Open me for DETAILS ON “Shooting Stars” release week, and the chance to read chapter one! ✨
Greetings Gentle Reader from the Land of Whimsical!
This newsletter is packed full of excitement! 🎉 Scroll on to read all about it:
- Release Week Celebrations of Shooting Stars by Micheline Ryckman!🌠
- An Author Live Chat with Hannah and Micheline.
- Exclusive Limited Edition Pre-Orders of Shooting Stars!✨
- CHAPTER 1 of Shooting Stars is HERE!🥳
- The Starriest Night Update and Author Q&A.
💫Shooting Stars Release Week!!💫
🎶IT’S TIIMMEEE!🎶 After 5 years, we are officially heading back to the Nine Realms!! We are so beyond excited and have a lot of fun planned for you guys! Which we’ll be getting more into soon.🤭
There are only THREE DAYS LEFT to pre-order your copy of Shooting Stars and Charting Stars!! THREE!!!!😱 Which means if you haven’t pre-ordered already, you may miss your chance to get all the pre-order goodies and the exclusive edition copies! They are absolutely STUNNING and you guys need these beauties on your shelf!🤩
Need a reminder of what you’re getting? We’ve got you!😉
The exclusive edition will include:
- Dust jacket art,
- Hardcover art (by Micheline Ryckman),
- Sprayed edges,
- Interior illustrations (by Micheline Ryckman),
- And a bonus chapter!
- Not only that, but it will have stunning preorder incentive gifts!💖
PREORDER YOUR COPIES HERE!
Is it possible for this book to be even more beautiful? YES!!😍✨
We know, STUNNING right?!👏
And don’t forget this edition of Charting Stars to go with it!
Remember these are LIMITED-TIME editions! Once they’re all gone, they won’t be returning.😪 Which is why you need to run to checkout and get your copies before they are SOLD OUT!! Hurry, hurry, hurry!🏃♀️
Now who’s ready to party this week?🥳🪩🕺
Check out our super fun week planned for the release of “Shooting Stars” which includes:
- Oct. 17th: Release Week BEGINS!🎊
- Oct. 18th: TODAY! Chapter 1 of Shooting Stars Available!
- Oct. 19th: Author Live Chat, Q&A, and Giveaway with Whimsical’s Owner, Hannah (@icandrawiswear on IG) and Founder/Artist/Author/Editor Micheline (@theogwhimsicalartist on IG) at 10:00a.m. MST on Instagram.
- Oct. 20th: Shooting Stars RELEASE DAY!!🥳
- Oct. 21st: Shooting Stars: Art Reveal.🎨
- Oct. 22nd: BIG Nine Realms Tales GIVEAWAY! Psst.. It’s Charting Stars AND Shooting Stars!👀
You’re not going to want to miss this! Come join us and celebrate, it’ll be fun!💕🥰
PREORDER YOUR COPIES HERE!
Need some more information on what to expect from this cozy, yet spirited, portal fantasy?🌌
Check out the blurb for book one in the Nine Realms Tales duology, Charting Stars:
A girl thrown between worlds. A prophecy untold. An unexpected romance. A quest for home.
Stargazer and artist Talia Benson never wanted an adventure. The titles of student, dutiful daughter, and crazy cat lady suited her just fine. But when she’s swept into an unknown world where sentient animals exist, monsters roam, and angelic beings sway fate, she’s forced to adjust to adventuring as she embarks on a quest to return to her quiet Canadian life.
Jarrett is the best runner in the Nine Realms. Well, maybe not the best––still, he’s proud of the reputation he’s built for himself. But with only a squirrel for company during his extensive travels, his social skills have grown rusty. At least, that’s what he tells himself when he impulsively delays an important mission to help a strange, vibrant girl find her way home.
Unbeknownst to most, turmoil brews in the otherworldly Nine Realms. The guardians have seen a shift in the heavens. Something has changed, a prophecy unleashed. A darkness is coming, throwing Talia, the runner she’s failing to suppress her feelings for, and their growing band of fantastical friends into the center of an oncoming war.
Charting Stars is the first book in a cozy, (though spirited), fantasy series. If you enjoy feel-good tales, magic and mayhem, cozy romance, he falls first, animal sidekicks, rag tag companions, witches and angels, and a lot of heart, then you will love this young adult adventure.
And don’t forget, the preorder incentives are only available for THREE more days!🤯
PREORDER YOUR COPIES HERE!
Now, are you ready for a sneak peek? 👀 Here it is, the first chapter of “Shooting Stars“!
🌠Shooting Stars: Chapter One🌠
Chapter One: Talia
Traveling in the company of six other companions does not offer a couple much by way of privacy. But tonight, during Jarrett’s scheduled watch (after said companions had fallen asleep), we stole away. Not far, I could still hear the crackle of the campfire flames as Jarrett pulled me close. The smell of pine and earth, a scent I’d grown accustomed to while traipsing through the nine realms these past few months, filled my nose and then my lungs as I snuggled into his chest.
“What’s your favorite thing about home?” There was a soft timber to Jarrett’s voice, one of curiosity mingled with empathy. He knew how much I missed my mom.
I snuggled closer, grateful for his warmth. Summer was almost upon us, but the nights were chilly. “Hmm…Coffee, but you already know that one too. Mom’s baking. Her cakes are to die for. My cats. My paints and easel. Oh, and Sundays on the couch in comfy clothes and bunny slippers.”
“Bunny slippers?”
“Yeah.” I pulled back to look up at him. “They’re fuzzy indoor shoes shaped like bunnies. Well, you can get them in all kinds of shapes. Cats, dogs, foxes, cows, and so on.”
“You wear animals on your feet in Canada?”
I could just make out the incredulous lift of Jarrett’s dark eyebrows, and I snort-giggled as I smacked his solid chest. “Not real animals. They’re synthetic.”
“Synthetic?”
“Just, um, man-made fabric that’s sewn together in shapes.”
He laughed before tucking one of my unruly ginger curls behind my ear. “Your world sounds…strange.”
I could say the same about his, although I was growing more used to it by the day. I lifted myself up on my tiptoes, arms arcing around his neck, fingers tangling in his black curls. Jarrett usually wore his shoulder-length hair up, but tonight it hung loose and glossy. “You know what else I love about home?” I asked.
He wrapped his arms tight around my waist, bending his face close to mine. “What?”
“Fewer courtship rules.” I giggled. “We could even kiss in public if we wanted.”
His brows rose again, and his umber gaze widened. But a second later his eyes were lidded, and his voice lowered to a playful growl. “You sound like a Tarkan, Talia Benson.”
I strained my toes higher. “Oh? Do Tarkan couples kiss each other in public?”
Jarrett didn’t answer, instead his lips captured mine.
I’d never in my life felt so desirable—so wanted—so happy. If kisses were potions, then this one was worth thousands. This was real magic.
Jarrett didn’t release me until a squirrel chittered from the direction of the camp, and when he did, he groaned like it hurt. The throaty sound made my heart skip and my head spin. I had risked this relationship, come what may, and that kiss almost made the probability of one day being separated worth it. Almost. Letting go would not come easy…
More chitters.
“QB must’ve woken to find us gone,” I sighed, still breathless.
“Probably for the best.” Jarrett nodded, then sighed. “We arrive in Velmane tomorrow, our last stop before heading north to retrieve the flute and deliver the star’s heart. It’ll be a long day, and you’ll need sleep.” Jarrett was right, tomorrow was a big day. Not only was the magical flute my ticket home, his mission to get the star’s heart to Bain and stop a monster war was even more important.
“What about you?” I took a step toward the camp.
“Maren will spell me off soon enough.” He grabbed my hand, stopping me before planting a firm kiss to the top of my head. “Sleep well, Ginger. See you when you wake.”
* * *
I did not see Jarrett when I woke. In fact, his bedroll had been empty, QB missing with him. After half a morning of waiting, Bash decided to head up a search, and I’d volunteered to join him. Drew, the cat currently curled in my arms, only joined us because she refused to be put down. Maybe she thought Maren, Moses, and Tae would force her to help break up camp? Not that anyone could force the cat to do anything. Whatever the reason, our merry band was supposed to reach Auriga’s capital city today, and now—I shook my head—where are you, Jarrett? It’s one thing to misplace your car in a mall parking lot; it’s another to misplace your new boyfriend in an otherworldly forest.
My bottom lip had grown sore from gnawing, but a sudden pinch of pain, instigated by my overactive teeth, reminded me to push my throbbing feet back into action. Dangling my little white cat from one elbow, I cupped my mouth. “Jarrett?” My voice scratched in my throat.
The only response was Bash’s equally parched echo.
Nothing. Again.
I stopped walking, lids closing as I tried to breathe evenly, the way Maren had taught me.
“Do you think Drew could help us out?” My eyes popped open to find Bash, in all his golden-haired glory, pointing at the magical feline in my arms.
“Drew?” I patted her head imploringly. She ignored me, eyes tight in feigned sleep, like she wasn’t an all-powerful witch in disguise who could probably locate Jarrett and QB with a flick of her fluffy tail.
I sighed, shrugging as I met Bash’s sapphire gaze. “It seems she’s not interested today.”
Bash rolled his eyes, trudging onward. “Cats.”
“Uh, witch-cat,” I corrected as I followed. Fickle witch-cat.
Drew had saved us from that wretched villainess, Calystra, back in the Caa city over a month ago, but since then, she’d only helped when the mood suited her. In that regard, she was a cat to the core. I had my theories, two in fact: that maybe earthen witches absorbed the traits of the forms they inhabited, or that Drew had been a feline so long she’d lost her humanity. I could try prodding her more, but sometimes that made things worse—
The bushes to my left rustled.
Bash was by my side in an instant, reaching to pull me behind him. Men seemed to do that here.
“Jarrett?” he said.
No one answered, but the bush vibrated harder.
Bash reached for his sword instead of his bow, which was surprising since the latter was often his weapon of choice. The insignia etched on his blade flashed in the morning light. It was the symbol Moses had used to identify Bash as the crown prince of Auriga the first time we met him. The sigil of an armored fist clasped and etched upon a shield, raised in the air like a show of might as laurel leaves circled around the edges. It was still surreal to think that some of my new friends were royalty.
The bracken rattled again, and Drew flinched on my arm when QB flew from the bushes, screeching and waving his squirrelly paws. Jarrett followed fast, debris littering his loose, wet curls, sword flailing as he scrambled to sheathe it at his back. “Run!”
Bash didn’t hesitate. He sheathed his own sword, then grabbed my hand and took off. Jarrett caught up to us easily, sending me a furrowed, once-over glance, like he was making sure I was unharmed, before his eyes set straight ahead again, clearly intent upon all of us being anywhere else but here. QB had somehow reached Jarrett’s shoulder in mid-flight, and his own little eyes were fixed forward too.
Something crashed behind us.
I’d be the first to admit I wasn’t a seasoned, or willing adventurer, but I had learned one thing: don’t look back when running for your life. Still, this time, for some reason, I couldn’t resist.
I peeked over my shoulder. What were they so afraid—
I screamed.
The animal that burst from the brush behind us was the height of a Clydesdale and looked like a grizzly bear—if a grizzly had fur the color of Windsor blue paint and double the fangs. The beast reared up, crashing down with a roar, rumbling the earth beneath my feet. My heart nearly stopped in my chest, and Bash yanked on my arm to keep me moving, Drew lunging out of my grasp. There was no catching the cat, not at this pace. She raced ahead of us, scaling the nearest tree in less time than it took to say, “Beam me up, Scotty,” then she vanished into the canopy above. Fickle indeed!
“A tree.” Jarrett’s breaths came in heaves beside us. “We need to get up a tree. Darkts can’t climb, or so I’ve heard.”
Bash swerved left, almost pulling my arm from its socket as we skirted the base of what looked like a great oak. Sadly, the bottom branches were too high to reach. There was no easy way up. I was about to say as much when Bash slung the bow off his back, grasped for the rope at his waist, and tied it to an arrow. Drawing back with one of his muscular arms, he shot the shaft up and over a solid branch.
The creature growled in the near distance, still in pursuit, and QB chittered at Bash to hurry.
Jarrett peeked around the tree. “It’s almost here.”
Bash grasped my waist, cinching the rope tight around me before yanking the opposite side like a pulley. The rope cut into my gut as the line propelled me upward. This would bruise. When I reached the lowest branch, which seemed higher than it had from below, I hastily untied myself and threw the end back. QB was already beside me and Jarrett followed fast, grasping the rope that Bash held for tension while Jarrett’s feet scaled the tree. Lastly, Bash secured himself, and just when the grizzly monster rounded the bend, Jarrett yanked the jumping prince up to safety.
The beast roared beneath us.
I covered my ears, teetering on the fat limb as I held on by my thighs. It was a good thing my leg muscles had grown stronger from horseback riding, because a moment later the bear smashed its front paws into the trunk, vibrating the entire tree. Somehow, I managed not to fall.
Jarrett grasped my arm, pointing upward to where Bash and QB were already disappearing above. It seemed we’d be climbing after them.
Ugh.
I hated heights—okay, maybe I didn’t used to hate heights—but ever since Calystra had dropped me almost two stories, well…
Jarrett urged me upward with beckoning arm motions now.
Why did everything in the nine realms have to be an adventure?
The dark, or whatever the thing was called, drove itself into the trunk again, and this time the impact rattled my body and my teeth. After scrambling to right myself, I looked up to find Jarrett still there, waiting, hand out.
Palms sweating, I grabbed his hand.
Don’t look down, Talia.
I climbed as quick as I could, wishing all the while that instead of sweaty fingers, I had claws. (Animals had all the perks.) Thankfully the higher we went, the more abundant the branches and handholds grew. At mid-point we stopped, Jarrett and Bash both pulling me up beside them. QB must’ve continued to the canopy above because he was nowhere to be found.
Almost like it was timed, the oak shook harder.
In Canada this might’ve been a fun carnival ride, but here, perched like the birds we were not, with those teeth waiting below…I shivered, clinging in silence, praying for the monster to take a permanent breather.
I was cross-eyed when the tree-battering finally did stop, and it was a good long moment before I could fix my attention on Jarrett again. His face was flushed and sweaty, his onyx curls still loose and littered with forest debris. And now that he was free to move his arms again, he was protectively fingering the star’s heart pendant tucked beneath his tunic.
“Where were you?” I said. “We woke up and you were gone.”
The tree vibrated more before Jarrett could answer, leaves floating around us as if autumn had abducted late spring. When the quake subsided, Jarrett gave me a casual, lopsided grin. “I went to wash up at the creek. I didn’t want to wake anyone.” He shrugged. “Halfway through I ran into the darkt and—”
The oak trembled again. More leaves flew, then the onslaught came to an abrupt halt, and I hoped that was the last of the beast’s tantrums. I released my aching fingers from their handholds.
“First rock trolls, now darkts?” Bash frowned toward the forest floor. It was so unlike the prince to be this ruffled; the man was almost always a picture of calm. “The northern guardian is losing his grip on the mountains, and there are probably more monsters that have slipped through. We need to reach Velmane and warn my father.” He looked to Jarrett. “You have a knack for finding trouble, my friend.”
QB chittered from somewhere above like he agreed.
I gave Jarrett a smile. “Since when do you sneak off to bathe? Is Maren rubbing off on…” My voice trailed off at his sheepish grin. Oh, he was bathing for me. I looked away. “We were so worried,” I whispered, hoping Bash hadn’t seen the heat rising to my face.
Jarrett chuckled. “I’m back now, still in one piece, and I’d say we have a bigger, toothier problem to worry—”
I couldn’t look back at him or my blush would only deepen further, but I did interrupt. “You should have let someone know where you’d gone.”
“I’m honored you care.” I could just imagine his playful, dimpled grin.
Bash coughed roughly. “Yes, we all care. But Talia’s right, you need to let people know when you leave the camp, especially with monsters on the prowl.”
The grizzly creature resumed its tirade, and we all silently braced ourselves through the heaves while Bash’s words hung in the air with the sort of genuine sincerity only he was known for. I couldn’t help feeling guilty that Jarrett and I hadn’t told him, or anyone else for that matter, that we were romantically involved. Not that things had progressed far, I mean, we’d only shared two kisses.
Two glorious kisses…
I’d been cautious at first, because a long-distance relationship between worlds, or rather, parallel dimensions, was doomed. For obvious reasons. And for a long time I’d kept that reality at the forefront of my mind. Kept Jarrett a friend. No one wants a broken heart. But after my near-death experience at Calystra’s hands, I’d decided to risk this relationship, come what may. Hoping that whatever passed between us in the meantime was worth the inevitable sorrow. What was that old adage? Better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all?
The tree quakes eased.
“Apologies for disappearing.” Jarrett’s habitually casual demeanor had disappeared now, and he gave his goatee a tug as he lowered his eyes. “Too many years alone with no one but myself to answer to.”
I felt his words inside my chest, resounding like a second heartbeat. He’d been abandoned, not intentionally, but abandoned nonetheless, alone, and orphaned until—
QB chirped from above.
Jarrett waved his hand upward. “Alone until you found me, old chum.”
The tree stilled completely.
I reached up to wipe the sweat gathered on my brow before giving him the warmest grin in my arsenal. “Please don’t do it again, okay?”
Jarrett put a fist over his heart. “Never again, Ginger.” His earnest gaze was a deep well of sincerity.
“Is the beast gone?” Bash interjected, like the conversation was making him uncomfortable.
My cheeks flushed again.
Jarrett grimaced. “I doubt it. If it’s hungry, it’ll wait around, hoping.” He looked up, eyeing the bits of sky peeking through the leaves above. “Maybe we should head to the top and take in the view while we wait?”
QB nattered down with enthusiasm, encouraging us to join him.
I shook my head. “I’m as high as I need to be, thanks.”
Bash nodded toward me. “I’ll stay with Talia, you go up.”
Jarrett’s umber eyes met mine, like he was afraid to leave me.
“Go take a look,” I said. “Maybe you can see whether or not the beast has moved on, and let us know how far we’ve strayed from camp.”
A smirk pulled at Jarrett’s lips. “You almost sound like you belong on the road in the nine realms, Talia Benson from Canada.”
Bash laughed at this.
I snorted. “Far from it. I just want that monster gone and my feet back on solid ground.”
“I second that, I’ll just…” Jarrett trailed off, his gaze dropping. For some stupid reason, I followed his eyes. Only snatches of the forest floor could be seen, but my lids went wide when I glimpsed blue fur—fur that looked closer by the minute.
I teetered.
Bash leaned over to grab my shoulder, steadying me. “Are you all right?”
I jerked my chin up. “It’s climbing!”
QB screeched.
Then debris rained down upon us.
Was the squirrel warning us about the bear too?
Heights forgotten, I jumped for the branches above me, propelling myself upward. I could hear Jarrett only a breath behind me, and no doubt Bash was following closely too. When I did breach the canopy, spots formed in front of my eyes from the blinding sun. Amidst them I thought I saw a distant bird as well, but I couldn’t be sure—where was QB?
Jarrett emerged next and immediately issued a string of curses. At first, I thought it was his own response to the searing sun, but then he growled, “I should have watched her die.”
Watched her die?
I followed his eyes to the sky.
The speck in the sky, that was…Calystra!
With his hand over the pendant still tucked under his tunic, Jarrett’s gaze broke from the bright blue dome above and snapped to my own. “Get down, now!” He waved his arms wildly, almost shoving me toward Bash who’d just breached the surface behind me. “Get Talia down. Get her to safety!”
My limbs locked into place.
Get down? Toward the blue grizzly?
Almost like the monster below was in league with Calystra. Maybe it was. The tree rumbled again. And this time the tumult was so intense, no doubt caused by the monster’s closer proximity on the tree, that it vanquished all thought of descent. We weren’t going anywhere.
Bash shifted, bracing himself against the blows, securing his legs so he could free his bow from his back and nock a precautionary arrow. I, on the other hand, clung with all four appendages to the branches around me, trying not to fall as my heart raced. How is Calystra alive?
“Are you sure?” I begged Jarrett, voice rattling. The moment the words left my lips, a wild gust of wind answered me, followed by a pair of silver-gray wings that blotted out the sun.
Bash loosed his arrow, but the shaking tree threw off his aim, and Calystra dodged the shaft before lunging at Jarrett.
I screamed. I was good at that.
Jarrett had his sword out now, wielding it with one hand while his other steadied him in the tree.
“Give it to me!” Calystra’s chill-you-to-the-bone laughter filled the air as she swooped in again, colliding with Jarrett as she wrestled to get a hold of him. The dark angel hadn’t changed much since we’d seen her last. Her skin was still ashen and her ringlets wiry, but now, a raw scar ran from her left cheek into her neck and across her chest. Obviously, the fall she’d taken in the Caa city had been bad, but not serious enough to kill her.
The tree shook harder.
My fingers throbbed, my body aching as my head spun. And despite this, I lifted a hand to reach into my closest pocket, rummaging, hoping to find something useful, anything…Hard cheese for QB, a twig for Jarrett to peel if he was stressed, a flake of soap, some flowers I stashed for Dorothy the horse to nibble on later—I gasped, tipping sideways, grappling until I found purchase again. One hand was not enough.
I had no idea how Jarrett was holding on single-handed, or how Bash had been using no hands at all. I needed to go back to the gym when I returned to Canada. Not that running from blue grizzlies, climbing trees, or facing a maniac angel was likely to happen back home—still, you know, for my health.
How could I help?
Bash had another arrow ready, but I could tell he was too afraid to take the shot lest he hit Jarrett instead of Calystra. Add to that, I was in between Bash and Calystra, so the prince’s sword was no good either. Maybe I should climb down some? Not as far as the monster, but enough to give Bash room to—
A scream pealed through the air.
Jarrett had struck Calystra’s forearm with his blade, leaving a dark strip of blood, but the pain only seemed to embolden her further. She lunged harder, faster. She wanted the star’s heart, and she’d do anything to have it. Even her recent brush with death hadn’t deterred her resolve.
The monster below redoubled its efforts, and this time the tree undulated so violently that both Jarrett and Bash reached for full handholds as well.
Calystra didn’t waste the opportunity. She struck fast, clasping Jarrett’s torso, caging him in her arms. His sword dropped away with her sudden upward thrust, and he flailed, kicking in the air above us before his fist connected with her jaw. Calystra howled, swerving in the air.
“Let me go, you overgrown buzzard!” Jarrett cried.
The angel recovered though, her viselike grip holding firm, and it took only one solid beat of her wings to shoot them into the sky.
Bash screamed something after them, but I couldn’t make out what he said because my senses glitched; a deep, unsettling horror carved its way through my soul.
My body cramped, everywhere.
“Jarrett! No! Bring him back, you wretched harpy!” I had no idea what kind of profanity or useless threats followed, but it wasn’t until Jarrett and the dark angel disappeared into the distant clouds above that my hollers turned to sobs. I cried at the empty sky until my throat was raw, until Bash finally laid a gentle hand on my shoulder.
The tree was still now.
“The monster is gone?” I choked out.
“Yes, it stopped and descended as soon as…” He paused, and I heard him swallow. “I have not glimpsed it since.”
The beast was in league with Calystra!
Bash urged me downward, but I couldn’t take my eyes off the sky. Jarrett…
“Please, Talia, we need to go,” Bash pleaded.
I couldn’t register his next words as he took my hand and helped me to begin the descent. My mind was a puddle; dark, muddy, indecipherable. But when we reached solid ground, my body jerked like I was waking from one of those awful free-fall dreams. QB? I stumbled back to the tree trunk, grappling at the bark like I was a squirrel, like I could climb the limbless base freehand. “QB?” I cried. “QB, where are you?”
Bash was by my side again, cradling my shoulders with his hands. “I couldn’t find him. I don’t know where he’s gone. Maybe he’s with Jarrett.” He swiveled me around, his sapphire eyes wide with concern. “Please listen to me. We must get back to camp, warn the others, and leave for Velmane.”
“Velmane?” I stared, swaying in his grip as my legs threatened to give out under me. “Velmane? We can’t go there; we need to save them!”
Bash nodded, brows tight. “We will save them, if we can, but we can’t fly after them. They flew straight up, and we have no wings. And there’s no telling what direction they went. As soon as Calystra has the star’s heart and Jarrett is—” He stopped himself. “She’ll come for you.” His throat caught over his next words. “We’ve been here before; we know what happens next. We can’t stand against her, not with that heart around her throat, not without a guardian or an army.” He squeezed my shoulders gently. “There is a guardian in Velmane, and my father has an army.”
His logic was undeniable. The prophecy, the one I only knew in part—“the child the stars spoke of”—clanged around my mind, solidifying his argument. Calystra wanted me dead. But…why me? All so I didn’t fulfill said prophecy? What threat could I pose to anyone? A sharp drone pealed through my skull, shaking me from my grief-stricken stupor. That prophecy was another thing Jarrett and I hadn’t had time to investigate. We’d planned on charting the stars together to decipher it, but now…
I backed out of Bash’s hold. “I don’t want to abandon them…”
“I know.” His words sounded near as pained as my heart.
“Maybe Drew can help?” Tears flowed.
Bash looked around like he was trying to spot my witch-cat. “Where is she?” he asked. Then he moved toward me, cupping my shoulders once more. “When will we see her again? You know how Drew is: sometimes she’s gone for a morning, other times days. Earthen witches are unreliable; it’s a proven, historical fact. She may have saved us in the Caa city, but who’s to say she’ll ever help us again? It’s a risk we can’t afford to take.” He turned his head in the direction of what must’ve been our camp. “We’re only half a day out. We need to carry on. We need to get to Velmane, to my family, so we can warn the nine realms.”
He’s right. But what if she kills—
A fist of panic squeezed my heart, making it impossible to breathe. I doubled over, but Bash was quick to pull me upright, reaching to gently lift my chin. “No more fainting, remember? Maren said so. Breathe, Talia. Breathe.”
I forced myself to focus, drawing on Maren’s many months of training as I took one shoulder-shuddering breath after another. I won’t go there. I can’t even think about it…
“Jarrett would want you safe,” Bash said softly. “But more than that, you and I must do what we can, in this moment, to keep our friends safe too. They are at risk. They don’t know Calystra is back, and neither does my kingdom. We must warn them all.” He put a fist over his heart, the same way Jarrett had in the tree. “I swear, upon my honor, as soon as I’m home, I’ll send out legions. I’ll have them scour the realm for Jarrett and QB.” Bash swallowed visibly. “And if they’re still alive, I’ll bring them back to us.”
Who else is ready to get their hands on this book? Here’s a little Whimsical photoshoot if you still need more convincing.🤪
PREORDER YOUR COPIES HERE!
✨The Starriest Night!✨
Along with some more starry news, we again wanted to update everybody about the minor adjustment made on our end. The Starriest Night cover reveal and pre-order campaign has been pushed back to November 10th!
We know you are all super excited about this one and trust us, we are too!!😍 So in the meantime we did a Q&A with author McKenzie Catron-Pichan to get you guys even MORE excited for what’s in store! From her writing process to her playlist there is all kinds of fun information and sneak peeks! Go check it out!!💘💫
CLICK HERE TO READ!
Don’t forget all of this fun!💖
Alright, all that being said, here’s the summary of dates… don’t forget!
- Oct. 18th: TODAY! Chapter 1 of Shooting Stars Available!
- Oct. 19th: Author Live Chat, Q&A, and Giveaway at 10:00a.m. PDT on Instagram.
- Oct. 20th: Shooting Stars RELEASE DAY!!
- Oct. 21st: Shooting Stars: Art Reveal.
- Oct. 22nd: BIG Nine Realms Tales GIVEAWAY!
- Nov. 10th: The Starriest Night Cover Reveal & Pre-Order Campaign.
As always, thank you all so much for supporting our journey thus far. We’re a small team and we appreciate and see all your comments, messages, and orders. As a family run press, it means the world!
Until next time,
Whimsical Publishing 🩷🦩
