By day Yosyph appears nothing more than a mute
tavern-hand. By night he is the shadowy leader of a growing revolution.
When he learns that thousands of his people will be
sent as slaves to the mines, he must choose—fight the royal army with an
ill-prepared rebellion or journey to the land of his ancestors through the
deadly King's Trial, where he hopes to win the help of his kin.
His journey grows complicated when he rescues a
maiden and enrages a prince, but if he doesn’t return with help in time, the
people he’s loved and secretly served will be gone.
As a youth, I made up stories to help my little
sisters go to sleep. It backfired. We stayed up for hours continuing the tale.
The King’s Trial was born in those late, whispered nights.
Ever since I climbed up to the rafters of our barn
at age four, I've lived high adventure: scuba diving, mud football with my
brothers, rappelling, and even riding a retired racehorse at full
gallop—bareback. I love the thrill and joy.
Stories give me a similar thrill and joy. I love
living through the eyes and heart of a hero who faces his internal demons and
the heroine who fights her way free instead of waiting to be saved. I read
fiction and true-story adventure. I write both, though I'm starting with
publishing the fiction—fact will come later.
I create high fantasy, fairy tale retellings, and
poetry. I live a joyful adventure with my husband and six children. I am a
Christian and I love my Savior.
Snippet 4
At the water's edge, a young woman stood beside a white horse. She flipped a stone into the pond and it skipped twelve times. If the prince liked novelty, she fit it. Hair the color of an autumn maple trailed down her back in tight curls. Paprika freckles dusted her cream skin. She burned brightly in a land of brown and flaxen tresses.
"She says I'm not fit to be a queen." Katrin flung another stone. It skipped once, hit a lily pad, and sank. "Too ungainly, too brash, too forward. She's nothing of grace herself, all dominance and force."
I stepped from the trees.
She continued to rant. "I shall not be frightened away by her threats. I shall not! She tells me she shall make my life miserable if I don't refuse to marry her son! Oh, how could she be Mother's best friend and such a beast to me?"
I stepped closer. Still, she didn't see me. Sometimes, not being noticed was bothersome. I cleared my throat. She whirled, a thin dagger appearing in her hand. Good, so she wasn't oblivious to the danger.
— Yosyph
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