Audience/Genre : Young Adult/Paranormal.
Publication : August 21st 2012 by World Weaver Press.
Like all Taakwa, Malia fears the fierce winged creatures known as Jeguduns who live in the cliffs surrounding her valley. When the river dries up and Malia is forced to scavenge farther from the village than normal, she discovers a Jegudun, injured and in need of help.
Malia’s existence — her status as clan mother in training, her marriage, her very life in the village — is threatened by her choice to befriend the Jegudun. But she’s the only Taakwa who knows the truth: that the threat to her people is much bigger and much more malicious than the Jeguduns who’ve lived alongside them for decades. Lurking on the edge of the valley is an Outsider army seeking to plunder and destroy the Taakwa, and it’s only a matter of time before the Outsiders find a way through the magic that protects the valley — a magic that can only be created by Taakwa and Jeguduns working together.
Now Malia is in a race against time. She must warn the Jeguduns that the Taakwa march against them and somehow convince the Taakwa that their real enemy isn’t who they think it is before the Outsiders find a way into the valley and destroy everything she holds dear.
I'm thrilled to be a part of the Shards of History Blog Tour! I've an excerpt and e-book giveaway for you guys today =)
Excerpt - Recipes from Shards of History (Chapter 2).
Soon Malia neared the spot where the Jegudun had fallen from the sky.
She slowed, scanning the area for any signs of it. Wind rustled aspen
leaves, the only sound other than her soft footfalls. The lack of
animal sounds raised the hairs along the base of her neck.
Something rustled in the tree above her. Malia’s hand flew to her
dagger as she crouched and looked up. A squirrel chattered at her,
then bound along the tree limb. Malia pressed a hand to her chest and
took a deep breath. Her heart raced as if she’d just run uphill. Then
she grinned and shook her head at her reaction, glad nobody had been
around to see her jump at a squirrel.
A few steps later, the aspen opened to a meadow about twenty paces
across. The grass grew as high as Malia’s waist in some spots. Yellow
cinquefoil bloomed along the perimeter. The wind died, and everything
went still.
To Malia’s left lay the Jegudun, a small, human-like figure with
wings. Standing, it would probably be no taller than a five year old
child.
The creature’s face reminded Malia of a wolf. Sharp teeth lined an
elongated snout covered with down, and a short beard clung to its
chin. Its eyes, set forward in its face, were closed, and its tufted
ears, although pointed, seemed relaxed.
Feathers on one side of an outstretched wing melded from light gray
to dark gray on the other side of the wing. Blood covered its right
shoulder.
Feathers gave way to down on its face and barreled chest, but that
was the only thing soft about the Jegudun. It had squat, heavily
muscled legs, and arms separate from its wings. An outstretched,
human-like hand ended in curved, sharp claws that could easily tear
flesh.
The tension in Malia’s muscles eased as she realized the Jegudun was
dead. She imagined those men at the cliffs, facing a horde of these
creatures, and shook her head. She didn’t think she could stand up to
one living Jegudun, much less a bunch of them.
Malia swallowed the knot in her throat and inched forward. She
reached a trembling hand towards the wing. The feathers were soft and
smooth beneath her fingers. Emboldened, she ran her hand along the
forward edge of its wing, moving to its bloody shoulder. Hard muscle
lay beneath the down.
The Jegudun’s other arm whipped around to grab her leg. Claws dug
into her flesh. The creature yanked, toppling her onto her back.
Malia hit the ground hard. She kicked her leg, trying to pull free,
but the Jegudun’s grip was a vise.
It sat up, snarling, showing two rows of sharp teeth. Malia cried
out and fumbled for her dagger, but it was pinned between her hip and
the ground. The Jegudun pulled her towards it, her skin scraping
against the ground. She imagined the creature’s teeth clamping on her
leg and tearing out flesh, or burying its snout into her soft belly
until it reached her intestines. I won’t die this way.
Giveaway Terms and Conditions :
- Giveaway is International.
- The Author/Publisher is responsible to ensure that the winner gets the prize.
- Giveaway ends on September 12th, 2012.
Rebecca Roland lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she writes primarily fantasy and horror. Her short fiction has appeared in Uncle John’s Flush Fiction and in Stupefying Stories, and she is a graduate of the Odyssey Writing Workshop. When she’s not writing, she’s usually spending time with her family, torturing patients as a physical therapist, or eating way too much chocolate.
The excerpt's interesting and full of suspense ..can't wait for this book..:)
ReplyDelete