QSFer Kellie Doherty has a new FF fantasy book out: Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Ties.
Misti Eildelmann is fighting a banished one when he slips a pendant around her neck that saps her strength. The pendant is dangerous. Deadly. Misti needs help. Old and new friends join her on the quest for aid, including her crush Dylori Clyofis. The journey is risky—filled with suncreatures, evil worshippers, and betrayal—and Misti soon discovers her pendant is connected to a much bigger plan.
Kellie Doherty’s work has been published by Desert Palm Press, Queer Sci Fi, and Pathos Literary Magazine,among others. She currently works full time as an office assistant and part time as a freelance editor. In her (mostly non-existent) spare time, she likes to read, play games, and watch way too much YouTube.
Get It At Amazon
Desert Palm Press | Smashwords
Excerpt
Pale white blood dripped down Misti Eildelmann’s curved short sword as she readied herself to meet her next attacker. Ignoring the shouts of the battle around her and her own frantically beating heart, Misti eyed the banished one. The overly bright pale blue eyes. The slight smirk on the woman’s face. The confidence in her expression frightened Misti, and she hesitated, the upward slash with her sword halting for a moment. The banished crafter snarled and leapt, knocking Misti’s blade aside with her staff and sending an aching jolt through Misti’s arm. The banished one reached out to grab her neck, eyes glowing white as her fingers dug into Misti’s skin.
In the span of a heartbeat, many thoughts tumbled through Misti’s mind. Blood crafting. Moon above, not now. Not yet. Her eyes. Her veins! Misti swept her gaze down the woman’s arm, and sure enough the banished ones’ veins had brightened to white, same as her glowing eyes, the color tracing the banished one’s blood and heading right for Misti. The sight of this woman’s crafting sent a spike of fear down Misti’s spine. Blood crafting was meant for healing of the body and the mind and the soul, but it could also be used to suck life-energy from a person. Suck the life-energy from me. Especially in this banished one’s hands. She latched onto the woman’s arm to try to wrench her away from her neck. It didn’t work.
The woman’s piercing gaze seemed to fill Misti’s vision as her crafting washed over Misti like cold water. She yelled as pain shuddered through her, eyes watering from shock. Try as she might, Misti couldn’t free herself from this woman’s grasp. Couldn’t lift her sword to save herself, or stop what little strength she possessed from draining away from her. Even after seasons of training to be a Moon Knight, she still wasn’t strong enough. Her vulnix bloodline didn’t give her strength, not like the wyvern or neades. The woman moved closer, so close Misti could smell the dirt and sweat and salt clinging to her skin. Her watery vision skittered from the glowing in her eyes and focused instead on the thin line of white blood on the woman’s cheek, dripping down her near-translucent skin. As Misti grew weaker, the woman’s cut glowed, stitching itself up. She grabbed the back of Misti’s head, twisting her fingers into Misti’s long hair. Misti tried again to yank herself away, but couldn’t. Fear squeezed her lungs, blurring her vision and her mind.
Author Bio
Kellie Doherty is an author from Eagle River, Alaska, who writes science fiction and fantasy. Living in Alaska gave her an appreciation for nature, a hankering for a good cup of tea, and a passion for all things below zero. During those dark winter nights, she kept herself busy by writing stories and creating characters. When she noticed a lack of queer characters in science fiction and fantasy stories, she decided to create her own. Her first sci-fi book Finding Hekatewas published by Desert Palm Press in April 2016, and the sequel Losing Hold was published in April 2017. She’s currently working on a five-book fantasy series, and the first book Sunkissed Feathers & Severed Tieswill be out on March 27, 2019. You can find out more on her website: kelliedoherty.com