by S.R. Cronin
GENRE: Historical Fantasy
It’s
the 1200’s, and the small realm of Ilari has had peace and prosperity for
generations. That doesn’t mean everyone is happy, however.
Ryalgar, a spinster
farm girl and the oldest of seven, has always preferred her studies to
flirtation, yet even she finally meets her prince. Or so she thinks, until she
discovers he’s already betrothed. Embarrassed, she flees her family’s farm to
join the Velka, the mysterious women of the forest known for their magical
powers and for living apart from men.
As a Velka, she
develops her telekinesis and learns she has a talent for analyzing information.
Both are going to come in handy. For she’s continued to meet her prince at the
forest’s edge, thinking being his mistress isn’t such a bad deal. Then she
learns more about his princely assignment. He’s tasked with training the army
of Ilari to repel the feared Mongol horseman who’ve been moving eastward for years,
killing all in their path. And, her prince is willing to sacrifice the outer
farmlands where she grew up to these invaders, if he has to.
Ryalgar isn’t about to
let that happen.
She’s got the Velka
behind her now, as well as a multitude of university intellectuals, a family of
tough farmers, and six sisters each with her own unique personality and
talents.
Can Ryalgar organize
all that into a resistance that will stop the Mongols? She thinks she can.
Sulphur was the sort of woman everyone stared at. She was
half a head taller than most and long ago she’d cut her hair into a short mane
of bright gold. She had a robust woman’s
figure, a man’s muscles, and her directness served to make others try to
impress her. The Velka were no more immune to her allure than most, and I had
to smile at the number of women who’d never approached me before, but now were
anxious to sit at my table for dinner.
The first night, I brushed away several invitations for the
two of us to join others in various common areas. I wanted to talk to my
sister. By myself. However, when it became obvious Joli wanted to come back to
my room with us, I couldn’t say no. Joli was becoming the best friend I had
here; the least I could do was let her be part of this visit.
So, the three of us poured ourselves sweet late-evening
amber wine to sip on for dessert and settled into the chairs in my room. Joli
was courteous enough to let Sulphur and I cover the basic family news without
interrupting us. When I moved on to telling Sulphur of my ongoing dalliance
with the otherwise-engaged Nevik, her reaction surprised me.
“Could you have been luckier?”
“You think falling in love with an already-betrothed man is
lucky?”
“What if he hadn’t been? Can you imagine you, a smart lady,
primping and preening around the royalty of Pilk for the rest of your life?
Think about it, Ryalgar. You’d be miserable. Probably make him miserable too.
The princess that got stuck with him has done you a huge favor.”
I hadn’t quite looked at it that way.
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION AND LINK
S.R. Cronin will be awarding a $25
Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Sherrie Cronin
is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46.
Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series
called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the
synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving
the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.
She’s made a
lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited
forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and
geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several
cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up
just fine, both despite how odd she is.
All her life
she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science
Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains
of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone
for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.
Author Social
Media Links:
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/cinnabar01
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/Number46Ascending
Goodreads:
www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin
Amazon:
www.amazon.com/Sherrie-Cronin/e/B007FRMO9Q
Author Blog:
https://sherriecronin.xyz/
Book Series
Blog: https://troublesome7sisters.xyz/
7 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for having me here today!
Happy Friday! Thanks for the great post, I enjoyed reading it :)
Sounds like a great read
This sounds like a great book to read
Good evening! My question for you today is, are you a spontaneous or a scheduled writer?
I appreciate getting to read about your book. With sisters and daughters who love to read, this helps so thank you.
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