The Siren's Call (Pirates of the Withering Coast) Lower YA Fantasy by Alonna Williams ➱ Book Tour with Giveaway
The
Siren's Call
Pirates
of the Withering Coast Part 1
by
Alonna Williams
Genre:
Lower YA Fantasy
“Oh
little one, the darkness is waiting, oh little one, run from it if
you can; come little one, where the light can find you…”
This
was a familiar shanty to Manchester born, Trevor Henderson; having
grown up being mesmerized by stories of swashbuckling rogues,
adventurous pirates and captivating aquatic creatures, he was no
stranger to sea shanties. These tales instilled in him a longing for
the sea.
Upon
turning sixteen, he begins hearing whispers in the night, coaxing him
to leave his posh life behind and follow his dreams; when Trevor
finally takes the risk, he’s swept away on an adventure he never
expected.
He
soon learns the truth about his own identity and history, causing him
to wonder if he should have set foot outside his comfort zone…
EXCERPT ONE
William Henderson wasn’t a fearful man, and why should he be? Standing at a good height of six-foot-two with a mighty, muscular build, there was no doubt that he could defend himself from any harm—along with the fact that his past occupation included looting, pillaging, fighting, and other daring tasks that took courage.
Today, however, was different. Today, he was facing a challenge he had never seen coming. He stood before his weak, pregnant, dying wife, Sara. His hazel eyes filled with pain, and his features clouded over with darkness. Feeling hopeless, he kneeled at her bedside, praying for a miracle. In this moment, his might, nor his wealth, could help him.
“William.” His sister, who was younger by five years, shivered. “You can’t just let her and the baby die,” she whimpered.
William looked up at her. Her auburn hair was messy as it rested on her shoulders, and her dark-brown eyes had dark circles under them due to the constant lack of sleep. Tears stained her cheeks, and her pink lips quivered as she made her way closer to Sara and gently dabbed a cold rag on her forehead. William kept on gripping Sara’s hand, feeling his heart sink further than he thought possible as he looked at her. Sara lay there, still so beautiful, even in her weakened state. Her fair skin still rosy and fresh, her lips still red, and her long brunette hair still shiny—her hand was freezing cold, though, and she trembled where she lay. William took a deep breath and gulped. “I don’t know what to do, Angelica.”
“You have to take her to Arjan,” Angelica firmly told him.
“I can’t. Taking her to him would mean exposing her to—”
“He’s the only one who can help her. William, please! We can’t just stand here hoping she’ll get better. Take her.”
“She’s right,” an older woman weakly stated as she entered the room. She placed her hand on William’s shoulder; he could feel her shaking. Her gray hair was woven into a side braid that rested gently over her shoulder, and distress filled her pale blue eyes. “We’re going to have to take the risk,” she said.
“Catharine.” William stood.
“I won’t let my daughter and my first grandchild die. Arjan is well-trained in the Melusines art of alchemy. He can help her, and he is the only Siren you can trust with the life of your wife and son. I give you permission to take her to him. Please do it,” she begged.
William looked down at Sara who groaned, shifting uncomfortably. He considered the pros and cons before he finally succumbed, nodding. “Angelica, pack her things, and let’s leave tonight,” he instructed, and his sister went running off.
Catherine took William’s face in her hands and weakly smiled at him. “And please, call me Mother,” she requested. “I will contact Arjan and tell him to meet you in the cove on the shore. Go.”
EXCERPT TWO
Sara sat, looking out the window and biting at her thumbnail; she could sense that something was off as the currents had been racing through her soul since midnight. But she didn’t want to reveal the fear to her husband in case she was mistaken. “Do you really think he’s at the docks?”
William turned another page of the paper he was reading and then lowered it to make eye contact with his wife. “It’s where he goes when he’s angry with us,” he replied, now closing the newspaper and placing it on the table at his side. He leaned forward, resting his cheek in his hand. “I wish I hadn’t flown off the handle like that,” he sighed.
Sara stood from the window seat and put her arm around William. “We should have told him years ago,” she replied. A knock at the door captured their attention. “Trevor,” she excitedly breathed, hurrying to the door. When she opened it, it surprised her to find Aldrich instead. “Aldrich, darling?”
Aldrich stood in the doorway with his hands shoved into his yellow tailcoat pockets. At seeing Sara, he respectfully removed his hands from his pockets and smiled at her as he bowed. “Good afternoon, Mrs. Henderson. I was wondering if Trevor might be home?” he asked, scratching his blond hair.
“No, I believe he’s at the docks,” she replied.
“Oh, erm, I was just there, and I didn’t see him. I tried the bakery, the tailor, the pawn shoppe, and even the Severed Fingers tavern, as you can see,” he said, pointing to the bruise on his cheek. “But I haven’t found him.”
Sara turned to William nervously. She knew her feelings weren’t mistaken. “William?” she said in a warning tone.
“Not at the docks?” William muttered. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve looked in all the places he goes to, and he wasn’t there, so I figured he was here,” Aldrich replied. His jade eyes widened as he looked back and forth at William and Sara. “You don’t think he took my advice, do you?”
“Advice?” William cautiously raised his eyebrow.
“Yeah, I told him to go have an adventure before it was too late,” Aldrich explained. “Maybe he actually hopped aboard one of those ships!”
“Aldrich Lloyd Hemmington the Fourth… If I didn’t have to go find and kill my son, I’d kill you too,” William said before taking Sara’s hand and racing out of the house.
BLOG POSTS
CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS?
To start, Trevor of course was far different in the first draft, he was originally from a poor family and was unseen by his town. He was generous and sweet and he had two sisters. But something told me to make him spoiled and arrogant, I kind of like those characters more because I feel like they have more to learn.
Then we have Arjan, the gentle giant of a Siren who we learn about in the first few chapters of the book. He will have a prequel coming out soon so you can learn even more about him. Arjan originally had a very tiny role in the story but as time went on, and I crafted his backstory, I fell in love with the character and I think most people will too!
Lastly, I’ll talk about Labyrinth, Labyrinth is a lot of fun to write! He’s very child-like and his innocence is refreshing compared to Trevor’s brash arrogance. His design was fun to imagine as well and I can’t wait to write more about him in the next few books.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER FROM A BOOK:
Okay, so, he doesn’t originate from a book but he’s in a few and it’s Luke Skywalker. I think he’s my favorite fictional character ever and I do aspire to write a character like him one day.
I think he’s one of the best examples of great development as he went from a nerdy farm boy to a powerful Jedi and he didn’t feel out of character by Return of the Jedi.
This is something I’m striving to accomplish with Trevor; he has a lot to learn and no one wants to see him become all powerful overnight, they want to join him on his journey as he learns about himself and how to use his abilities (which you’ll learn of in the series :D)
Alonna
Williams is a children's book author and has been writing ever since
she was a little girl. It started with a short story and soon
progressed to novels. Alonna has worked on, and grew up with a Pirate
series entitled, Pirates of the Withering Coast, her favorite series
of all, as well as a mystery series, a Sci-Fi/Superhero series and
more! When she's not writing you'll most likely find her dancing,
whether it be, Tap, Ballet, Jazz or Lyrical, or watching a good
classic movie or cozying up to a Disney film!
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