Character Spotlight - The Aos Si

    The Aos Si, or Sisters of Mourning, are three women who reside in the rocky cliff of Steinbrekka. Cursed to a life within their stone prison, Sorella, Nina and Leora lament the evil that has spread over the realm of Kaldalangra. They have made it their calling to watch over the souls of the damned, people sent to their deaths by the evil King Verikhan.

    While their silver-white hair, porcelain skin and piercing blue eyes give the Aos Si a spectral appearance, the sisters are, in fact, alive. Trapped within their curse, they cannot die, but instead are doomed for an immortal life of pain and grief for the souls they could not save.

    Immediately loved by the sisters, Rhea stumbles into their lair after the King sends her to Steinbrekka to break her sanity, or end her life. After stumbling through a strange door in the rock wall, she meets the sisters and gains strength from their song.

    The story of the Aos Si will be continued further in the fourth book of the Kaldalangran series, Grace of Kaldalangra, due to be released summer 2014.

Character Spotlight - Ayewoke

    This very first character spotlight is going to focus on the character of Ayewoke. Ayewoke can be found as a character in the books, Lady ofSteinbrekka and Heart of Kylassame.

    Ayewoke is a form of Magi, a woman with extraordinary powers who resides in an area of Kaldalangra known as Steinbrekka. Steinbrekka is a rocky, desolate region that is home to many supernatural creatures and people. The desolation of the realm has made it the perfect place for King Verikhan to send any people who come into his realm, either by accident or through kidnapping. There, they are brain-washed and, usually, die from the assault on their body and minds from the natural and supernatural forces in the region.

    When Rhea goes to Steinbrekka to be brainwashed, she meets the ancient Magi, Ayewoke. There, Ayewoke gives her the help needed to survive the ordeal. She realizes that Rhea is not just an ordinary woman, and decides to act as her emotional guardian once Rhea leaves Steinbrekka. As Ayewoke is not welcome in the court of Kaldalangra, she achieves this by transforming into her other form; that of a little gray cat.

    This character was born out of two very different but equally powerful images.

http://nativeamericanencyclopedia.com/running-eagle/

    The first is an image that has always stuck in my head; that of the old-world tribal Matriarch. These women lived in a time when it was not possible to erase wrinkles, smooth lines, and dye their hair to hide the grays. The elderly were venerated and cherished for their deep wells of wisdom and experience, and considered vital members of the community. 

    These are women who have a primal, dignified beauty, and every wrinkle tells a tale of the full life they have lived.

    It would not be hard to picture a woman, such as this, sitting on an isolated rocky peak in a supernatural region of another world.

    The second image, oddly enough, is based on my childhood cat, Ewok. Ewok was a very special little gray cat (sound familiar?) that was always looking out for me while growing up. She would follow me into the woods for hikes, sleep beside me at night, and brush away my teenage tears with her little paws. 

   

    She was in her twelfth year when I began writing The Lady of Steinbrekka, and passed away in a mysterious fashion when I was writing the final chapter of the novel.

Sneak Peak from Heart of Kylassame

Hi everyone, and welcome to a special sneak peak from my newest work-in-progress, Heart of Kylassame, which will be released during the summer of 2013.

Heart of Kylassame is the second book in the series, Tales of Kaldalangra. Be sure to Read the first book, Lady of Steinbrekka, today! Lady of Steinbrekka is available for Nook, Kindle, and Paperback.

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Rowan turned as the crowd gasped in alarm and then gave a restrained smile at the sight of his wife walking beside the massive cat. She looked regal at that moment, and he was given the uncomfortable reminder that not only she was his wife, but she was the Lady of Steinbrekka. It did not surprise him, then, that the Makaholr would show up on this day. Somewhere he must have sensed that his lady had been threatened, that her mate needed his assistance in carrying out justice. 

She looked beautiful and terrifying as she walked through the grasses, the crowd of people shrinking back at the sight of the giant cat. Her entire essence changed during that walk through the crowd. Blue jeans and cotton shirt shimmered, and when he blinked she was suddenly wearing a deep crimson gown, so well-fitted it seemed to have been sewn onto her body. The neck dipped low on her chest, revealing the carved-stoned ladybug pendant that he had given her two years prior. He had made that necklace for his mother, the Queen, and she had returned it upon her deathbed. It belonged to Rhea now, a woman his mother would have loved, had they ever met.

          The people behind him shifted nervously at the sight of the pair. The cat moved slowly, stealthily through the grass, muscles rippling and fangs bared as those large, green eyes  fixed on the criminals. The women walking with the cat was a stranger to them, indeed a stranger to all who lived in Kylassame. This was not the friend who smiled at their antics, watched the children, or danced with them at parties. This woman was formidable, a protector of the threatened, and her feline companion a harbinger of justice.

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Want to be delightfully teased by some other fascinating stories? Check out these great posts from the Indie-licious blog hop! I can't wait for these stories to come out!