SFC member Lorina Stephens shares some news about new releases from Five Rivers Publishing:
May 1 saw the release of Michael Skeet’s debut fantasy, A Poisoned Prayer.
En garde! Paris, in the 1680s. Dashing swordsmen compete for the favours of licentious women, and magic—God’s Blessing—is strong enough that prayers really are answered.
Into the City of Light comes Lise de Trouvaille, a young noblewoman of modest means and no apparent Blessing, searching for an advantageous marriage. But the first eligible man she meets—during a werewolf attack, no less—is exactly the wrong person…
You can read an interview with Michael on the Five Rivers site or visit the book’s page to order.
Coming on June 1, a new YA fantasy release from Ann Marston, Diamonds in Black Sand.
Iain dreams of sailing beyond the treacherous Barrier Reefs to the tumultuous Wildesea, to become an Outsider like his father before him. But he is bound in service to his uncle Durstan for raising him after the death of his parents, and may not go until he has paid back the time he owes.
The new King of Celyddon bans the magic that keeps the Out-ships safe on the demanding Wildesea where Iain longs to be, and makes outlaws of those who work that magic. Neither the ships nor the men and women who sail them are allowed in the Realm. Iain has no means of escaping his bondage.
He is almost resigned to his fate and trying to make the best of it when he himself develops some of that banned magic, and becomes an Outlaw on the run from the authorities.
You can read an interview with Ann on the Five Rivers site or visit the book’s page here.