Jess
The long-lost princess
A human girl who discovers she belongs to the kingdom of fire.
Tales of Loridia, Book One
Fire and Water Don't Mix
Shocking secrets and wonder await the long-lost princess. Will Jess ever make it out of the Kingdom of Fire?
Kickstarter launches Wednesday, December 2, 2026
FIRE
WATER
The story
An ordinary girl. A kingdom of fire. A war she never chose.
Jess always believed she was an ordinary human girl, until a disastrous school field trip changed everything. When a mysterious boy abducts her on the day of her prom, she is swept away from the world she knows and thrust into the heart of Pyro, the kingdom of the fire elves.
Suddenly, Jess isn't just a student; she is a long-lost princess. Trapped in a "pretty prison" of royalty and ritual, she is desperate to reclaim her human life. But as an intense war between the water and fire elves reignites, Jess finds herself caught in the crossfire, where the heat of battle is only matched by the sparks of a forbidden connection.
Meet the characters
Original characters, painted by Janelle
The art of Loridia
Digital character art
Janelle writes her worlds and paints them, so readers see the story exactly as she imagined it.
From the sketchbook
Drawn since she was 11
Janelle first drew these characters at age eleven and has redrawn them again and again as her skills grew. Follow the characters from her earliest drawings to the art in the finished book.
Where it began
Her earliest drawings of the fire and water elves.
One prom night, drawn three times
The same scene, redrawn as her skills grew.
Jade, two years apart
The same pose and the same mask, drawn in 2023 and again in 2025.
Kickstarter: Dec 2 to 23, 2026
Bring Loridia to your bookshelf
Back the campaign to get the first edition, signed by Janelle. Signed hardcovers and art prints are only offered during the campaign.
Tier 1
Digital Loreseeker
$15
The full eBook, a high-res wallpaper pack of original oil paintings, and your name in the book's Special Thanks.
Tier 2 · Digital
The Art & Story Bundle
$35
Dive deeper into the lore and romance of Loridia. Everything in Tier 1, plus an exclusive 8-page bonus romance scene from the love interest's point of view and a private "Behind the Canvas" video of Janelle's traditional painting process.
Tier 3 · Most popular
Signed Deluxe Hardcover
$65
Hand-signed hardcover with a satin-finish cover, gold foil, stenciled edges, map endpapers and 8 pages of full-color character art. Includes all Tier 1 and Tier 2 digital rewards, including the bonus romance scene and the "Behind the Canvas" video.
Tier 4
Fine Art Collector Edition
$95
The signed deluxe hardcover plus two 5x7 matte prints of Janelle's oil paintings of the Fire and Water kingdoms. Includes all digital rewards from Tiers 1 and 2.
About the author-artist
Janelle Pettiford
Janelle is a sixteen-year-old author-artist who began Fire and Water Don't Mix at the age of eleven. It is her third book, and the first in the Tales of Loridia series.
She doesn't just write her worlds; she draws them. Janelle created every piece of original character art for the series, working in both traditional oil painting and digital illustration, so readers see the story exactly as she imagined it.
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