Suzanne Francis has brought us another excellent novel! Wintermoon Ice is the first book of the “Sons of the Mariner” series. This is an intriguing fantasy, set both in the present day and in an otherworldly place and time. The science fiction elements of time travel and alternate universes are woven masterfully into the tale.

We meet again some of the characters first encountered in Suzanne Francis’s earlier series, “Song of the Arkafina” — consisting of Heart of Hythea, Ketha’s Daughter, Dawnmaid and Beyond the Gyre. However, Wintermoon Ice can be read as a standalone novel and serves as an excellent introduction to the work of Suzanne Francis.

Wintermoon Ice is available now from all good ebook stores, including Fictionwise, eBooks.com, Scribd, Wowio Sony Connect, and on Amazon.com for the Kindle.

Here is the “back cover copy”:

Wintermoon Ice, set on present-day Earth, features Tessa Kivelson, an archaeologist who unexpectedly acquires a mirror and a journal from her long-dead grandmother, Suvi Markku. This find thrusts Tessa into danger from alien creatures called Polydactyls, and she turns to her exasperating neighbour Jakob Faircrow for help. He is a capable defender (and later, lover) but she finds his smug arrogance infuriating. Jakob and Tessa must put aside their differences long enough to discover why Suvi hid the mirror and why the Polys want it. The journal provides vital clues to Suvi’s past life in Severnessa with Jakob’s twin brother Lut — a life that will shortly intersect with Tessa’s, when a magic gateway blends past and present, and brings the two women face to face with the creator of the Polydactyls.

Wintermoon Ice is a spellbinding tale of twos: two cites, two times, two brothers and two women, who must save their world from an unspeakable terror.

For more details about Suzanne Francis, Wintermoon Ice, and links to available ebook formats, please see the Wintermoon Ice page on mushroom-ebooks.com

Beyond the Gyre, the fourth and final book of the “Song of the Arkafina” series by Suzanne Francis, is now available in paperback edition from all good bookstores around the world, both offline and online.

Here is the blurb:

The island of Asaruthe has sheltered the Dawnmaid, Myriadne, for the past sixteen years, but Yr has fallen prey to a deadly plague, and it is clear she must leave soon. Katkin du Chesne and her daughter Poppy travel with Myriadne and help her free the Firaithi from Maggrai’s diabolical laboratory in the former Infirmarie on Isle St. Valery.

Meanwhile, Gunnar Strong Arm’s twin sons, Jakob and Lut, are feuding with each other. When Jakob carelessly gap shifts, he leaves a trail that Maggrai’s minions can follow back to Asaruthe. The death and havoc they wreak will send Lut on a mission of vengeance against Maggrai — and his brother, Jakob.

In the final battle, the Dawnmaid must find a way to converse with her enemies, the Angellus, before they attack the secret haven of the Firaithi with their unquenchable fire. What is it they have been defending through all the turns of the Gyre? The answer astonishes both Amaranthine and human alike…

The “Song of the Arkafina” series consists of Heart of Hythea, Ketha’s Daughter, Dawnmaid and Beyond the Gyre. Suzanne is currently working on more books and stories set in the same universe, including Wintermoon Ice, which will be available later this year.

Dawnmaid, the third book of the Song of the Arkafina series by Suzanne Francis is now available from all good book stores in paperback.

The Song of the Arkafina series is also available in ebook editions from the usual ebook stores online.

The blurb:

Gwenn and Gunnar travel to Khalama to bury Arkady Svalbarad, but nothing goes as planned. For one thing, Arkady isn’t really dead. And his old teacher, Dawa Tinley, seems somehow menacing. When Gunnar mysteriously disappears, Gwenn and Arkady form an alliance that will bring both danger and new promise to the peoples of Yrth.

Meanwhile, Huw and Katkin find comfortable shelter in an ice-locked valley, until the addition of two orphaned children to the family leaves Katkin feeling trapped and miserable. After Huw’s arrest for murder, she must decide whether to run or stand by his side. The choice becomes even more difficult when Katkin meets up with an old love. But a chance meeting steers her to Starruthe just in time to deliver Gwenn’s baby daughter Myriadne.

Now that the Dawnmaid has been born, it will take a miracle to hide her from Maggrai, who has returned from the future with a weapon of total annihilation. But Gunnar also has a secret weapon, though he is reluctant to use it. Will he accept his true nature before Maggrai’s wrath destroys the last hope of the Firaithi?

Dawnmaid contains adult themes.

ISBN: 978-1-84319-815-4, 308pp.

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The second volume in the Song of the Arkafina series by Suzanne Francis is now available in paperback under our imprint Bladud Books from all good bookstores, both online and offline.

Ketha’s Daughter returns us to the world we were introduced to in Heart of Hythea where we follow the adventures of Katkin’s daughter, Gwenn Faircrow.

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Queen Katrione Arkafina ably rules the kingdom of Beaumarais, but she has had less success with her boisterous daughter, Gwenn, born under the sway of a brutal Goddess. Keth Dirane has given Gwenn awesome strength and almost complete invulnerability, but manipulates her cruelly in return. Now, to further her own ends, she convinces Gwenn she must seek revenge for an old betrayal.

On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Gwenn runs away. After she allies herself with some marauding coastal raiders, captained by Gunnar Strong Arm, she has the army she requires. Now, as the dreaded warrior Faircrow, Gwenn will steer the Fynära inexorably towards her former home — the City of Isle St. Valery.

Paperback: 316 pages, ISBN 978-1-84319-809-3.

Ketha’s Daughter is also available as an eBook.

The fourth and final volume in the “Song of the Arkafina” series by Suzanne Francis is now available from Fictionwise, Mobipocket, Cyberread, Amazon (for the Amazon Kindle), eBooks.com, the Sony eBook Store, and all other good ebookstores. The series began with Heart of Hythea and continued with Ketha’s Daughter and Dawnmaid.

Here is the blurb:

The island of Asaruthe has sheltered the Dawnmaid, Myriadne, for the past sixteen years, but Yr has fallen prey to a deadly plague, and it is clear she must leave soon. Katkin du Chesne and her daughter Poppy travel with Myriadne and help her free the Firaithi from Maggrai’s diabolical laboratory in the former Infirmarie on Isle St. Valery.

Meanwhile, Gunnar Strong Arm’s twin sons, Jakob and Lut, are feuding with each other. When Jakob carelessly gap shifts, he leaves a trail that Maggrai’s minions can follow back to Asaruthe. The death and havoc they wreak will send Lut on a mission of vengeance against Maggrai — and his brother, Jakob.

In the final battle, the Dawnmaid must find a way to converse with her enemies, the Angellus, before they attack the secret haven of the Firaithi with their unquenchable fire. What is it they have been defending through all the turns of the Gyre? The answer astonishes both Amaranthine and human alike…

Dawnmaid is the third book of the Song of the Arkafina series by Suzanne Francis, which began with Heart of Hythea and continued with Ketha’s Daughter. Available now from all the usual ebookstores, including Fictionwise (update: not available from Fictionwise until Monday June 21), eBooks.com, Cyberread.com, Mobipocket, eReader.com and Amazon Kindle. The final book in the series, Beyond the Gyre, will be available in September or October November.

Here is the blurb:

Gwenn and Gunnar travel to Khalama to fulfill a last request, but when they arrive, nothing is as it seems. For one thing, the man whose lifeless body they faithfully transported, Arkady Svalbarad, turns out not to be dead after all. And his old teacher, Dawa Tinley, is strangely absentminded. When Gunnar disappears, Gwenn has to make the best of her situation, so she turns once more to Arkady. The consequences of their union will bring both mortal peril and new hope to the peoples of Yrth.

Katkin and Huw have holed up in an old farmhouse for the winter, but the addition of two children to their family has left Katkin feeling trapped and miserable. After Huw is arrested for a terrible crime, she must decide whether to run, or stand by his side. When Katkin is reunited with an old love, the choice becomes even more difficult, until a betrayal and a chance meeting steer her to the right path. When she finally arrives on Starruthe, she is just in time to help Gwenn with the baby, but is it too late for Gunnar? Only Gwenn and keth’fell can save him now.

When the Dawnmaid comes into the world, it will take a miracle to hide her from Maggrai, who has come back from the future with a weapon of total annihilation. But Gunnar also has a secret weapon, though he is loath to use it. Will he come to terms with his true identity in time to protect the Dawnmaid from Maggrai’s wrath?

Contains adult themes.

Read an interview with Suzanne Francis, author of Heart of Hythea and Ketha’s Daughter, the first two books of the “Song of the Arkafina” series, over at The Long and the Short of It.

The second book in the “Song of the Arkafina” series by Suzanne Francis is now available from Fictionwise.com and all other good ebookstores. Ketha’s Daughter follows on a few years from where Heart of Hythea left off, and is, in my opinion, an excellent read — maybe even better than Heart of Hythea. Book three is due in

Here is the blurb:

Queen Katrione Arkafina ably rules the kingdom of Beaumarais, but she has had less success with her boisterous daughter, Gwenn, born under the sway of a brutal Goddess. Keth Dirane has given Gwenn awesome strength and almost complete invulnerability, but manipulates her cruelly in return. Now, to further her own ends, she convinces Gwenn she must seek revenge for an old betrayal.

On the eve of her sixteenth birthday, Gwenn runs away. After she allies herself with some marauding coastal raiders, captained by Gunnar Strong Arm, she has the army she requires. Now, as the dreaded warrior Faircrow, Gwenn will steer the Fynära inexorably towards her former home — the City of Isle St. Valery.

Further information can be found at the Ketha’s Daughter page.

For those of you eagerly awaiting the second volume of the “Song of the Arkafina” series by Suzanne Francis, Ketha’s Daughter, I can confirm that the publication date will be 21st April 2008. Book three will be published in August, and the final volume in December, all being well.

Heart of Hythea is the first book from author Suzanne Francis. This excellent and well-researched romantic fantasy is the first in the “Song of the Arkafina” series and is set in the world of Yrth, part of the Gyre Cosmos, closely modelled on mid-seventeenth century England. It is both a ripping adventure and a tender romance, while the larger struggle of the Amaranthine against the Angellus permeates the story, lifting it to the plane of epic fantasy.

Heart of Hythea features a determined female protagonist, Katrione, who faces many challenges and grows in wisdom and maturity throughout. She is unafraid to go after the things she desires and will often break the rules to get them, while still remaining true to herself and her ideals.

Although Heart of Hythea is the first book of a series, it contains a complete storyline and can be read without fear of committing to a whole series (but I defy you not to want more).

Here is the blurb:

Yrth… a place of ordered beauty — and undreamed of terror. A magical realm where winged Amaranthine hide in the shadow of humankind, while selfishly exploiting them. A universe of countless dimensions; where an unwary sideways step might carry you to Death’s silent Kingdom — or beyond, to the very heart of the rising Gyre.

Now into this world comes Katrione Estelle du Chesne, a born healer. The Amaranthine need her, for she is destined to become the Vessel of the Goddess Lalluna and a pawn in the battle against their enemy, the dark Angellus. And Katrione’s fellow citizens, in the nation of Beaumarais, are also desperately in need of a healing touch, as they suffer through an endlessly bloody civil war.

The difficult choices that Katrione must make — between humankind and Amaranthine — true love and responsibility — sworn oath and unhappy truth, make for compulsive reading.

For more information about Heart of Hythea and details of availability, please go here.