Welcome to the Official Site of Author: Ryan L. Smith

Books

Welcome to the official collection of books by Ryan L. Smith, where imagination takes many forms: curious adventures, ancient magic, strange signals, haunted shores, and stories shaped by mystery, emotion, and wonder.

Written across middle grade, young adult, and adult fiction, each book offers a different doorway beyond the familiar. Some lead to hidden rooms and impossible machines. Others open onto forgotten kingdoms, fractured memories, or fogbound waters where the past refuses to remain buried.

Enter the Phineasverse™ with Phineas Fitch and the Curious Chest, where an ordinary boy discovers a world of riddles, peculiar inventions, secret passageways, and a truth far larger than he imagined.

Journey into Echoes of the Emerald Vale™ with Whispers of the Fallen, a darker fantasy shaped by ancient legacies, quiet magic, and choices that echo across generations.

Then step beyond the broken bridge in The Hollow Glass: A Lantern Keeper’s Tale, an adult maritime gothic novel of grief, memory, coastal folklore, and the fragile light we follow through our darkest nights.

Together, these stories mark the beginning of an expanding catalog from Mythic Quill Publishing, united not by a single genre, but by immersive worlds, memorable characters, and the belief that even the smallest question can open the door to something extraordinary.

Books are available in Kindle and paperback editions, with select hardcover editions also available or forthcoming.

Choose your doorway and begin the journey. More worlds are waiting just beyond the page.

Adult Maritime Gothic

***Coming Soon***

9-1-2026

Paperback Launches 9-1-2026

Kindle pre-orders LIVE!

A lighthouse that should have gone dark.

A bridge the sea refuses to forget.

The Hollow Glass: A Lantern Keeper’s Tale is a haunting maritime gothic novel set in a quiet coastal village shaped by tides, memory, and grief.

When a weary stranger arrives seeking refuge from a past he cannot outrun, he becomes entangled in the mystery of the abandoned lighthouse rising above the harbor. Its lantern has long gone dark, yet something still watches from behind the fractured glass.

Each night, a presence stirs beyond the broken bridge that once joined the village to the tower. A melody drifts through the fog. As the stranger is drawn deeper into the village’s buried history, the boundary between memory, folklore, and haunting begins to thin.

Blending coastal folklore, quiet horror, and emotional depth, The Hollow Glass explores love, loss, and the fragile light we follow through our darkest nights.

A song calls from the shoals, and a stranger is drawn toward the light waiting inside the glass.

A tale of tragedy, redemption, and hope.

Accepting New ARC Readers for The Hollow Glass !
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Ages 9-14

Middle Grade Adventure Fiction.

Phineas Fitch And The Curious Chest (The Phineasverse™ Book 1)

K.K

"PERFECT"

My son loves this book so much! Can't wait for the next one!!!

-Format Hardcover Verified Purchase -

Phineas Fitch And The Curious Chest

T.S

"5.0 out of 5 stars Great story with good subtle life points"

Such a great book. 10/10 recommend

-Format: Paperback Verified Purchase -

Phineas Fitch And The Curious Chest

Amazon Customer

Takes you back to a better time. Well written. Enjoyable for all

-Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2026 -

Phineas Fitch and the Curious Chest

By Ryan L. Smith

Some boxes hold treasures. This one holds secrets, and it just clicked open.

Phineas Fitch never expected his summer to start with glowing symbols, whispering artifacts, or a hidden room behind the bookcase. But when he unlocks a strange chest buried deep in his great-grandfather’s library, everything changes.

Inside waits a legacy older than his family name.

Guided by journals, cryptic puzzles, and the shimmer of something not-quite-real, Phineas is pulled into a mystery spanning generations. The chest does not give out gold or gadgets, but artifacts meant to help, reveal, and sometimes challenge.

Magical glasses. A pendant with a mirrored soul. A compass that points not where you want to go, but where you need to be.

And watching from the shadows?

A silver-furred fox that flickers like starlight, and might just be more than legend.

With help from his cousin John, the clever Clara, and his new friend Toby, Phineas must decipher the chest’s secrets before they fade like dust on the wind. But ancient magic does not wake for nothing.

Something is stirring beneath the quiet halls of the Fitch estate, and it remembers everything.

Not every mystery wants to be solved.

Not every legacy wants to be found.

But some are written in the stars, and they are waiting for the right dreamer to read them.

Phineas Fitch and the Curious Chest is the enchanting first book in the Phineasverse™ series, a heartfelt, puzzle-laced adventure filled with forgotten wonders, flickering legends, and the kind of magic that hides in attics and quiet hearts.

Perfect for fans of The Mysterious Benedict Society, The House with a Clock in Its Walls, and The Goonies, with just a dash of timeworn enchantment and starlight surprise.

Young Adult Dark Fantasy Adventure

Ages 14 - Adult

Whispers Of The Fallen (Echoes of the Emerald Vale™ Book 1)

K.K

"Top Notch!"

Ryan has a brilliant and creative mind! A must read!

-Format Hardcover Verified Purchase -

Whispers Of The Fallen (Echoes of the Emerald Vale™ Book 1)

M.S.

"Bitchin"

Bitchin' book start to finish. I loved it. Wife loved it. Kids love his youth series. 10/10 recommend.

-Format Hardcover -

Whispers of the Fallen

Book One of the Echoes of the Emerald Vale™ series

By Ryan L. Smith

The veil is thinning. Whispers stir in the dark. And something ancient is waking.

Long ago, the Emerald Vale was a cradle of harmony, watched over by the immortal Tyrvalen and their dragon-bound kin. But betrayal shattered their order, and from beneath the Elderwoods, the Whispering One rose.

The first Darkening nearly broke the world.

Now, the whispers have returned.

A warrior awakens in the ruins of the past, memory fractured, name lost to time. Ragnar Keldrake, his bloodline tainted with forgotten draconic fire, is drawn into an uneasy alliance with a sharp-tongued rogue, a haunted elven ranger, and a brawler with fists like falling stars.

Together, they must journey through cursed wilds and haunted ruins, hunted by shadows that wear the faces of men. The deeper they go, the more the truth unravels: a war that never ended, a queen who was never truly imprisoned, and a realm standing on the edge of collapse.

Ancient relics. Forbidden magic. Prophecies buried in ash.

An order once broken.

A world unprepared.

And a flame that must not go out.

Whispers of the Fallen is the cinematic first volume in the Echoes of the Emerald Vale™ saga, a sweeping tale of eldritch horror, fractured heroes, and the slow return of a terrible power. For fans of Brandon Sanderson, Dragon Age, or The Witcher, this is where the echo begins.

Not all who fall are forgotten.

Not all legends sleep quietly.

If you have enjoyed one of Ryan L. Smith’s books, please consider leaving a short review on Amazon or Goodreads.

Even a few words can help new readers discover the story. Reviews make a meaningful difference for independent authors, and every thoughtful rating or comment is sincerely appreciated.

Visit Ryan L. Smith on Goodreads

Goodreads link

© 2025 Ryan L. Smith. All rights reserved.

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“Because every great tale begins with a spark, a plan… and occasionally, a dragon in need of proper formatting.” 🐉

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