Allmother
Rising
by
Elexis Bell
Genre:
Dark Fantasy with Straight and LGBTQ Romance
A
broken-hearted priestess and a deposed prince team up with a ranger
and a rebel with one too many secrets. In the name of The Allmother,
they go to war to save their lands.
A
coup in a neighboring kingdom brings threats of invasion and fire to
Priestess Rising Veliana’s home in the forest. Under the guidance
of her goddess, The Allmother, she forms an alliance with the deposed
prince, Tyrvahn, and his ex, Garle, the leader of a rebellion that’s
been brewing for years.
But
Garle has many secrets, one of which could unravel Veliana and
Tyrvahn’s budding romance and the future of these uneasy alliances.
Veliana’s best friend, Kivala, tries to soften Garle with the ways
of their fallen homeland, but what she learns chills her to her
core.
At
war with a vicious man twisted by the god of greed, they can’t
afford to fight amongst themselves. Can they overcome their
differences to save their home and their goddess from the new king?
Or will the forests burn over blood-soaked earth?
Fans
of magic and grit, high stakes and godly secrets will love this dark
high fantasy novel with straight and LGBT romance.
**Only
.99 cents until June 1st!!**
Do your characters seem to hijack the story or do you feel like you have the reigns of the story? Convince us why you feel your book is a must read.
I never have the reigns in my stories. The characters quickly become their own people with their own personalities, pasts, opinions, and struggles. The story just flows, with each character doing what a real person like them would do in that situation. A lot of the time, they surprise me with what they end up doing. Sometimes, I’ll realize what they’re going to do ahead of time and not know why until I get there.
And then, there are the times where they don’t give me all the information I need from the get go, hiding from their own wishes so thoroughly that they hide it even from me. Then, I have to go back and fix things to reflect how they really felt.
Ness from A Heart of Salt & Silver pulled this little stunt. Despite being a demi-demon, she’s very repressed. She was dragging her feet in relation to another character, but I didn’t understand why until I had half the book written. When I finally figured it out, I had to go back through and completely rewrite the first half of the book before I could continue on.
Have you written any other books that are not published?
Yep. Five, actually. Two of them are in the editing stage. Three of them are part of a series I’m still writing and won’t be released until the whole series is written for a few reasons. It’s partly because I don’t plan my books, so the first book keeps changing as the rest of the series unfolds. But it’s also because as a reader, I hate waiting a long time between book releases. If the whole series is finished, I can edit it all and release the books one right after another. Then, readers won’t have to wait long between books.
If your book had a candle, what scent would it be?
Probably… Lilac, sap, and the dark, earthy scent of potting soil.
What did you edit out of this book?
It’s actually rare for me to have to cut things out. I tend to underwrite rather than overwrite. I’m far more likely to have to add things.
What are your favorite books?
Tied for number one are The Host by Stephenie Meyer and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Then, The Wizard’s Ward by Deborah Hale (and the rest of the series). Then, the Partials series by Dan Wells and Highland Fire by Elizabeth Thornton.
I’ve recently realized that they all have some form of the enemies to lovers trope and was a bit surprised. But it makes sense. I like seeing people develop and overcome preconceived notions.
What book do you think everyone should read?
Whatever book they like. Everyone is different, and no book in existence is perfect for everyone.
How long have you been writing?
My earliest writing-related memory is from when I was about 9 or 10. I was called on to read a story I wrote for the class (which I always dreaded). We’d been told to write about a horse and a bat, and I remember my teacher saying, “Knowing Elexis, they both probably die.”
Which… to be honest… is fair. I’ve always tended toward darker subjects and themes.
But that was just over 20 years ago.
In high school, I moved into the realm of poetry in addition to short stories, but I didn’t write my first full length novel until college. Sadly, that one was lost to the ether when the computer and the external hard drive it was backed up on both fried back before cloud storage really became a thing.
Excerpt One:
The Sailon Forest closes in around me, dark and foreboding in the night. A twig snaps behind me, and I know I haven’t escaped them. With my parents dead and my kingdom stolen, a moon spent on the run has flown by.
Yet my cousin’s men nip at my heels. I feel them getting closer each day.
I pick up my pace, refusing to give them an easy kill.
Sprinting through the undergrowth by the scant bits of moonlight that filter through the leaves, I remind myself who I am. Tyrvahn Mahrdur, Prince of the great nation, Jun. My last shot at an ally, at getting my kingdom back, vanished when the High Seal agreed to Paikon’s terms, but I won’t go down easy.
I try to think through how many of my assailants I’ve picked off, but it’s no easy task. Their numbers change, and I can’t be sure we haven’t passed by another of their camps.
Sweat beads on my forehead and drips down my scalp. Droplets of it trickle around the base of my antlers, matting my thick black hair down. I force myself to focus despite the exertion.
Listen.
I strain my ears, desperate to pick any order from the crashing footsteps behind me. Yet, the cacophony is not as terrible as I expected.
Two of them?
Maybe three?
I try harder to siphon out the sounds of my footsteps and the violent beating of my heart. I pick out the sounds of the river and change direction, heading straight for the rushing water. My legs pump harder as I push myself toward the water and the promise of moonlight.
Behind me, a long, high whistle sounds, and realization hits me. These are scouts. The rest of the party follows behind, waiting for a signal before closing in. The whistle sounds once more, and my blood runs cold.
They’re far too close.
I have to eliminate the scouts before the others catch up.
Maybe then I can slip away.
My heart stutters as I think of the other possible outcomes. Being overrun by a horde of assassins doesn’t exactly sound appealing.
The trees begin to thin, and saplings claw at my clothes, already far from the glory they once were. My shirt rips as a small branch catches my side, but I keep going.
Another sapling reaches out, whipping a thin branch against the black tip of my ear. My breath comes in great gusts, but warmth builds in my chest. The warmth of the Allmother’s approval.
I’ve only come to feel it recently. All it took was nearly dying, but I’ve seen her. And now, I feel her urging me along this path.
So, I run faster.
As I near the rushing river, fewer twigs crunch underfoot, and the sounds of my pursuers grow clearer.
Definitely no more than three.
I smile, liking my odds.
Allmother, grant me strength…
Excerpt Two:
A maelstrom stirs within me as the doors click softly shut. Suddenly far more anxious, I ache for something to do. My eyes wander to the tray of ointments, but I know my parents will tend to each other’s wounds when I leave.
The sun of renewal hides, seeking shelter behind clouds and letting us fend for our own warmth. It sends only faint light in through the windows, so I light a few candles and gather furs from a chest. I drape them around my parents’ shoulders, careful not to nudge their maimed, bloody ears as I pull the plaits of their hair from beneath the thick pelts.
They settle into carved wooden chairs near the window and motion for me to join them. Nervous glances pass between them, and the storm inside me intensifies. A million terrifying scenarios play out in my mind.
Are King Kelgon and Queen Halde really dead? Did Paikon really murder his own sister, his brother-in-seal, his nephew… All for the throne?
I can’t imagine a land with so little of the Allmother’s influence as to allow Aia, the god of greed and power, to poison someone so deeply.
Do they not know her? How will the new King lead without her hand to guide him?
My mouth goes dry, and I swallow hard.
Does the new King want some of the Allmother’s land?
My questions go unanswered as my parents struggle for words. I glance out the window at Kin territory, eyes lingering over every branch of the magnificent Sailon Forest. Homes dot the trees at varying heights, connected by rope bridges. Moss hangs from them, and vines wrap around rope railings.
The High Seal has governed this forest, guiding the Kin according to the Allmother’s will for so many generations.
If Paikon or his son, Tumai, want part of this land…
I shudder at the thought and turn my attention back to my parents. “Are the rumors true?” I ask, unwilling to wait any longer.
My mother nods, crisp blue eyes finally meeting mine. “Paikon has… taken the throne. The Furen family rules with no intention of peace.”
The churning in my stomach intensifies and my palms begin to sweat. I rub them gently on my robes but it does little to help.
“He demands a third of the Sailon Forest,” my mother says.
I gasp and my jaw falls slack. “He can’t! They control so much land, already!”
“Aye,” my father says. “But they have abused their land. Trees are scarce, and they tear great swaths of minerals from the earth for the sake of ‘progress.’ The Allmother’s presence faded quickly as we moved into Jun.”
“I wept for the loss of her, for the loss of so many feats of nature,” he continues. “Crops and animals are butchered in great numbers. The surplus is gluttonous, yet so many go without.”
He touches my cheek and the silver undertones of his skin glitter in the faint sunlight. “Darling Daughter,” my father whispers apologetically.
My mother’s hand finds mine upon the table, and she squeezes it tight.
“Paikon demands more than land.”
A choked sob escapes my mother’s lips, and I tense, preparing myself.
How bad is it?
“He wants a third of the forest, now. But he knows it is unusual for a Priestess Rising to go unsealed for so long…” my mother says, trailing off.
My stomach drops, filling me with dread. She struggles for words, mouth opening and closing silently.
Please… No…
A burst of loneliness spreads through me at the mention of my seal status, colored by images of Materva, the Light Watcher I could have been sealed to years ago. Shadows flood my mind, tinged by his betrayal.
The smiles he seemed to save for that other girl, another Light Watcher. Laughter shared only with her. The sound of his voice telling me that he wanted her, wanted a life in the sun at the top of the trees with the freedom of the skies… without the burden of Rising.
Finally, Mother continues, “His son has recently… come unsealed. He wishes the two of you to be sealed so that, on his own death, Tumai will rule all of Jun and Kin territory. Kin will be no more.”
“What?” Outrage burns hot within me, coursing through my veins, but it is not strictly my own. The Allmother’s fury surges alongside mine, boiling my blood. “What makes him think we’d agree to that?”
“If we don’t,” my mother says, voice so small I barely hear her, “he promises to burn the entire forest to the ground.”
Elexis Bell writes
gritty and emotional novels. Born and raised in the midwestern United
States, she dreams of a cabin in the woods rather than a house
surrounded by cornfields.
She loves writing
well-developed characters facing real problems in vibrant, magical
worlds. Armed with a degree in psychology and a rollercoaster past,
she sprinkles gut-wrenching emotions over high fantasy romance,
science fiction, and the occasional thriller.
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