it's over

Chapter Twenty-Nine of Taerith is up--and with that, the story is finished.

Thanks for your readership, your encouragement, your criticism, your caring. I've loved having you along.

penultimate

The second to last chapter of Taerith has been posted. The story will end on Saturday.

It's been a good ride!

Come read Chapter Twenty-Eight.

encounters

Beside him, Borden drew his sword. He started forward.

He stopped. Gasped. He began to tremble, and Kardas saw his knuckles go white as he gripped his sword. His eyes stared, not at the water or the island, but at something in the darkness no one else could see.

From his other side, Doublin cursed softly. Kardas kept his eyes on Borden.

What is it? He nearly asked. What do you see?

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Seven of Taerith has been posted. Read, comment :). The next (penultimate) chapter will go up on Wednesday the 19th; the final installment on Saturday the 22nd. Thanks for being with me on this ride :).

the absence of Taerith

Hello faithful readers,

Those of you who are keeping up with Taerith may have noted the absence of an update today. Never fear... I haven't fallen behind. In fact, the first draft of Taerith is finished.

However, I'm not sure when the next chapter will go up. This is because, in Chapter Twenty-Seven, one of the Romany siblings makes an entry into the story. I need that sibling's author to ok the scenes wherein he appears. That author, our very own Sgt. Charissa Taylor, was deployed to Iraq today. (We're praying for you, Kristy!) I'm not sure when she'll be able to get back to me. As soon as she does, Taerith will resume its regular programming.

See you then :).

escape

Taerith was standing near the edge of the pond. Overhead, a huge flock of birds raced toward the fens. This was no smooth migration: it was a roiling, terrified bid for life and liberty. They looked and sounded like creatures with winged wolves on their heels.

Taerith turned and faced Findal as the circus master approached. His blue eyes were sharp. “Tonight,” he said.

Findal started to protest. He turned in the direction the birds had flown, looking down the hill to a copse of trees.

It seemed to him that something was there. Something not human―a shadow waiting.

He blinked and looked again, but could see nothing.

He nodded. “Tonight.”

* * *

Chapter Twenty-Six of Taerith is up! Come, read, comment.

(And don't forget to pick up your free copy of Worlds Unseen: The Ebook Edition, an earlier work of fantasy.)

What is her story about again?

Rachel Brewer slowly slips into the upstairs room of Wayside Central where her fellow writers have been diligently working away for the past several months. A few heads pop up from their computers as she enters, eyes follow as she tip-toes past, trying to appear as though she has been there the whole time. Quietly she slides into her desk chair, guiltily dropping a wrinkled, unfinished copy of her latest chapter into the publishing basket--all she has to show for a summer of skipping meetings and ignoring deadlines.

She sighes. It is hard to keep up with her writing when her classes and job demand so much of her time. Since her writing job doesn't pay much, she somehow let things start to slide; just a little at first, a meeting here and there, but pretty soon a month had past, then the whole summer had gone . . . with nary a step into the office and barely a word added to her manuscript-in-progress.

Now that she is looking around at her co-writers, she realizes just how far behind she has become. She feels neglectful of her faithful critics as well. Turning back to her blinking computer screen, she tries to concentrate. Concentrate...concentrate...

Suddenly the clock at the bottom corner of the screen reminds her that she is about to be late for a class. Grabbing her purse, she hurries back past the questioning eyes, and out the door.

Thus it continues.

--Later that day--

You (a faithful critic of all Romany Epistles) walk into Wayside Central to pick up copies of the newest chapters, which you will then take home and spill a little red ink over (very politely of course) and return in the morning. As you pass the publishing basket, you happen to glance in and notice a rather sorry looking, stained couple of pages, hastily stapled together, and thrown in haphazardly. If your curiosity gets the better of you, click here to covertly reach into the basket and take a peek...

and now, we break for a small announcement

Worlds Unseen: The Ebook Edition, by Taerith author Rachel Starr Thomson, is here :).

If you'd like to help get the ball rolling, feel free to copy the below announcement and post it on your blog, email it to all your friends, skywrite it from an aeroplane...

Worlds Unseen

Book 1 in The Seventh World Trilogy
by Rachel Starr Thomson

Click to Download the Free eBook Now!

The Council for Exploration Into Worlds Unseen believed there was more to the world and its history than the empire had taught them. Treating ancient legends as history, they came a little too close to the truth. Betrayed by one of their own, the Council was torn apart before they could finish their work.

Forty years later, Maggie Sheffield just wants to leave the past behind. Memories of the Orphan House where she grew up are fading; memories of her guardians' murder are harder to shake. When a dying friend shows up on her doorstep bearing the truth about the Seventh World--in the form of a written covenant with evil--Maggie is sent on a journey that will change her forever. Along with the Gifted gypsy Nicolas Fisher, who hears things no one else can, Maggie joins with the last surviving members of the Council and a group of eastern rebels led by a ploughman and a princess to discover the truth.

It won't be easy. The Seventh World has long been controlled by the Blackness, and its monstrous forces are already on Maggie's trail.

Readers Weigh In

"Wow, Rachel, oh my goodness.... wow. I fell in love with Worlds Unseen. I finished it a few moments ago, with tears in my eyes. It was really touching...and brilliant, and beautiful. The whole thing reminded me of a mix between C.S. Lewis, Ted Dekker, and Diana Wynne Jones, while being wholly different."

"Your story is wonderful! You are such an artist and you paint such beautiful metaphors. I am in awe."

"You have a gorgeous poetic way of putting things that's incredible and enviable. I love the huge grand scale of things that your world runs on, yet your characters make it personal in such an amazing way."

"I thought all of your characters were great! They were real, which is what I've always loved about your writing."

Coming Soon: Worlds Unseen in hard copy!

It's still in production, but Worlds will be available as a "real" book in the next few months, with beautiful cover artwork by Deborah Thomson and availability on Amazon.com and special order from bookstores across the continent. Watch for it!