About the Book

Book: Chaos Woods, Chronicles of the Ever-Guise, Book I

Author: Scott T. Barnes

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy

Release Date: November 14, 2025

After a thieves’ auction goes wrong, young barmaid Telyn Brower winds up with a shard from a magical mask.

Only one problem: In this world, humans are forbidden to use magic. In fact, they’re the only sentient beings without any innate magical powers.

That doesn’t stop Telyn and her friends from using the mask to improve life in their isolated mountain town of Harlech.

At first, the changes seem small. Helpful. Necessary.

But good intentions only carry them so far.

Soon, lies begin to surface. Trust erodes. With every spell they cast, the mask tightens its grip. The power is seductive, addictive. The consequences are dangerous.

As the subjugation of humans intensifies and enemies draw near, the only way out seems to lie deep in the Chaos Woods—an ancient forest where magic itself bends and frays.

To survive, the friends must face the cost of their choices and decide whether they can truly trust one another.

Discover the young adult fantasy Chaos Woods, rated 4.8 out of 5 stars by IndieReader, and described as “an ambitious, character-driven fantasy.”

Click here to get your copy!

About the Author

An afficionado of small towns, forests, and mountains, you can find Scott T. Barnes writing in coffee shops all over Southern California. Scott won the Writers of the Future Award for his story “Insect Sculptor.” His contemporary fantasy, Memories of Lucinda Eco, set in Baja California, received a coveted “Editor’s Pick” from BookLife, while his epic fantasy Chaos Woods earned 4.8 out of 5 stars from IndieReader. Kirkus Reviews called it, “An absorbing, character-driven YA tale of camaraderie and redemption.”

More from Scott

One of the things that makes the fantasy genre so powerful, so important even, is that it often deals with existential questions, especially life versus death and good versus evil. Many other genres shy away from such question, or pretend that evil is, in fact, “relative.”

However, sharing the same stakes also means that many fantasy tales may come to resemble one another a little too much.

For Chaos Woods, I wanted to do something a little bit different. Given that the main character winds up with a magical mask, it did not take long to realize that the primary stakes of this story would be truth versus lies. This realization made the writing of the story much easier. Conflict and confrontation came easily through the turning of these two poles. This led IndieReader in a 4.8/5-star review to remark, “Scott T. Barnes delivers a richly imagined, character-driven coming-of-age fantasy that balances cozy adventure with thoughtful themes of morality, addiction, and the consequences of one’s choices.”

In addition to unique stakes, there is a lot of me in this tale. I grew up in a gold-mining town, surrounded by fields and live oak stands, and the mountains, forests, and small-town vibe enrich Telyn’s adventures. I hope the reader finds the Chaos Woods a place they want to visit again and again.

Author Interview

Can you tell us a little bit about what readers can expect from your books?

Sure! The three emotional ‘beats’ that I tend to hit are action, wonder, and dread.

“Action” is self explanatory. My characters are doing things, often dangerous things.

“Wonder” is that feeling you get when you first step to the rim of the Grand Canyon, an enjoyable thrill that rockets down one’s bones. I’m always trying to create that in my novels, whether they are set in an imaginary world (Chaos Woods) or in the Baja California desert (Memories of Lucinda Eco). I enjoy world-building, and so the pace of my novels is closer to that of Wheel of Time rather than, say, a thriller like Davinci Code.

“Dread” is the emotion favored by Alfred Hitchcock. You know there is a killer at the top of the stairs, and the hero just has to climb them while you are silently screaming, “No, don’t go up there, there’s a murderer!”

I enjoy adding mystery as well, which blends nicely with dread.

What is the greatest advice you have ever been given about writing?

Number one: Sit down and write.

Number two: You learn more from writing the next story than from revising this one. (I.e. Don’t revise your stories to death. Write them as best you can and then move onto the next one.)

What book made you fall in love with reading?

Lord of the Rings by J.R.R.Tolkien. I reread this every couple of years and I never grow tired of it.

Can you share 5 random facts about this book?

I wrote the first draft when I was in college in the 1990s.

In the original, the protagonist was only 12. When I picked up the manuscript a couple of years ago and decided to age her up, it changed absolutely everything. The only thing remaining from the first draft is the setting and the Spring Sale, where magical aberrations tend to go on sale.

Chaos Woods took almost exactly 12 months from conception to completion. My first novel Memories of Lucinda Eco took 2 years. I’m improving😉

Kevin J. Anderson, coauthor of Dune: House Atreides, provided a quote…and edited an early draft of the sequel, Chaos Empire.

When I think of the chaos trees, I picture the giant sequoias with the scent of white fir.

What was the inspiration behind it?

Chaos Woods contains autobiographical elements: I grew up in the mountains, surrounded by forests and wilderness, in a small town where everyone knew everyone else’s business. I love the wild places—and the feeling of being lost—which definitely shows through in the novel. That said, I never begin a story unless several “brainstorm” elements seem to come together. In this case, it was the forest, the town, the feisty and stubborn protagonist, and the Spring Sale, where magical artifacts from the woods are traded. All of these popped into my imagination as separate elements but felt like they belonged to the same tale. That’s how I knew I could begin writing.

What was the most challenging part of bringing this book to life?

Gathering enough self-discipline to sit down and write at least five days a week.

What was the most rewarding?

I love creating. When a scene is really good and the words are flowing, it feels like I’m right there, alongside the characters, eating the same food and warming my hands in front of the same campfire. The scenes in the forest, when the characters have to save an animal called the feathered hind, came together like that.

What do you hope readers will take away from the book?

Most important, I hope they will be entertained. The world is difficult enough, reading should be fun.

Beyond that, I hope it inspires them to think about the theme of truth versus lies. If the story helps them realize how important truth is--fantastic. If they then discover that the only Truth with a capital T comes from God’s word, that’s even better.

Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. Before you go, where can readers keep up with what’s next?

The best way to stay in touch is by signing up for my newsletter at www.scotttbarnes.com. I am also on Instagram (scott.t.barnes_writer) and Facebook (authorscotttbarnes)