Celebrations and Stopping to Enjoy Them

In Alburnium, the kingdom Illuminated is set in, celebrations are cherished events in the kingdom towns.

Take Jolly Orchard, for example. When Alyra enters the town center, festive lanterns hang in the trees and tables are laden with fruits from the orchards, roasted meats and barrels full of frothy drinks.Children run around playing games while the big people talk and sing songs. As a group of Fauns pass carrying violins and windpipes she asks what they are celebrating. The last Fawn shrugs and says, "Isn't life itself reason enough to celebrate?"

And considering how many times she'd come close to losing her life up to that point, she readily agrees.

So, as many of you will be spending tomorrow celebrating Thanksgiving, I encourage you to stop on your journey, no matter where you are going. No matter what chaos is swirling around you at the moment. Despite what you have or don't have... find a someone, or a group, or those closest to you and just stop.

Stop and be happy over how far you've gone so far.
Stop and be grateful that you've made it this far.
Stop and take a deep breath, put aside your worries for a while and simply enjoy the moment.The merriment and feast. The closeness of fellow travelers.

We journeymen can sometimes forget to stop and take a breath on our travels. To take a look around at the beauty that surrounds us no matter where we are. It's there, if you'll really look. Find those things you can be thankful for and relish them. Just for a bit.

Then we'll get going again. Because we have a journey to make. Are you up for the adventure?

Happy Thanksgiving

Oh, and have you entered my giveaway contest? See the post below for more information about my upcoming book, Illuminated. I'm so excited about this story. And I want to celebrate with you. It's been a long, long trek getting to this point. Come back for more giveaways and celebrate the book's release in early December. 

Cover Revealing Day and Giveaways

Today is the day! 

Today I finally reveal my Illuminated cover designed by the talented Elena Dudina. I was so fortunate to come across one of her beautiful pieces of work and to find out she also did cover art. You can see more by clicking her stamp on the side bar. 

In the picture, the girl was my Alyra. The dragon, Crystal. How did they get to the place on the cover? Well, in the next couple of weeks, I'll release the book and you can find out. 

Until then...

I have some fun stuff for you.

“And how did you end up in this wretched place?”

Dean the Messenger pressed his dirty, beaten face against the cell bars.

Alyra shook her head, knowing she shouldn't talk to him. Reason warned her to go back now before Master found out she'd been disobedient. Again.

“Do you have a medallion like this?” Dean thrust his golden pendant through the rust-flaked bars.

Alyra gasped, staring at the round disk resting in her own sweaty palm. Torchlight reflected off the flame-emblem embossed on the surface. 

 

“The Illuminate’s mark,” he whispered, dark eyes widening. “Whoever possesses a medallion is a true citizen of Aloblase. You must escape, child! Return to where you truly belong.”

~*~

The prophecy says that a child born of the Illuminated will bring an end to the dark rule over Alburnium.

Lord Darnel, ruler of Racah, possesses that Illuminated one, to make certain the prophecy never transpires. He captured Alyra when she was a small child, taking all her memories, including her identity and name. But he never managed to quench the longing in her heart to find her way back home.

Alyra now flees for her life.

Now, at the age of seventeen, she seeks the truth behind the medallion she's kept hidden all these years while enslaved in Racah.

What she finds is a narrow road, strange traveling companions, and a kingdom where nothing is what it first seems.

 

Well? What do you think?

Leave a comment and I'll include you in a drawing for a free book (ebook or print - your choice) Be sure to enter the raffles for a prize. 

Come back the first week of December to find out who won. Check back between now and then for updates on Illuminated's release date and possibly more ways to win.I'm always on the look out for more prizes to give away. Oh, and you can enter once a day for prizes. 

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