Julie Ann Wambach, an Arizona resident for fifty years, sets her new book, Games of Make-Believe, in the early Phoenix, Arizona, area where the population by 1990 had grown by seven and half times of that in 1960. During these years, the explosive building boom and rapid cultural changes brought by an influx of diverse people from many other parts of the country imposed a heavy price tag on residents. For Dr. Wambach, a retired college professor whose early writings were primarily in the academic arena, this is her first work of fiction.

Amidst the 1960-1990 Phoenix transformation, the Prince family struggles to create what we now call a "blended family" before they ever heard the term. When a prosperous gentleman convinces her to marry him, Bella's arduous existence suddenly holds the promise of enchantment. Thus begins twenty-eight stories, some in the style of a romantic fairytale, others of a comedy or a tragedy. Together, the stories explore the role of make-believe in a dysfunctional stepfamily trying to make sense of their lives in the changing community around them.

At the center of the family discord is the daughter who Bella's husband brings into the marriage. Renata immediately rejects her new stepmother and two stepsisters. No one knows how to unify this group. As an adult survivor of child abuse, Bella struggles to create a convincing self-identity within her new husband's affluent world. Her take-charge approach to running the family convinces others, but not herself. In an effort to make sense of it all, Bella latches onto a series of religions and pop psychologies, while her husband wholly devotes himself to the intense competition surrounding his flourishing home development business.

Sequel to Key of Behliseth
The Sun Child Chronicles: Book Two

Lucky expected his arrival in Ethra, the world of his birth, to be a happy occasion. Unfortunately, something is awry at the Sisterhold—his home—especially in his mother’s insincere smiles. The Sisterhold is soon immersed in battle plans and magical emergencies, and Lucky’s confidants, like the wizard Thurlock, often disappear. His mother grows more secretive, and even Han Shieth, the warrior uncle Lucky thought he could always depend upon, becomes increasingly aloof.

Hurt, confused, and left to his own devices, Lucky makes unfortunate choices that put him and his friends, L’Aria and Zhevi, in dire peril. With threats around every corner, not even Han is safe from the growing evil. It falls to Lucky—on his own—to find the answers, but he doesn’t even know what questions to ask. Over the course of his journey, clues to Lucky’s destiny are revealed, and his power increases. Armed with knowledge and strength, he sets out to ensure the safety of those he cares about, now and in the future. But his efforts may come too late.