Legends of Tirum: Daughter of Ashes
Time to break out the party hats and celebrate! Today’s the launch day for a brand new series for me!
Legends of Tirum is a Fantasy series with Romantic elements that’s been a long time in development, and I couldn’t be more happy or proud to say it’s finally here!
Today’s release of DAUGHTER OF ASHES, the first book in the series, is the culmination of years of work!
So, in honor of today’s release, I’m posting a special excerpt. Have a peek… tell me what you think… And if you like what you read, pick up your very own copy at Desert Breeze Publishing today! 
Excerpt from Legends of Tirum: DAUGHTER OF ASHES –
The streets of the Brassanburg Market were already thrumming with morning business by the time Telyn and Nacaris entered the gates of the city. Telyn smirked at the hawkers — street corner peddlers who screamed their trinkets and wares like birds of prey — who badgered passers-by in the hopes of turning a head by sheer volume. She wondered if they knew how many potential customers they drove off that way. The proprietors of the storefronts and billowing pavilions certainly knew, if the disdainful, irritated looks they cast their street-corner compatriots was any indication.
“Is it always this loud?” Nacaris’ voice carried over the boisterous peddlers, and she turned to grin at him.
“This is the great part of the market.” She always enjoyed watching the subtle battle of wills that thrummed between peddlers and merchants. Trade towns were famous for both hawkers and shopkeepers, and little as they cared for each other, neither would have celebrated the demise of the other. As long as the barter war remained in full force, the powers of trade remained balanced.
Telyn drew her mount closer to Nacaris’, to be heard above the din, as she jerked her chin toward an inn at the end of the street. “There’s where we want.”
He eyed the non-descript building warily. “Are you certain?”
Her grin flashed, wide and wicked. She knew what he thought, but was too diplomatic to say. It looked like a swill house. But she knew that appearance could be deceiving, and this little inn was testament enough to that. “Trust me.”
He cast her a long look, then surprised her by nodding. She’d expected more of a battle.
Telyn turned Bloodcloud toward a stable a few doors up from the inn. She knew the stablemaster, and trusted him to take good care of her horse. She grinned at the man in question as he stepped from the livery doors at the sound of horses outside.
“Ho, Carmyd!”
He blinked into the sunlight, and a wide grin split his scarred face as he swiped a hand over his bald pate. “Well, bless my silver shoes, if it ain’t a grand sight for old eyes.”
With a laugh, she leapt from her horse and into his waiting embrace, breathing in the familiar, comforting scents of leather and horse. Unwelcome tears swelled in her eyes as memory washed over her. Carmyd was an old Gildgard — one of the few that actually managed to survive to a respectable old age and retire gracefully. He’d come to her mother, bleeding and near death from horrific wounds on his face, when Telyn was a mere babe, and his long recovery had made him a semi-permanent fixture in her young life. From Carmyd, she heard the old legends, and learned to ride her first horse. Under his tutelage — and despite her mother’s disapproval — she’d learned to handle blade and bow, though others were responsible for honing her skill.
“Here, now, girl,” he muttered, holding her away to look into her face. “What brings the tears?”
She blinked them away and shook her head, smiling. “It does me good to see your face again.”
He glanced beyond her, and his shaggy brows lifted curiously. “Who’s the stallion?”
Telyn laughed, but couldn’t contain the flush that crept up her neck. “A friend.”
“I see.” He frowned, and then, as if reaching some inner conclusion, shrugged. “What brings you to my fair city?”
She sighed. “Business, I fear.”
His gaze flickered to Nacaris again. “His or yours?”
“Both. I came to see Seoman.”
That gained her a piercing look from her old friend. “What kind of business?”
She batted him away and turned toward Bloodcloud as Nacaris swung down from his own mount. “Don’t pry, Carmyd.”
“I see.” Those two words carried a wealth of meaning, and Telyn sighed. She wasn’t about to explain herself to anyone — especially not Carmyd.
“We need lodging for the horses for the night, at least.”
He nodded, and gestured toward the stable. “You know the way. But, Telyn, a word of caution…”
She turned expectantly. There was something about his tone…
“Aye?”
“The boy you knew is long gone. Have a caution with the man he’s become.”
As she walked Bloodcloud into the stable, those words travelled with Telyn, and concern knitted her brows. What, exactly, did Carmyd mean?
…) and replacing it with a nod to the classic Sword-and-Sorcery storyline – with a twist. After all, it’s not often when the main character is BOTH the sword-toting warrior AND the “sorceress” with an entire arsenal of deadly magical spells at her disposal. I gave all of my characters unique qualities that set them apart from both each other and from every other character I’ve ever written about.
