Oct 6, 2016

Hello all -

A bit of a different sort of update today for Fae Child. Here’s an excerpt from Chapter Six, where we find Dan, Abbie’s father, again on the phone. This time he is calling up a friend from his past.

****

“How did you get this number?”

“Does it matter?” Dan sat on the kitchen counter, tethered to the wall by the phone.

A sigh. “Was a time you could call me up and I would follow you through hell, Wodan. That was a long time ago.”

“I know. Things have changed since the Hunt -”

“The Hunt no longer exists.” Mathan said flatly. “The Gates were closed behind us when we came through, and the Boar runs wild in the worlds. And it’s not my problem, whatever it is. Don’t call me again.”

“There’s been an incursion. A changeling.”

The silence on the line went on so long, Dan wondered if Mathan had hung up already. Then, “How do you know?”

“It’s my daughter.”

Another pause, and then a weary sigh. “Killing it is -”

“I can’t do that. Not yet, anyway.” Dan frowned. “It’s existence is a violation of the truce.”

“Not much we can do about it from this side of the Gates.”

“You know as well as I do that it can’t be the first incursion since the Queens signed the Accords. Summer is making a move.”

“And if you keep the changeling around, one of them will have an agent who can access magic with impunity. The entire reason the Gates were sealed was to keep the Balance between Summer and Winter and stop these power plays in the world.”

“Well, one of them has decided the risk is worth it. Probably Summer.”

“Titania is too smart for that.”

“Too smart to get caught. The Gates are sealed. If Winter holds to the Accords they will never find out until it’s too late.”

“Global warming,” Mathan said suddenly. “I did wonder if perhaps Summer was growing in power, but if this is true, if they sent the changeling…” His deep voice trailed off.

Dan picked up where he left off. “It’s a long game she’s playing. One that could change this world forever.”

“She cares nothing for the human world, you know that. The elven lords of her court will follow her whims and fight over the scraps of what’s left.”

“Bold words, even for a bear,” Dan said with a smile that quickly faded. “I contacted the Cat.”

Mathan sucked in his breath in a hiss. “The Cat cares about nothing but herself.”

“She has access to the Otherworld,” pointed out Dan. “She has her magic, even here in the human world. She’s as close to a neutral party between Seasons as exists in the worlds.”

“The dragons are too capricious to trust. Neutral - or chaotic. Who can tell what they get out of their deals, until it’s too late?”

****

Fae Child is still stubbornly hanging near the top of the pack, but while we are closer to the top 10 than many other entrants in the FantasticInk contest, we aren’t that close. With your help we can change that - if you can each bring one more reader to the party we will be in great shape. The fact is that I’m at the end of my own social network (they’ve been thoroughly badgered!), and while I have a few promised future preorders, I don’t have 190. I love writing, and I like to think I’m good at it, but I should probably just admit I’m not great at crowdfunding!

Thanks to the great Christopher Lee, Fae Child should soon have a book trailer - I can’t thank you enough, Christopher, for taking on this project for me. Check out his book: The Lore of the Aos Sí. "It is 3002BCE. Mankind is subject to Fae law. Four young souls will rise as ancient forces continue their age-old feud. As MidSummer’s Eve approaches, one will be chosen to join the sacred Order of the Druids to keep the balance between Man and Fae." Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Thanks again to everyone, and don’t forget, our second random draw for one of the Beanie Boos will occur after we reach 70 orders. We’re at 65 - halfway there!

Jane-Holly