It’s been a busy, but exciting, week, what with launching Colours of Fantasy, preparing for the forthcoming ebook release of Fire Dance and going through the edits of Fire Storm, book two in the series. Moreover…
Fire Dance has just got its first review and I couldn’t have asked for anything better! (Absolutely enchanted by “Fire Dance”! A fast-paced story… The arena scenes are full of heart-pounding excitement… I couldn’t put it down). It’s such a relief when a new book launches and other people say they like it.
If you’re interested to know more about Fire Dance, you can still read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 and this is the link to the last chapter which I’ll be uploading: Chapter 3.
As I mentioned in my previous email, Fire Dance is also part of a group giveaway, so if you wish to win 27 Fantasy and Sci-Fi novels including Fire Dance do participate. There’s nothing to lose and a lot to win 😊
And now, on to today’s fantasy creature…
M is for Mandrake
The Mandrake, or Mandragora, plant has become very well-known thanks to the Harry Potter stories. The mandrake has unique roots—they grow into a human form (a baby in Harry Potter) and its shriek when pulled out of the soil is deadly: whoever hears the sound goes deaf, mad or dies. Therefore, best block one’s ears before attempting to pull out a mandrake!
The Mandrake plant however has excellent medicinal properties and is also used to perform magic. In fact, it’s often associated with spells, especially the female-formed ones.
In reality, the Mandrake is a real plant. In fact, Maia, the acolyte-healer protagonist of Fire Dance, uses it to treat two of her wounded patients. The long-leaved plant has a large brown root that is sometimes forked into two to three branches and this gives it its somewhat human shape.
References:
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Will it be the end of Elementals era?
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Five Elemental Elders… Facing an unknown enemy… On an alien planet… Failure marks the end of the Elemental era… Will they be able to keep hope alive?
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Every young woman in the village receives a dragon egg when she comes of age. Young Kleia watched every single egg hatch with a heart full of longing. Raising a dragon of her own was her destiny. Her reason to live. Nothing else could give her life meaning the way a dragon could. When she eventually got a dragon egg of her own, she learned that destiny is not always what it seems. This is no ordinary tale of dragons—the kind with daring adventure, great battles, intrepid heroes, or comforting victories. This is the tale of The Dragon That Never Was.
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ARC readers wanted…
Some self-promo!
When sixteen-year-old Shael helps a mortally wounded messenger, he entrusts her with delivering to the queen three magical statuettes stolen from the Hyllethans, her country’s feared enemies. But Shael accidentally cuts her fingers while handling the statuettes and magic links her to them—any breakage or pressure on the clay is felt on her flesh. Shael’s fate is now inexorably tied to the Hyllethans, the statuettes, and the political turmoil in the land.
What do you do when you’re tormented by someone else’s memories?
For seventeen years, Maia, a promising acolyte of the Goddess of Light, has hidden her ability to manifest flames over her skin. But after she performs in the temple’s Summer Solstice ceremony, the Emperor’s mysterious envoy, Lord Quei, threatens to have her executed as a demon unless she joins him on a quest to recover lost coins, claiming they contain memories of their past lives on a distant, far more advanced world. To avoid a death sentence, Maia must turn her back on her principles and resort to deceit and thievery. The truth might explain the strange wisps of memories that haunt her dreams. But it could also destroy her beliefs about the Goddess she reveres, the nature of the world she lives in, and her own identity.
Colours of Fantasy (FREE DOWNLOAD)
Not enough time to read, but love fantasy?
Colours of Fantasy is an anthology of short stories that range from magical realism to sci-fi fantasy. They are short enough to be easily read while commuting or during a lunch break. Read about paintings that are truer than true-to-life, or the heart-wrenching decision Poseidon’s human son-in-law has to take, or perhaps you’ll prefer a glimpse of life after an apocalypse, or a story about a space pirate with an uncomfortable past.
And if you like longer reads, Colours of Fantasy gives you a taste of Book One of two series: The Hyllethan Gifts Trilogy and Fire Dance Chronicles.
Till next time!
Caroline
Caroline Sciriha 