Wow! We now have less than two weeks until the release of Bonded: Chronicles of Calan, Book II! I swear time has sped up these last couple of weeks as I complete the final edits, format both e-book and paperback versions, and finish drawing a map of the kingdom. I am also trying to figure out the problem I had with pictures in the e-book versions of book one, so I don’t have it this time around.
The more I work with this manuscript, the more excited I am for its release. At just over 149,000 words, Bonded is almost twice as long as Kyreen. I also believe it to be a better written book. Plus I am looking forward to seeing a physical copy of the book with that awesome cover designed by Ryann Armstrong of Keylligraphy Ink.
But enough about all that! My apologies for not getting this blog post up yesterday as originally planned, and, as promised, here is a short excerpt from the upcoming novel…
Pale moonlight trickled through the shadowed canopy of branches overhead. The silence of the surrounding forest swelled palpably. All the nocturnal animals remained quiet, or, more likely, had vacated this place. The hunted paused, listening for the hunter. Settled in the bushes, her senses stretched, detecting her pursuer. Heart pounding loud in her chest, she knew it would not be long before her hiding place would be discovered. Nibbling at her bottom lip, she contemplated moving, but instinctively knew she had paused too long, had hesitated once too often. Now trapped, she could only wait for the inevitable. Barely breathing, Kyreen focused on the dark figure slipping through the woods on silent feet. Then the hunter turned away from Kyreen’s spot amongst the bushes, moving away, disappearing into the shadows. Kyreen breathed a silent sigh of relief.
“Oy! You are dead!” A quiet voice remarked, a hand descending upon Kyreen’s shoulder from behind her, away from where Kyreen had been looking.
Kyreen silently groaned, but did not speak. The voice in her ear laughed warmly, tinged, not with malice, but amusement. Unseen hands lifted Kyreen to her feet by the elbows.
“Do not fret,” Synnove said, her voice quiet, patting Kyreen’s shoulder. “You were not the first.”
Kyreen did not take solace in the young woman’s words as she began the trek back to camp and Synnove disappeared into the shadows, presumably to seek out her next target. Exiting the tree line, however, Kyreen’s spirits lifted seeing not one, but three figures gathered around the fire. One would be Magnar, the Training Camp’s Hunt Master, but the other two would be trainees just like her. Walking towards the firelight, she tightened the cloak around her body against the winds which were much more biting without the cover of the forest.
If you enjoyed that little taste of book two, pre-orders of the book can be purchased on Amazon. Also, you still have plenty of time to get ready for book two’s release date on July 1 by reading Kyreen: Chronicles of Calan, Book I available on Amazon, and please leave a review on Amazon as that is the best way to boost visibility and drive traffic to the books.
Nikki
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