frosted leaves, snowy woods, a library, two young women holding hands, a young woman kissing, her breath misting in frosty air, and a brilliant blue eye with hints of ice on the skin.
Photo of the Ever Given container ship being dug out of the bank by a tiny excavator. Text above the digger reads: ME. Text on the ship reads: MY REVISIONS.
Fox stared at the train carriage doors for the longest breath, willing them to stay closed, for the train to grind into movement and vanish into the grey December mist. They obligingly hissed open with a jolt, and she growled under her breath in disappointment. Bloody doors. Even inanimate objects were against her.
If you were spikier than whatever tried to bite you, they got a mouthful of thorns and didn't try again. Text on a dark background with macro photograph of a snowflake.
Photo of a soft toy highland cow in a shopping trolley with a pizza.
42 year old white woman with dark hair and dark eyes, wearing a knitted blue hat, with a thick dark brown coat and fur-trimmed hood.
HP laptop with various nerdy and ND stickers.
Picrew of a young teen girl with short curly mid brown hair, wearing a rainbow jumper and dungarees.
Paperback book surrounded by leaves and bookmarks.
Cover for New Model Army, Impurity. Shows an of a purple snake with orange eyes, black forked tongue sticking out over the white writing of the title.
Pencil and white gouache portrait of Henry Ian Cusick as Marcus Kane from The 100.
Black background with pale grey text reading: At least two people would notice if she never returned to school, and she didn't want to let either of them down by falling between the cracks in the world.
A paperback copy of A Gift of Words, along with four bookmark designs and some stationary, surrounded by autumn leaves.
A combined image of the front cover (a boy holding a book, encircled by a golden knotwork circle). Title: A GIFT OF WORDS. Beneath, in white writing over a foggy background, reads: Available to buy now in ebook and paperback!
Seven Piccrew images, all showing the teen(ish) characters from A Gift of Words and its sequel.
A screenshot of the cover for A Gift of Words, along with its title, by Rosalind Dando, and Independently published. Status: Eligible Nominated by: Gemma Dixon