THE KILLING RITUAL
The Killing Ritual, Book One “Flap Copy”
The plant in front of Murin was smoldering. The tomatoes closest to her had burst from the sudden heat and the brilliant green stems were now charred and brittle. Whatever had been going on in her stomach was more than indigestion. “By all the demons in all the hells. I just breathed fire,” she said quietly.
Everything Murin thought she knew about her life and her future is about to be destroyed by flames. Being different in Tarska is a death sentence. Murin struggles to fit in, except she can’t control the fire erupting from her mouth, or the golden shimmer of her skin… and it’s becoming harder to hide. She has two choices: escape, or submit to the fatal fate of anyone who is “other.” Her little brother, Zaz, insists on tracking her down and bringing her home. It’s some foolish quest to win the love of their parents. Their mother, Claire, is as cold as she is mysterious. She can only worry about one thing: Murin. Vapan is another matter entirely. Tarskan to his roots, he wishes Murin had been born a boy and that Zaz—well, best not to think about that. As if that wasn’t complicated enough, Torek shows up with the traders. A strange man with a strange pull. He promises to help Murin get out of Tarska, but the how and why of it make no sense. Can she really trust the stranger?
Book Two:
The Becoming Ritual is in the hands of Beta Readers! I am so grateful for the intrepid folks who are willing to brave the pages of the manuscript at its current stage. Flap copy for Book Two and future books will not be posted here. Contact me if you’re curious!
GREY HAIRS
Red-headed, curly-haired Shay knows all the secret passages of the silo she calls home. She has read all the books, reviewed all the videos, and asked her parents and her Nana a million questions. Shay even knows there’s an outside, which has been devoured by Nanos and looms dead above them. The arrival of dinner guests shocks her, as does her parents’ fear and their willingness to allow a stranger to take her from her home, and out into the emptiness of the Wastelands. Each stage of her journey unravels those things she counts as facts until she begins to question the one fact she holds immutable. Who she is.
THE MAKERS
When Rosalind and Dawkins Wise watch the news, or step out onto the streets, one thing is clear to them. The world needs hope. The world needs something to believe in. As elite scientists, they have the ability to make that something to believe in. All they need is the perfect test subject.
Ananke and Eos 