Jo Spurrier writes epic fantasy and young adult fiction.

You can buy Jo's books from local book stores in Australia and New Zealand or online from Dymocks, Booktopia and Amazon. The ebooks are available from all good ebook retailers.

Tales of the Blackbone Witches

More than a trilogy, this fantasy series for a young adult audience follows the training of a young witch, Elodie, as she learn her craft and meets a fascinating cast of characters...


A Curse of Ash and Embers

Book 1 - Released October 2018

A dead witch. A bitter curse. A battle of magic.

Some people knit socks by the fire at night. Gyssha Blackbone made monsters.

But the old witch is dead now, and somehow it's Elodie's job to clean up the mess. When she was hired at Black Oak Cottage, Elodie had no idea she'd find herself working for a witch; and her acid-tongued new mistress, Aleida, was not expecting a housemaid to turn up on her doorstep.

Gyssha's final curse left Aleida practically dead on her feet, and now, with huge monsters roaming the woods, a demonic tree lurking in the orchard and an angry warlock demanding repayment of a debt, Aleida needs Elodie's help, whether she likes it or not.

And no matter what the old witch throws at her, to Elodie it's still better than going back home.


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Daughter of Lies and Ruin

Book 2 - released September 2019

Why do the worst people sometimes make the best family? From the author of Winter Be My Shield and A Curse of Ash & Embers comes the next absorbing Blackbone Witches novel.

'If they didn't want to get turned into beasts and used to fuel a ritual, they shouldn't have attacked a witch. That's all there is to it.'

There's something strange brewing in this tinder-dry forest - a girl with a sword and a secret, a troupe of vicious bandits vanished without a trace, beasts that don't belong and a witch with a macabre plan. Elodie hasn't been learning witchcraft for long, but she knows enough to be worried, and the fact that her mentor Aleida wants to pack up and leave in short order isn't helping to settle her nerves.

Elodie just hopes to get everyone out of this mess unharmed, but it's looking more unlikely with every passing hour. And when the strange witch's ire falls on her, Aleida's wrath sparks a fire that threatens to scorch the earth itself ...

Children of the Black Sun

An Epic Fantasy Trilogy set in a remote northern wilderness.


Winter Be My Shield

Book 1 - released June 2012

"Original, dramatic and unputdownable, Winter Be My Shield is the first in an epic adult fantasy trilogy from brilliant new Australian talent Jo Spurrier."

Sierra has a despised and forbidden gift --- she raises power from the suffering of others. Enslaved by the King's Torturer, Sierra escapes, barely keeping ahead of Rasten, the man sent to hunt her down. Then she falls in with dangerous company: the fugitive Prince Cammarian and his crippled foster-brother, Isidro.

But Rasten is not the only enemy hunting them in the frozen north, and as Sierra's new allies struggle to identify friend from foe, Rasten approaches her with a plant to kill the master they both abhor. Sierra is forced to decide what price she is willing to pay for her freedom and her life...

Praise for Winter Be My Shield: Children of the Black Sun, Book 1

"Unlikely heroes, villains you will cheer for, and cold that eats your bones. Winter Be My Shield will take you to an unforgiving place, but you won't want to leave it" ~ Robin Hobb

"the drama and intensity keep ratcheting up" ~ Courier Mail

Shortlisted for Best Fantasy Novel in the 2012 Aurealis Awards!

Black Sun Light My Way

Book 2 - released June 2013

Return to the wintry landscape of Ricalan and the magnificent storytelling of Jo Spurrier.

Sierra has always battled to control her powers, but now her life and Isidro's depend on keeping her skills hidden from the Akharians as they draw closer to Demon's Spire. In the relics left by Ricalan's last great mage, Isidro hopes to find the knowledge Sierra needs to master her powers, but instead uncovers his own long-buried talent for magecraft.

When Sierra's untrainable powers turn destructive, she has nowhere to turn for help except to the uncertain mercy of an old enemy. But what will Rasten do when she returns to his hands at last?


North Star Guide Me Home

Book 3 - released April 2014

Some things are broken beyond mending...

Grievously wounded in battle, Isidro's life hangs in the balance - but the only person who can help him is the man he can never trust. Sierra is desperate to rebuild shattered bonds with her old friends, but with Isidro incontrovertibly changed and her own wounds still fresh, things can never be as they once were.

Burdened by all he's done at Kell's command, Rasten knows he cannot atone for the horrors of his past. But when their enemies in Akhara follow Cam's small clan back to Ricalan, carrying a thirst for vengeance, the skills Rasten swore he'd renounce may be their only hope for victory...

Jo Spurrier was born in 1980 and has a Bachelor of Science, but turned to writing because people tend to get upset when scientists make things up. She lives in Adelaide with her husband, two young sons and a formerly feral cat, and spends a lot of time playing with cars and trains… although she still occasionally daydreams about snow.

Jo’s first novel, Winter Be My Shield, was shortlisted for the 2012 Aurealis Award for best fantasy novel. A Curse of Ash and Embers, book 1 of Tales of the Blackbone Witches, was shortlisted for the 2018 Aurealis Award for best young adult fantasy novel.