Cover reveal – Aqatain, the Prequel

Prequel to The Last War series

A stunning prequel to the popular Last War series from best-selling author Sylvie Grayson.

Second waited years to take his father’s place as Emperor. Now he’ll rule the territories his way, with an iron fist. He has a son with his mistress. A son with his wife. His own hareem, and his own army. He can do anything he wants.

Then he encounters Jenna, a counsellor’s daughter, and immediately falls into lust. Why can’t he have her, too? After all, he’s the Emperor. But General Romero Regiment spotted Jenna at the same time, and determines to pursue his interest. Jenna, however, has plans of her own. She meets Sergeant Ryall Norcross of the empire military and the two fall in love. With determination, Norcross sets out to make her his own. He soon finds himself in opposition to his own commanding officer, and the supreme ruler of the Empire.

Second has a bevy of counsellors to obey his orders and help manage the empire, none of whom dare to question his demands. So as he sets out to capture Jenna, what could possibly go wrong? Yet, when rebellion arises south of Headquarters, his rage knows no limits. As the insurgency gains support throughout the Empire, it swiftly heads out of control. Second has to set aside his pleasures and lead his military into war. Will he be able to save the Empire, or is it already too late?

COMING SOON

Covid cancelled our trip!

Hubby and I were booked for a trip to Eastern Ontario and Quebec for a friend’s milestone birthday and a chance to visit two grandsons at university in Ottawa, our capital city. Two days before leaving, we both came down with Covid 19. With two vaccines and two boosters, we caught the latest version. I gather it is more contagious and moves fast.

We spent days (when we weren’t in bed, sleeping) cancelling hotel reservations, flights booked, car rentals, train tickets and visits with friends.

Thank heaven for the vaccinations. It could have been a lot worse, but it still knocked the stuffing out of us. Very sore throat, dizziness, nausea, congestion, relentless fatigue. I have great sympathy for anyone who has contracted it.

Meantime, we have recovered. Have a great fall.

Did You Go to the Fall Fair?

If there is a fall fair near you, I highly recommend you go. It’s outdoors, so safer from Covid, the weather could turn to autumn at any time but right now it’s probably not as hot as it was, the animal pens are so much fun. And the food! Elephant ears, anyone? Plus handicrafts everywhere.

We went to the Saanich Fair on Vancouver Island yesterday. It is one of the longest running fairs, dating back 154 years. The local farmers all participate– draught horses, cows, llamas, goats, sheep, poultry of every kind from tiny quail to large crowing roosters! It was quite a sight.

Chainsaw carver creating an eagle from a chunk of cedar.

There were thousands of people. The rides ranged from a giant swing that would probably make me puke if I went on it, to cute bumper cars and ‘the sizzler’- seats that twirl round and round as they swing by. The craft tables hosted a lot of handmade shawls and scarves of angora. Some of that wool was so soft, you couldn’t even tell you were touching it.

Lots of fun. What fair do you go to? The summer isn’t officially over until you’ve been to the local fair!

The Last War- novella

I’ve been working on a novella, AQATAIN, The Last War. I decided it was worth showing who the first Emperor was, and what kind of man. This will be the first book in the series. It’s fun to sort out a character who hasn’t appeared before.

He is the father of Emperor Aqatain the Second who appears in all the previous books, and I feel like I’m opening my eyes with this one. I know the son so well, having written his story already. Now I get to meet his family, his father Aqatain, his mother Ospina, and brother Amalric. Before I began writing this one, I didn’t even know Amalric existed! Amazing, as a novelist, what you can learn after the fact!

Alfie the Eagle has fledged

When we returned from our road trip, the eagle nest had collapsed and was about a third of the size it had been. The rest of it was on the ground at the base of the tree. Alfie, the eaglet, was perched on a rock on the hill the other side of our driveway.

We were worried for him. The parents were still around. They perched in the tops of the nearby trees and screeched at us when we walked down the drive to get a look at their child, then flew low in swoops above us, twittering and screeching.

We talked to the wildlife people who thought we should feed him. They brought things for Alfie to eat. Here is what we learned. Alfie wasn’t in favour of herring, left it lying on the ground at the base of his rock. He liked quail okay. A parent would land and twitter at him, then lean down and rip off a bit of meat and feed it to him, beak to beak. Alfie likes rabbit quite well. He began to eat his own, pinning it to the ground with a talon and ripping the skin and meat off it.

His beak began to turn yellow, and his legs and feet. Then one day, he flew away. He came back the next day, landed in a tree to twitter at my husband, who had fed him all this time. DH twittered back, then Alfie flew off. He hasn’t been back.

(I told DH his eagle language might not be great and he might have said something that offended Alfie, we aren’t sure. 🙂 )