B is for ... Foxwick's Beginnings
Once upon a time, an anthology was calling for assassin stories. Ooo, assassins. Sounds exciting, right? I knew I wanted to enter, but I wanted something different. For one, I decided my protagonist was going to be a woman. Since this was a fantasy anthology as well, I decided I wanted to create my own world.
I knew I wanted the world to be one with royalty, knights, dragons, and more. I searched a Fantasy Place Name Generator and thought about what I wanted to write. The assassin's name was easy: Umbria. The place became Foxwick. And through that anthology's request for submissions, a world was born filled with characters and places I'm still getting to know.
Now here is an excerpt from "Lady Death," the story that started a series. You can find the complete story in A to Z Flashes of Foxwick as well as Women of Foxwick.
Lady Death
“So, the quacksalver is dead?”
“Yes, the false healer won’t be practicing his witchcraft
anymore.” She slowed long enough to produce the thick gold ring Thaddeus
enjoyed wearing, his finger attached.
“Thank you. He wanted to kill my wife to save the child.”
Leon gnashed the words. His grip tightened around the sword, and he spat upon
the floor and attacked. “The other healers aren’t much better.”
She grasped her weapon in both hands and took the brunt of
his anger. What would her brother do if his wife and child didn’t survive? She
couldn’t begin to imagine his despair and frustration. “Is there any news about
Verona and your child?”
“They keep bleeding her, but she remains gravely ill.” He
grunted. His movements grew wilder, more erratic, and Umbria struggled to keep
up. “She’s delirious most of the time. They want to take the baby. Cut into
her. Can you believe it? She’s been with child only six months. He won’t live
without her.”
Umbria ducked and his sword banged into a marble column.
Leon’s chest heaved. “I can’t lose her, sister. Our
relations with Lochhollow are tepid at best, and they will attack Foxwick, if
she ....”
“Doesn’t Lochhollow realize how much you love their favorite
daughter?” Her eyes narrowed in concern. She would do anything to prevent
another war, to help him. “Would you like me to travel to Valdale? They have
some of the finest physicians.”
“Did you know Verona’s parents first denied my marriage to
her? They won’t hesitate to attack.” He swung the blade wide, completely
missing Umbria. Frustration huffed from his nostrils like a bull snorting
before attack. “There’s no use to journey to Valdale either. They can do
nothing for her.”
“Tell me what to do. I’ll do anything for you and Verona.
You know that.”
He swung his sword toward hers. “I want you to assassinate
Death.”
And we have the cover reveal of Rachel Morgan's The Faerie Prince!
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Title: The Faerie Prince
Author: Rachel Morgan
Publication Date: May 30th 2013
Description: Guardian
trainee Violet Fairdale is just weeks away from one of the most
important occasions of her life: graduation. After messing up big time
by bringing a human into the fae realm, Vi needs to step up her game and
forget about Nate if she hopes to graduate as the top guardian of her
year. Everything would be fine if she wasn’t forced to partner with Ryn,
her ex-friend, ex-enemy, current ‘sort of friend’. They might be trying
to patch up their relationship, but does she really want to spend a
week undercover with him for their final assignment? On top of that, the
possibly-insane Unseelie Prince is still on the loose, free to
‘collect’ as many specially talented faeries as he can find—and Vi is
still at the top of his list. Add in faerie queens, enchanted storms,
complicated not-just-friends feelings, and a murder within the Guild
itself, and graduation is about to become the least of Vi’s problems.
Add THE FAERIE PRINCE to your to-read list on Goodreads.
If
you haven't yet read the first book in the Creepy Hollow series, THE
FAERIE GUARDIAN, you can find it at the following places:
To connect with the author, visit
Rachel Morgan's blog.
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