Stormseer (Storms in Amethir Book 3) (46 page)
Read Stormseer (Storms in Amethir Book 3) Online
Authors: Stephanie A. Cain
In the scrubby shale lands south of the Shokanda River delta, a cave had been formed on the banks of one of the river's nameless tributaries. Any number of things washed up on the rocky shore in front of the cave, from fishing nets to rusted-out buckets to driftwood to seaglass. A man lived in the cave, scratching out what living he could gather from the river's bounty.
People from the nearby village called him crazy, but they also took things to him to be mended, if no one else could manage it. He cobbled together equipment for fishing and the meager farming that was done, and in return, the villagers gave him bread and salt fish.
The man thought of himself only as The Scavenger, and he spent his days muttering prayers to the maker god while he used glue rendered from fish to stick things together. He did not expect to get any answer from the sleeping god; it was just a habit he'd formed, mostly to hear a human voice, even if it was his own.
One night, when The Scavenger was at least five decades old, he slept more deeply and dreamed more vividly than he could remember ever doing. When he woke, he remembered little of his dreams, but he knew he had a task.
He gathered a kit of his making supplies and collected every last bit of seaglass he owned. One piece in particular was nearly round and a gorgeous wintry blue-white. He'd always liked it, and he'd always wanted to use it in something, but he'd never found any project worthy of it.
"Find her," he mumbled to himself, repeating the command that had boomed through his mind at the moment of his waking. "Find her. Fix her."
The Scavenger struck out along the shore, the voice of his maker god echoing in his head.
Stephanie A. Cain writes epic and urban fantasy for fun, and a history blog for work. She lives in Indiana, where she works at a museum and is writing the next book in the Storms in Amethir series. She enjoys hiking, reading, birdwatching, and general geekery. She has three cats, which she is well aware puts her firmly in crazy cat lady territory, and way more dice and painted miniatures than she needs. She can be found online at
www.stephaniecainonline.com
, on Twitter
@stephanie_cain
, and on
Facebook
.
Other books in the Storms in Amethir series include
Stormsinger
and
Stormshadow
. Stephanie has also written an unrelated epic fantasy novella
Sow the Wind
.
Thanks for reading my novel. If you enjoyed this, would you please take a moment to leave a review of my book at
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or
Goodreads
? Writing just two or three honest sentences is one of the best things you can do to support any author.
Thanks!
Stephanie
I must offer my thanks first and foremost to Jessica Kemery Miller, who provided insight and early critiques, particularly on the character of Yarro. My thanks go also to my incomparable critique partners: Laura VanArendonk Baugh, J. Decker Payne, and Jillian Storm. Their input has been invaluable through the process of writing and revising this novel. Their willingness to accept panicked text messages and phone calls from me when I said, "I can't do this!" was nothing short of saintly, and I am incredibly grateful at how many times I was talked out of ditching this novel.
This novel was finished thanks to the support I received from my fellows at the Twitter Monthly Writing Challenge, particularly Kristy Acevedo, who started the challenge, Christina Ochs, Heather Jackson, Nina Lake, Amelia Lindsay, Sydney Strand, Michael Fedor, Claudia Blanton, Ginny Frey, and Natalie K. Never underestimate the power of finding your tribe on social media!
My ever-supportive parents gave me a love of words and story-telling. Dacia Daniel sent me a message on Facebook after she read
Stormshadow
, and a printout has been taped to the wall by my desk ever since. My cats Eowyn, Strider, and Eustace Clarence Scrubb were always more than willing to chew up manuscript pages or sit on my keyboard.
Thanks also to my fellow IndyScribes, who constantly challenge me to be a better writer. I am also grateful to the talented Nicole Cardiff, who created amazing cover art for this novel.
And most of all, I am grateful for my readers. You enable me to keep telling stories that are close to my heart, and I would love to hear from you. Please
send me an email
or
Tweet at me
.
Also by Stephanie A. Cain
Storms in Amethir
The Weather War (forthcoming)
Storms in Amethir Holiday Novellas
Faith and Fealty
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STORMSEER
Storms in Amethir: Book Three
Copyright 2015 Stephanie A. Cain
All Rights Reserved.
Cover art by Nicole Cardiff
ISBN: 978-0-9903758-6-9
First Electronic Edition, July 2015
Published by Cathartes Press
