Karen L West, Author

Coming December 18th, 2026

The desert took his family. Beneath its sands, something is waiting to be found.

Eighteen-year-old Krick Rdyen survives by the lessons his father left him: conserve water, read the land, and never cross the dunes unprepared. Four years after losing his family, he knows how to stay alive. Finding somewhere to belong is harder.

Then he hears a cry beneath the sand.

Caught in a concealed trap is Rhael, a young Sand Cat with the strength of a predator, the intelligence to challenge him, and a home she cannot find. Escaping her kidnappers has left her injured and far from her people. Krick frees her, and the two strike an uncertain bargain: he will help her reach her clowder, where he hopes he might find shelter, too.

But the desert offers no straightforward road.

Beneath shifting dunes lie hidden rooms, sealed chambers, and remnants of a world neither understands. Some provide refuge from the deadly heat. Others hold notes, strange objects, and clues that draw the travelers toward discoveries worth risking a detour.

Each quest brings them closer to answers—and farther into danger. With water scarce and Rhael’s captors still a threat, they must decide which secrets to follow, whom to trust, and what they are willing to risk for each other.

Krick set out to help Rhael find her home. He never expected the journey to change what home could mean.

Where the Sand Keeps Secrets is an adventure of buried mysteries, unlikely friendship, and the search for belonging in a world shaped by sand.