2026
Frankfurter Buchmesse Frankfurt Book Fair
For decades, Frankfurter Buchmesse has been one of the biggest meeting places for the international publishing world. What started in 1949 with around 200 publishers has grown into a global event where publishers, authors, agents, media professionals, and creative industries come together to share ideas, make deals, and discover what is next for books and storytelling. Today, the fair is considered one of the world’s leading places for printed and digital content.
The fair is valuable because it brings so many parts of the publishing world into one place. It is not only about books on shelves, but also about rights, translations, new partnerships, technology, and the people behind the stories. The 2026 Frankfurter Buchmesse will take place in October, with Czechia serving as the Guest of Honour under the theme “A Country on the Coast.” The programme will include more than 100 literary and cultural events, with 75 Czech authors expected to take part.
With so many countries, voices, and ideas meeting in one place, Frankfurt has become a space where a book can travel far beyond where it first began. That makes this fair a special place for authors who want their stories to reach new readers and new parts of the world.
Among the stories making that journey is Love in Times of Sand by Kristy Charleen Rodriguez Martinez. The book follows a young gypsy girl who discovers that she has real powers and suddenly finds herself caught between a dark spirit, a dangerous family history, the authorities chasing her, and an unexpected love with the younger prince of Egypt. With Destiny, Magic, War, Passion, Love, Beliefs, and Religion all becoming part of the story, the novel brings together fantasy, romance, danger, and hope. Before we turn the page and look deeper into the book itself, let’s first get to know the author behind it.
From the Arts to a Story of Her Own
Some writers spend years looking for the right story to tell. For Kristy Charleen Rodriguez Martinez, the connection to storytelling started much earlier through the arts. Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Kristy developed an interest in acting when she was young. She wrote scripts, joined school plays, studied acting during high school and college, and became part of the theater group at the Universidad de Puerto Rico, Carolina Campus. Her creative path later continued through workshops in acting, dancing, and modeling.
That background helps explain the kind of story she created with Love in Times of Sand. The novel has a very visual feeling to it, moving through danger, romance, family history, supernatural conflict, and the world of Egyptian royalty. Her experience with acting and scripts gives her a natural connection to scenes where characters have to make choices while something bigger is happening around them. Instead of keeping the story focused on only one idea, she brings several interests together and turns them into one fantasy romance.
A Love Story Surrounded by Magic and Danger
At the center of Love in Times of Sand is a young gypsy girl whose life changes when she discovers that she has real powers. What could have been a discovery filled with wonder quickly becomes something much more dangerous. A dark spirit connected to her family’s lineage has returned with a desire for vengeance, putting her and her family in serious danger. She is also charged with crimes she did not commit, forcing her to run while trying to understand what is really happening around her.
Her escape takes an unexpected turn when she meets the younger prince of Egypt. He is not simply a love interest placed into the story to make things easier for her. He has his own danger to face because his older brother wants him dead. This gives the two characters something important in common. Both are running from threats, both have people coming after them, and both have reasons to keep moving even when they would rather stop and live a normal life.
The story brings together magic, family, romance, war, religion, beliefs, and survival while keeping hope at the heart of it. The characters are surrounded by problems that do not have simple answers, but the book does not treat those problems as the end of the road. Its message is that life can still have beauty even when things become difficult. That idea gives the fantasy adventure a more human side, because beneath the supernatural conflict is a story about people trying to protect the ones they love and find something worth holding onto.
Discover the Story in Frankfurt
If you enjoy stories where romance meets fantasy, danger, mystery, and ancient power, Love in Times of Sand gives you plenty to explore. Love in Times of Sand: Destiny. Magic. War. Passion. Love. Beliefs. Religion. takes readers into a world where love and survival are constantly crossing paths, and where one young woman must face forces connected to her own family history.
Love in Times of Sand: Destiny. Magic. War. Passion. Love. Beliefs. Religion.
Discover the story and find your copy today.