I'm thrilled to share that The Rarkyn's Familiar is officially out in the world! Wow, what a journey it's been. Too often we tend to skim over the acknowledgements at the end of a book. We're eager to get on to the next read or to close our blood shot eyes from lying awake into the early hours finish the story (at least, such is often the case with me). But now that it's my own work and The Rarkyn's Familiar has beeen released into the wild, a couple of pages fo thank yous at the end feels inadequate. For this reason, all the people who have helped bring this story to life are getting a second round of thank yous here.
First, a big thank you to my editor Cindy Kilbourne for plucking this story out of the submission pile and championing it with The Parliament House. Also to Alyssa, Malorie and Megan for their keen eyes during the line edits and proof. To Shayne and Kolarp Em for the amazing cover. To Alex and Jen for their champion marketing and behind-the-scenes work. The energy and time the Parliament House team have put into this story has been nothing short of phenomenal.
To Mum, thank you for spotting something awry in this story's timeline and painstakeningly plotting out every mention of time passing so I could iron ou the kinks. To Dad, for reading one of my early unpublished short stories and immediately seeking me out to simply say "wow". That encouragement made me realise I might be okay at this writing thing.
A special mention goes out to my grandmother, Rae (rest in peace), who read and reread countless drafts of this story in its 16 year incubation, along with just about everything else I've written. Except for horror stories. Note to younger self: do not send Nanna horror.
To my beta readers Marjan, Robinne, Kay, Rich, Kirsten, Suzanne, and Jan, I canot begin to convey how much your insights shaped Lyss and Skaar's journey into what it is today.
To the North Shore Writers Group headed by Tim Owen, without you I wouldn't have dug this book out of the drawer and finished it. Your enthusiasm and calls of "is it finished yet?!" at our meetings lit a fire under me. Another shout out is also due to the Litopia Writers' Colony for their feedback and comradery through the querying and submission stages.
An enourmous thank you to my husband, Anthony, for plying my with a steady stream of tea, coffe and chocolate, for giving me the time and space to write when I needed it, and for always being there when I start making mountains out of molehills. You are my rock.
A perfect story for fans of Sarah J. Maas’ THRONE OF GLASS.
An orphan bent on revenge. A monster searching for freedom. A forbidden pact that binds their fates.
Lyss had heard her father’s screams, smelled the iron-tang of his blood. She witnessed his execution.
And plotted her revenge.
Then, a violent encounter traps Lyss in a blood-pact with a rarkyn from the otherworld, imbuing her with the monster’s forbidden magic—a magic that will erode her sanity.
To break the pact, she and the rarkyn must journey to the heart of the Empire. All that stands in their way are the mountains, the Empire’s soldiers, and Lyss’ uneasy alliance with the rarkyn.
But horrors await them on the road—horrors even rarkyns fear.
The most terrifying monster isn’t the one Lyss travels with.
It’s the one that’s awoken inside her.
Monsters of a feather flock together.