Shadows
of Ghosts
by
Stefan Haucke
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Shadows
of Ghosts carries readers to Enara, a kingdom at war with itself,
where for centuries centaurs have been treated like animals because
of their horse-like lower bodies; they've been forced to work as
slaves in the southern agricultural provinces, and have been bought
and sold like livestock. But a strong abolitionist faction has
convinced many that centaurs' human torsos, heads, and intellectual
abilities make them humans, who should be liberated from slavery and
granted the same rights as any other person.
After
four years of being forced to live in a remote village and having to
keep his real identity a secret, Cal Lanshire, days away from his
thirteenth birthday, is given the best birthday present he can
imagine. He is told the war is almost over and he will soon be
allowed to return home.
But
then an old acquaintance unexpectedly arrives with news that changes
everything. Cal's father, the king, has been assassinated.
Suddenly
the outcome of the war and the very fate of the kingdom depend upon
Cal being able to reach the capital where he will take his father's
place.
With
only his crafty best friend by his side and an escaped centaur slave
to guide him, can Cal make it through an enchanted, hostile
wilderness, past the assassins sent to kill him, and back to the
capital before it's too late?
Excerpt;
Suddenly,
Grintar shouted something, but Cal couldn’t understand the words.
Grintar’s men spread out, and there was a tension that Cal could
sense, like the way it felt seconds before a bolt of lightning was
about to strike nearby. Grintar raised his sword over his head, held
it there for several seconds, and then he swooped it down, slashing
it through the air, and shouted, “Advance!”
Chaos
exploded. Crossbow bolts and arrows whistled through the air, and men
on both sides charged forward, yelling battle cries, and the ringing
sounds of metal striking metal pierced the air as the opposing troops
crashed into each other. Soon the agonized screams of the wounded and
dying joined the other sounds.
The men
who were guarding Cal moved him back, and they tightened their circle
around him so that their shields were almost touching; Cal strained
to see out through the thin slits in between the shields. All he saw
was an occasional flash from the sun reflecting off metal, and at one
point he saw a streak of red, which he was certain was blood pouring
out of a wounded man.
It was
difficult to estimate how long the battle lasted. The agonized
screams and the ringing of metal striking metal seemed interminable,
and it took all of Cal’s willpower not to clasp his hands over his
ears, but the battle stopped so abruptly Cal had a sense that it
hadn’t lasted more than three or four minutes. There came a brief
span of absolute silence which, after the battle’s cacophony,
seemed eerie, as if the dead had suddenly demanded the payment of
silent respect
AUTHOR
Bio and Links:
Stefan
Haucke, driven by the desire to learn about other cultures and the
need for adventure, has traveled to over twenty nations. He rode a
camel near the pyramids in Egypt, swam with sea lions in the waters
of the Galapagos Islands, climbed the Great Wall of China, hiked near
the Acropolis in Athens, went dog sledding in northern Michigan, and
photographed polar bears in Canada.
Along
his many travels, Stefan has successfully worked as a deckhand, a
shepherd, a dispatcher for an emergency services unit, an electric
meter reader, and an office manger. He has also found the time to
study the literature and history of ancient Greece, Russia, and the
United States, and loves reading folktales, fairytales, and urban
legends. He also enjoys astronomy, and on clear nights can be found
gazing at the stars and planets with his telescope.
My
website:
My
GoodReads page:
My Book
can be purchased on:
Amazon
Kindle
Edition
Barnes &
Noble
Indie
Bound - Independent Bookstores
We can follow the tour here.
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2014/09/vbt-shadows-of-ghosts-by-stefan-haucke.html
the more you comment the better your chance to win.
.jpg)
