AMADOR COUNTY, CA (MPG) - Amador County resident Dale Lisa Flint’s debut novel is a time-traveling fantasy for young adults. Finding Juliet (Turtle Cove Press, 2025) leans on the author’s love of cross-genre historical fiction (à la Outlander) but with a Shakespearean twist. Kirkus Reviews awarded the novel its coveted “Get It” designation, exclaiming, “The characters are uniformly engaging, from the leads to the minor players.”

Sacramento-area audiences will recognize Flint from her leading roles in productions for the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival and the Sacramento Theatre Company. Her practical knowledge of the theatre, combined with her advanced degree in Shakespearean studies, lend an authenticity to Finding Juliet, which she spent eight years researching and writing. “My day job is in the public schools. I’ve been a junior high and high school teacher for the past 20 years,” Flint said. This experience infuses her writing with “the humor, passion, and resiliency of youth.”

Finding Juliet focuses on Alex Riddle, a 17-year-old foster kid who is pretty sure life isn’t going to hand her a happy ending. Then, she meets Ryan, the handsome star of the high school production of Romeo and Juliet. It seems that she’s found her happily-ever-after, until her cell phone malfunctions and lightning strikes, zapping her 400 years into the past—and a continent away—to Shakespearean England.

“I love storytelling,” Flint said. “Especially tales of adventure, where something interesting happens in every chapter. These are the books I’d read aloud to my children, everything from Magic Tree House to Percy Jackson. With Finding Juliet, I hoped to capture a bit of that excitement, and create a story that could be enjoyed by all ages, tween to adult.”

 

Finding Juliet will receive its West Coast debut at the historic Hein & Company bookstore in Sutter Creek on Saturday, May 17, from 2-4 p.m.

For press reviews, advance copies of the novel are available upon request from publisher Turtle Cove Press. Contact editor M.R. Street at [email protected].

In addition, Flint is available for interviews to discuss the unique process by which she became a first-time novelist at age 49, why she chose Young Adult fantasy, and other topics about writing, publishing, and why lightning is not a recommended means of time travel.

What:               Book Launch for Finding Juliet with author Dale Lisa Flint

Where:             Hein & Co. Bookstore

                        61 Main Street

                        Sutter Creek, CA 95685

                        209-283-4587

When:              May 17 from 2 to 4 p.m.