QSFer Natasja Hellenthal has a new FF Fantasy book out:
Two decades ago a great deafening silence entered the world. Since then, the winds have mysteriously vanished. And with the disappearing of the wind, the magic held by the once mighty, immortal Sky Whisperers was shattered. Their influence over the natural world lost. The world of Lorian is dying.
All Nemsa has ever known is a world without wind.
Strangely, the winds stayed away around the day of her birth, twenty five years ago, setting off a chain of disastrous events including a fatal sickness. And for that the girl is both tormented and shunned.
Unaware of her involvement in this, she leads a small, miserable life in a mountain village; close to where she was found as a baby.
When one day Nemsa meets alluring Xenthia–a mystifying Sky Whisperer–it becomes clear that Nemsa’s path lies far above all she is familiar with. Beyond her village and the Lower Sky, past the red, dusty mountains even, and up to the unknown lands of the Upper Sky Dome to the realm of the Sky Whisperers.
But how can crippled and one-eyed Nemsa’s destiny be linked with that of the much older, immortal SkyWhisperer she grows fonder of by the day? What is expected of her? More so–how can frail Nemsa ever hope to stand up against the supremacy of a vengeful, ambitious Sun Whisperer? Will the courage in her heart be enough?
Magic is at work, a fatal sickness is spreading among mortals and immortals alike, the sun is brutally beating down, and the fate of all hangs in the balance. And if Nemsa is to fulfil her destiny and save the world, she must find her way through it all…
Follow Nemsa and Xenthia in this Epic, Dystopian, NA, Lesbian Fantasy tale of courage, interracial love, redemption, and hope.
Giveaway
Natasja is giving away an eBook copy of The Cursed. Just comment below with your email address for a chance to win.
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Excerpt
All of my life, there had been no wind until she came. I became so accustomed to stale and fetid air, the dust only moved by the shuffling of my feet, that when it started to swirl, I grew frightened.
I was alone upon a trail in the mountains leading back to my village and I hid my face in my robes. But upon the wind came an unknown scent; clean and vibrant. I could smell it through the thin cotton. When my fear abated, I raised my head and sniffed the air. It felt like a sensation I never knew I missed.
That’s when I saw her. She came down the path towards me, the stark blue of her robes standing out among the red rocks like a picture I had once seen. My mother called it a flower.
Her dark hair whipped in the moving air obscuring her face, except for her eyes, radiating such a light blue they seemed almost clear. She stopped a slight distance away from me and just watched me for a few moments. She then raised her hand in greeting. As if in a trance and unable to do nothing less, I raised my own. I was no longer frightened.
We approach one another, my steps timid, hers are sure. As the distance closes, I can see her features. She looks beautiful. Full lips, high cheekbones, skin like alabaster, and small creases in the corners of her cerulean eyes as if from squinting or laughing or both. She is neither young nor old, but timeless. A small smile is painted on her lips as if she knows me, but I’ve certainly never seen her in my life. I would surely have remembered such a rare beauty with skin as pallid as I’d never observed before in my life. My kind is mostly either dark, or olive-skinned.
Suddenly, I am aware of my plain robes − white long ago. Although washed recently they were already reddish from the dust and, as always, threadbare. Even after a day the red dust would stain it, like it did with everything else. I glanced at my walking stick and my bad leg and felt conscious of the black eye-patch in front of my left eye in a way never I’d never experienced before. You see the people in my village all knew me and didn’t notice it anymore. Hardly ever a traveller passed through our dusty scorched village at the edge of the mountains. I bathed this morning but I felt sweat on my lower back, and under my arms.
I grew embarrassed about my appearance in front of this majestic looking lady. Unquestionably this woman was of the Sky Whisperers we were told about all of our lives, but never seen. Our parents spoke of them in hushed voices, and I never felt sure if they were benevolent or evil.
She stopped a couple of feet away from me as if sensing it, her lovely smile widening slightly. Then she reached out, slowly, holding up my chin and making me look into her eyes. It was unnerving and phenomenal all at once. My mouth felt dry, but I didn’t dare to swallow as her fingers travelled slowly down my cheek. When she lowered her hand I shivered for the first time in my life.
Author Bio
Ms Hellenthal is not human. She is a novelist, eco-warrior, animal lover, (and thus vegan), and her hobbies include outdoor activities such as hiking, wild camping, organic farming, swimming and cycling. She lives in the beautiful Pyrenees, South of France, co-parents two small children and has two dogs, a cat and three rats who all follow her around the house at the same time. She writes therefore at night when all is quiet.
Her genre is speculative fiction that fall in the Heroic Fantasy, or even Dystopian subgenre, that entertain people but at the same time makes them think. Her work has been described as ‘thought-provoking’. Her writing is about change, freedom, advocating for lgbt equality and animal welfare without preaching!
In her writing she deals with big psychological and ethical themes and struggles of life, such as death, love and loss, abuse and the consequences of our actions. She tries to build strong characters as realistic as possible, for even though the genre is Fantasy she wants people to relate and connect with her heroes and villains as they would with their real life people.
‘The Queen’s Curse’ was her debut novel and has been a Canadian and Australian Best-Seller.
It’s an epic, heroic Spiritual/Paranormal Fantasy novel in the old tradition, yet with original and surprising elements. It attracts attention from a wide range of people, both straight and gay as it deals with many issues such as: justice/injustice, power, lesbian romance, freedom, adventure, magic, immortality, intrigue, soul searching, love, life, loss and near death experience.
In this book the author explores more than the ancient battle between good and evil so common in Fantasy literature. What is evil really, and how does someone become ‘bad’? Her books are available for Kindle and in Paperback.
Ms Hellenthal is influenced by writers such as Tanith Lee, Kahlil Gibran and Hermann Hesse.
She is currently working on book three in the Epic Supernatural Fantasy Comyenti Series. Book 1, ‘Call Off The Search,’ and the dramatic sequel, ‘Children Of The Sun’ are available both for Kindle and in Paperback. City of Dreams is a novella in the same world.
‘Chained Freedom’– a stand alone fairy-tale for adults– is also part of the Comyenti Series to give readers a taste. It’s s a free download on Amazon.
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