I am so excited to announce the release of River in the Sand, Seven Rivers Book Two.
A murdered king. A cursed princess…
Hiding in a remote corner of the desert, Kyjia guards a precious tablet of gold granting the right to rule the kingdom of Tyar. Her enemies will stop at nothing to possess it and claim the throne. When her father is murdered, she realizes they will come after her next.
On a quest to protect Kyjia, Allenthal travels deep into the desert. He comes to the aid of her father as he falls victim to a deadly ambush. Too late to save him, Allenthal accepts his dying request to help his family. But instead of gratitude, Kyjia believes Allenthal murdered her father, and he finds himself condemned to die for the very crime he tried to prevent.
Kyjia flees from her enemies, taking refuge in an enormous network of caverns. Day by day, their hunt grows closer. Finally, she is cornered and they cast a deadly curse on her, offering her the cure in exchange for revealing the location of the tablet. When Kyjia refuses, they leave her injured, blind and alone.
As an author, everyone always tells you that you must complete your work, send it out into the world, and move on. There are very good reasons for this! If you never do this one step, you can never go on and write more books. This advice is not wrong!
However, I broke the rule for a couple of reasons. My first book, War’s Ending came out in 2019. My first book! But the writing in it needed just a little touch up! I have always loved the story. I love the culture of horsemen who refuse to show their faces to outsiders, I love the tenacious heroine. Together the two of them attempt to stop a war.
I have had a sequel living in my files for at least four years, and I wanted the writing quality in the first book to match up to the new one. That makes sense, doesn’t it? Plus there were a couple of writing mistakes in the first book that were… (how can I say this nicely)? Embarrassing. So here is the brand new, Second Edition of War’s Ending! Learn more here…
I am just about to send Seven Rivers Book Two back to the editor. She made great suggestions to strengthen the story as well as position myself well for a third book. Cause hey, why shouldn’t we right another one? This could be a trilogy or even a series of seven. Doesn’t that make sense for the Seven Rivers? My goal is to write a collection of separate but interconnected stories, that way it can be a series, but still give readers satisfaction as they read each one. I don’t know about you, but unsatisfying endings make me angry!!!
I’m going to be wrapping up the launch sale on The Ring Keeper very soon, so if you need something to read this week, get it now. Here is a snippet from the beginning.
From The Ring Keeper -Chapter One
The Shekkar cut across the distance, heading straight for them them, gaining fast. Ana could hear the demons clearly now, and their horrible voices sounded triumphant. They were about to claim their prize. She stopped on the brink of the cliff, frozen, the yawning space open below her. Zarek had placed himself between Ana and the Shekkar, his sword in one hand and his dagger in the other. But there were too many enemies to fight, and they charged toward him, black claws outstretched. The foremost of the creatures struck at him. He blocked the blow with his sword, but poisonous claws seized the weapon, twisting it out of his grip. A flash of moonlight lit the sword blade as it spun away, landing behind the demon. Zarek sheathed his knife and darted straight toward Ana. As his shoulder slammed into her, his arm seized her waist, and his momentum propelled them out into the black abyss. Ana screamed as they fell.
One time when I was a kid, a spider fell out of the light fixture above me and landed right in my lap. It was so BIG it made a noticeable sound as it landed. I made a sound too. Please enjoy the mental picture of me screaming and dancing around like a crazy person. My brother sure did!
I’m sure that experience had nothing to do with adding spiders into The Ring Keeper! So please enjoy a snippet of the spider from The Ring Keeper Chapter 16…
Out of the corner of her eye, Allia spotted motion. Her head whipped around in time to see something scuttle out of sight between the boxes. Callonen had seen it too. “Let’s get out of here.” Allia dashed toward the door. But a dark brown spider blocked her path. It was at least as big as the one in the container, only this one roamed free. It raised its front legs, displaying black fangs, and skittered a few steps toward her.
Allia stood frozen, her teeth clenched, staring at the spider. Callonen stepped protectively in front of her. When the spider came nearer, he took a swing at it with the pry bar. It retreated out of reach.
They paused, watching it warily. It rushed at them. Callonen waited until it nearly reached his boots, then struck it squarely with the metal bar. It twitched and struggled, but he kept it pinned to the door until it finally stopped moving, and its knobby legs curled up under its body.
Allia clamped her jaws firmly shut to keep from screaming. Her eyes searched every corner of the room. Were there more? When Callonen offered his hand, she clutched it. They edged past the dead spider to run for the door.
Princess Tahlea is injured and trying to escape the outlaws roaming the woods searching for her.
***
The man raised his weapon, smiling coldly as he approached her. “Found you. This time you’re not getting away.”
She didn’t allow any trace of fear to show as she faced the man. Her voice sounded even and sure. “If you come any closer, I’ll shoot you.”
The man stared at her and glanced down at the bow in her hands. His eyes flew to the bandage on her arm. He smirked. “I doubt it. If you could pull that bow, you’d already have done it.” Making his decision, he charged toward her. She lifted the bow and began to draw. A cry of pain escaped her lips. She released the bow string, only half-drawn, and the arrow flew harmlessly into the dirt between them.
I’m guessing you’re as excited as I am, so here is a quick scene from the sequel to Forgotten Rebellion! Let me know what you think!
***
“Where have you hidden the tablet?”
Kyjia’s eyes darted between the two men and her fingers tightened into fists. She didn’t answer.
“Our people need you,” Zhandar pleaded. “They need your leadership and guidance. That tablet is a symbol of our connection with deity. We need it, and we need you with us. Please, Kyjia. You must see that it’s the right thing to do!” He took another step toward her.
She remained against the wall, refusing to come any nearer. “My family is sworn to protect the tablet. I cannot give its power into your hands. I won’t.”
“You will,” Jaro hissed. “You must. Don’t try to fight against us. I promise you’ll regret it.”
She darted toward the opening, moving suddenly to bolt between the men guarding the exit. But there were too many of them and they closed in. She jerked to a stop as one seized her cloak. Hands tightened around her arms, holding her immobile. She drove her elbow into the man’s gut and her boot down onto his foot, twisting out of his grip. She ran, but three more of them blocked the door.
Sometimes, the conditions are a little uncomfortable. Kind of like life.
Living in Utah means lots of dramatic changes in the weather. We’ve had some absolutely gorgeous sunny days, decadently warm for February, and some bitter cold snowy days with icy winter wind. The mountains still have a lot of snow. This hike was one of the warm days. Unlike the week before, when I got to the trailhead and mine was the only car in the parking lot.
The minute I opened the car door and a blast of artic wind hit me, I knew why. But I wasn’t going home without my hike, so I cinched my hood around my face, pulled my gloves up inside my jacket sleeves and started walking. My motto on days like that: “It’s only really bad for the first 15 minutes.” Well, that wind blasted at me nearly the whole way. Hopefully I was building character?
I’m busily editing away on Seven Rivers Book Two. I think you’re going to love it!
Make sure she’s so involved in the story, she doesn’t want to do anything else.
I am REALLY excited to share the news that Forgotten Rebellion has a sequel. I spoke with my editor over the weekend and she loved it! Her schedule this month was very tightly packed, but, even so, she finished her first pass through the book ahead of schedule. “Once I started, I couldn’t put it down,” she said. I think that’s a pretty good sign!!! She made some stellar suggestions to strengthen the story, so I will be doing edits over the next few weeks. But in the meantime, get excited to read! We’ll move through the changes as quickly as possible. I’ll soon have some graphics and book descriptions that I’d love your opinion on, so stay tuned! Ok, and here is a glimpse of the cover.
His worsening illness made travel difficult. Callonen wished for the strength to ride his horse as he always had instead of traveling in a carriage. At least his guards offered him the small kindness of not mentioning the change. No one spoke of his deteriorating physical condition. They all hoped he would get better. If he didn’t, Callonen’s death would affect the lives of every person in his empire. It wasn’t something anyone in Sarine wanted to face.
Now the carriage rolled toward the edge of the Warding, surrounded by a protective army. Sarine couldn’t afford to allow any harm to come to their emperor. Without him and the enchanted defense of the Warding, demons would destroy their people.
“Emperor, I think we should have ignored his message,” General Gray said from his seat opposite. “What could he possibly have to say that will aid us? It’s too dangerous for you to be so near the border.”
Callonen’s stomach clenched. The message from his traitorous brother had been unexpected in the extreme. Years ago, the last time they had spoken face to face, Haldreth had driven a dagger into Callonen’s heart. Only a miracle had saved him that day.
No, not a miracle. A young woman had saved him. She had loved him and given everything to save his life. The memory of Allia awoke a familiar sharp pain in his chest. For a moment, he concentrated on breathing, until he could speak again. “No. He will do nothing to aid us.”
“Then why should we hear what he has to say?” Gray protested. “He intends to destroy us. This whole meeting is probably a trap.”
“We won’t leave the Warding,” Callonen assured him. “For now, we still have the power to keep his deadlier servants out of our land. Maybe there will be something useful we can learn from what he says.”
The border, invisible to the human eye, was defined by lines of armed men on both sides. Outside, the heavily armed troops of Ara in blue uniforms and black armor congregated. Inside the protection of the Warding, Callonen’s men stood guard in orderly rows.
The carriage stopped. Callonen drew in a deep breath. How could he face his brother again after what Haldreth had done? He’d been a peaceful man all his life, but now Callonen felt the urge to attack his brother, to make him pay for the pain he’d caused. Haldreth deserved to die for the unspeakable crimes he’d committed.
Gray moved to the door and got out, turning back, subtly providing support to Callonen. As he stood upright, exhaustion dragged at his limbs, pain twisted through his muscles and joints. No matter how his body felt, he had come to face his brother. For a moment, he feared he couldn’t walk without aid. Gray remained close beside him, ready if that should be the case.
Callonen moved forward, one step and then another. His loyal soldiers dressed in dark green uniforms lined his path on either side. They were good men, every one of them. He would do what he had to do to protect them and the rest of his people.
Slowly, Callonen walked toward the front, trying to conceal his weakness as best he could. A familiar figure approached the border from the other side. Haldreth’s appearance hadn’t changed much. Dark hair and beard, their father’s brown eyes. He looked older, but he remained a mirror image of Callonen, his identical twin.
Callonen was the one who had changed. The illness had attacked his body, aging him prematurely. The changes were obvious now, as he faced his brother across the empty space between the soldiers, and he could see the triumph on Haldreth’s face.
“Callonen!” Haldreth called jovially. “It’s good to see you, brother!”
All of Callonen’s muscles clenched, tightening with a visceral need to attack. His jaw clenched back the words that threatened to flood out of him. You took Allia from me. I loved her and she was everything to me! I intended to marry her and spend the rest of my life cherishing her. He couldn’t prevent the words that escaped his lips. “Where is she?” Haldreth would hear the desperation he felt.
A long, awkward moment of silence fell. The soldiers stood perfectly still while Callonen faced his brother.
At first, Haldreth’s face betrayed no emotion. “Who?”
Callonen met his gaze, attempting to control the trembling in his hands.
Haldreth’s eyes widened in realization. “Oh, you’re talking about that kitchen maid who worked at the palace. The two of you were… friends.”
Hot rage flooded through Callonen and he struggled to keep his body still, his expression calm. Haldreth meant to goad him, to force him to lose what little control he had left.
Haldreth laughed coldly. “Let the past go, brother. Seventeen years is a long time to hold a grudge. I can’t believe you’re still asking about her. What was her name? Hannah, Leah…”
“Allia.” Callonen hadn’t spoken her name aloud in years. The pain was too great.
Haldreth smiled, slapping his thigh. “That’s right,” he rubbed his chin. “I remember now. Not the smartest girl. For some reason, she never would cooperate with me, no matter how I tried. She’s long gone.”
Callonen hadn’t thought his heart could hurt more, but the pain increased at his brother’s words. Haldreth had taken Allia, determined to control her for her power. He would have used any means to force her to his will.
“I didn’t ask you here to talk about her,” Haldreth said. “I wanted to know how you were. You don’t look well, brother.”
“No,” Callonen ground out. His brother knew that already.
Haldreth shook his head in mock sympathy. “That’s terrible. How long has this been going on? Probably about four months now?”
Fear, like a silver of ice, penetrated Callonen as everything came together at the words. Four months. “It’s a spell,” he gasped. He looked up at his brother. “You did the same thing to father, didn’t you? I should have realized.”
“Me? How could I affect our dear departed father’s health? I haven’t been in Sarine for years.”
“I saw your book before you left. An enchantment to cause someone to die of old age within a year. Father wasn’t even sixty, and he could have had many good years. How could you—” Callonen felt his knees weaken, and he swayed on his feet. Gray stepped closer and took his arm to support him.
Haldreth’s cold eyes bored into Callonen’s. “If you believe that’s true, then you know exactly how much time you have left. Just a few short months. We are family. I thought we should speak once more before it was all over. I think you already know that Allia gave birth to a child.”
Yes. Callonen had received that news from one of his best soldiers, wounded by Haldreth’s dark minions, dying of their poison. He won’t get the ring, or the child. I hid her where he won’t find her.
Allia’s child.
“You haven’t found her, have you?” Haldreth asked, his voice deceptively casual.
“I would never tell you where she is!”
Haldreth smiled. “So, you don’t know either. No matter. I sent my demons to hunt her. It’s only a matter of time before they find her.”
Callonen had sent many of his best people to search for the child over the years. They still searched. There seemed little hope they would find the girl before Haldreth’s unholy demons did.
“Dear brother,” Haldreth said, shaking his head, “why are you still fighting me? Sarine will be mine. You have nothing left. Give up. There’s no cure for your illness. You don’t have long anyway.”
Giving up made absolute sense after everything that had happened. Except for a single part Haldreth lied about. There was a cure for his condition. If they could find the ring, there would be hope.
Hope.
Haldreth nodded to his soldiers. Yelling, they drew their weapons and surged forward to attack.
And they lived happily ever after. NOOOOOOOO!!! What a terrible place to be. Not because I don’t love a happy ending, but because your wonderful journey is over, and now the book is done. As I see it, you have two choices. Option 1 – re-enter the real world (not preferred). Option 2 – find a new adventure to get involved in, ASAP!
