Hey all… we’re just 47 days (and counting) away from my first major release in twenty months. I am thrilled to bring The Dragon Eater (Tharassas Cycle Book 1) to you thanks to Steven Radecki and Water Dragon Publishing.
Each week I’ll share something special from the book and an excerpt. This week, it’s the map of the whole “known” world – from the Heartland to the Highlands.
Last week, you met Raven, the thief (and titular Dragon Eater). This week, I’m introducing Aik, Raven’s loyal friend (and inconveniently for a thief, part of the Gullton city Guard).
The cover reveal/preorder date is February 16th, and the book officially goes on sale on March 16th.
I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Read on for the blurb and an excerpt.
The Blurb
Raven’s a thief who just swallowed a dragon. A small one, but still …
Now he’s growing scales, the local fauna is acting strangely, and his world is shaking itself to pieces. And his familiar, Spin, is no help at all.
His best friend Aik has been pining for him for years, and things are coming to a head. A guardsman and a thief? That would be … messy. And there’s also Aik’s judgmental ex Silya, who hates Raven and is facing a magical coming- of-age problem of her own.
The unlikely trio must deal with strange beasts, alien artifacts, and a sentient silver sphere. If they don’t igure out what’s happening to Raven and the world around them, it might be the end of everything.
When events spin out of control with world-ending consequences, what’s a thief to do?
Excerpt – Meet Aik
“Rave!” Aik was paralyzed, afraid to touch his best friend. Cold sweat beaded his forehead, and his hands shook.
Snap out of it. Look, learn, leap!
His guard training kicked in. He looked around wildly. The silver box lay open on its side a few feet from the pile of bedding, surrounded by a smattering of egg shards.
Raven lay on the hard rock floor of the cavern, breathing shallowly. Thank Hel’Oss. The goddir of death had spared him, for now.
Get him off the ground. Pushing through his fear, he knelt beside Raven, lifting him gently, and carried him to his bed. His body was light and pitifully limp. Aik deposited his friend carefully on the soft blankets and put the blue and gold pillow under his head.
A golden light pulsed in Raven’s shirt pocket.
Spin. He’d almost forgotten the strange little being in the chaos. “Um … Spin?”
“Yes, Aik?”
“Is Raven … all right?” Stay calm. You’re no use to him all flustered.
“His heart is beating normally. But he just ingested a native life form, like some fucking scene out of Alien. Do you think he’s okay?”
Aik had no idea what that meant. “I … no, I guess not.” Spin was right — it was a stupid question. Why am I talking to a machine, or whatever you are? He said a quick prayer to Jor’Oss to placate her, just in case her wild magic was at work here. “I’m going to take a closer look.”
“Suit yourself.”
Aik pulled up his friend’s shirt and recoiled.
Raven’s stomach was moving.
He turned away, his gut twisting, dry heaving and covering his mouth. He managed to keep it down, barely.
He’d only gotten a brief glimpse of the thing before Raven’s wild gyrations had knocked him over — his jaw was still sore from the blow. Whatever it was, it had been long and sleek, white and scaly, with short black claws. How had it fit inside that little egg? And were those claws tearing up Raven’s stomach? “What in Heaven’s Reach was that thing?”