The Sword of Senack Has Been Published

Today is a big day for me. "The Sword of Senack" (my first fantasy novel) has been released and I'm so excited about this that I'm giving away a Kindle Fire to one of my lucky readers!

<br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://ecwrites.blogspot.com/p/kindle-fire-giveaway.html"><br /> <img src="http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa376/voiceboks/ButtonKindleFire-1.png"></a><br />

But the great news doesn't end there.

In addition to this, Wayman Publishing will be giving away $50, five signed copies of "The Sword of Senack" AND considering new talent for publication! Please check out The Senack Contest for more information about the art and writing contest.

Here's some info about my book,

which is 99 cents for a limited time.
Amazon Paperback
Amazon Kindle ebook
Smashwords - multiple ebook formats

<br /> <a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Sword-Senack-EC-Stilson/dp/1461180694/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1332026150&sr=8-1"><br /> <img height="320" src="http://waymanpublishing.webs.com/senacknewcover.JPG" width="212"></a><br />

Feel free to grab this code if you'd like to help spread the word.

Aliya Fisher knows nothing about her true heritage until a vindictive sorceress kidnaps her brother and sister. The young adventurer must take up her birthright, battle eerie creatures, and find the Sword of Senack if she hopes to best the witch. But even if Aliya finds the famed weapon and survives the perilous oceanic journey, the enchantress is far more than she appears. How does one defeat an immortal who lusts for revenge?

Why did I write this book?

As many of you know, my first book "The Golden Sky" is about my son who died.  Well, years after his death, my daughter struggled with the loss.  So I did the only thing I could—I got her mind off of things by telling her an epic fantasy about how her brother went into the ocean to find his one true love. My daughter followed, hoping to save him.  

    The story led to many adventures with pirates, witches, mermaids and leviathans.  As the saga grew with mysterious characters and twisted plots, my daughter and I somehow found peace through the symbolism and surprise ending.  Most people know none of this while reading the book, but I thought it might be neat for you to remember while reading the following excerpt.  It's amazing how one simple idea led to a four-part series.
    Note: I've called the Scribe "Aliya" and my son who passed away "Jack."  I hope you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Excerpt

I pushed myself from the floor. Small holes ran down its length, and fog piped from them. 
    "Hello?" I said into the haze. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

    "Aliya? Is that you?" Jack asked.
    "I thought you were dead!" I shouted, then rushed through the fog, closer to the sound of his voice. I plowed into my brother. "Jack, you’re alive. You’re okay. Don’t leave me. Do you hear me? Never again!"
    I should have known something was wrong. I should have known. He hugged me back and laughed in spite of himself. "I feel like I’ve been waiting to see you . . . forever. We left home so long ago," he said.
    I looked around. "Where are we?" I asked, releasing him from the hug, but grasping his hands, unwilling to let him go completely. The fog billowed so thickly that I couldn’t even see my own wrist. A strange foreboding crept into my mind.
    "Aliya," Jack said, "I think we’re dead." At the mention of death, the fog reversed its flow. The air cleared until I saw everything around us. The room was quiet. We were in the very center of what appeared to be a meeting hall. Many creatures sat around in a large circle.
    "We have met here to witness the fate of these two mortals—Jack and Aliya Fisher," a Mer-son said. He had fish-like eyes and a square jaw. "We are those who have witnessed their actions while under the water, and we are the ones who may allow them a second chance at life. This is allowed only because a great evil is amassing, and the oceans may need these children."
    He wore a dark cloak and held a thick staff. He sat in the largest chair, and as his skin caught the light, it shone so brilliantly that it dazzled my eyes. Many of the creatures around him had fish tails, and although they sat in a waterless room, they appeared to breathe quite easily.
    I tried acting brave, remembering stories about the afterlife. I moved forward.  "Did we really die?"
    "Back to your place," an old Mer-son woman commanded. I remembered seeing her somewhere during my time in Malinia.
    "You are not dead, at least not completely," the man said as he looked from me to Jack. "We call this place the Eve of Death, and you are here because a choice awaits you. There are two doors at the side of this room, two different destinies. One door will lead you back to Deltre, to your bodies, but the other door leads to Gault—a Mer-son’s Hell."
    I studied the doors. The left one shone bright and golden with emeralds and rubies, while the right door’s tarnished surface spoke of death and pain. The latter one had a strange feel to it, and a putrid wind blew through a crack beneath it, as if sending poisonous gas into the room.
    "I cannot tell you which door leads where," the leader continued, "Only you can decide that."
    Jack’s brow furrowed and he looked at me. "Do you think there’s a trick to it?" he asked.
    "I’m not sure," I said. 

    "There is one consolation," a Mer-son said, "if you do not choose to open a door, then you can go with us to the place beyond reproach." He tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. "But know, if you stay, your body in Deltre will perish."
    "I want to go back," Jack said. 

    "As do I," I added.
    "But is it worth the risk? What if we choose the wrong door?" Jack asked, and a silent worry ran between us.
    The leader cleared his throat. "You must choose, for the longer you stay here, the closer you are to death."
I could almost taste the finality of his statement. I turned to the doors, and as if by chance, a butterfly fluttered from the bottom of the ugly one.
    "A butterfly," I said, shuddering, thinking of the choice before us. I’d thought that door led to Gault, but now I thought we must go through it.

    "Butterflies stand for deception," an old Mer-son woman said before cackling.
    "I still want to go back," I said, "our family needs us. Even though the risks are high, my mother needs me."

    "We'll do this," Jack said, "together." 

    I walked to the disfigured door, the one speaking of death and pain, the one standing to the side of the beautiful golden door.     

    "What are you doing?" Jack asked. "I’ll bet anything that leads to Gault. It doesn’t look like the door to someplace nice."
    "But it’s the way to Deltre," I said. Green wind swirled from under the bottom of the one I wanted to open. It smelled so horrible that I wrinkled my nose.
    "That ugly one isn’t the right door," Jack insisted, placing his hand on the jeweled one. As he was about to grasp its knob, my hand shot to the deformed door next to it. If the butterfly stood for deception, maybe the richly decorated door was a trick.
    "You can’t have death without life," I said, and flung the unsightly door open. The greenness beyond it pulled Jack and me into the opening. As we fell, still hand in hand, through the door, I wondered why I’d thought the smell was so awful before.

I'd like to thank these wonderful bloggers who have helped me spread the word about my book:

Been there, done that

The Blog Starts Here

Coming Home to Myself

Crazy World

K. T. Hanna

My Life in Writing

Odie Langley

Padded Cell Confessions

Paige Kellerman

The Poptart Manifesto

Rhyme Time (who's having a book launch today too) ;)

Vive le Nerd

 

If you've posted something for this event, 

please let me know and I'll include your name on this list.

Now . . . onto the giveaway!

How to Enter to win the Kindle Fire

Please make sure to follow the Rafflecopter rules below. You must complete the MANDATORY entries to reveal 82 more easy, possible ways to earn entry points towards the Prize. Please remember, the more entry points you gain, the better your chances are of winning. So Good Luck!

The hosts for this giveaway are:


1) The Crazy Life of a Writing Mom
2) voiceBoks - The Voice of Parenthood
3) Makobi Scribe
4) WikiMommy - The Information Site for All Things Mommyhood
5) Just Married with Coupons
6) Simply Stacie - Product + Book Reviews, Giveaways, and more!
7) Sassy Mama in L.A.
8) About a Mom Blog
9) Planet Weidknecht
10) Coming Home to Myself
11) It's Rhyme Time
12) Good Steward Savers
13) Sweep Tight
14) Moms with Voices Media


a Rafflecopter giveaway





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