Orphaned at a young age, 15-year old Anouk’s punishment for being too outspoken is an arranged marriage worse than any she could imagine. Fleeing on horseback, yet without a sense of where to turn, she stumbles upon an idyllic village where she finds safe haven. Could this be home?
Ultimately, it will lead her to confront the very face of death, yet amidst the danger and darkness, she meets a handsome woodsman and finds a glowing blue flower with power beyond her wildest dreams.
Inspired by Russian fairy tales and steeped in ancient folklore, Paige’s novel is ripe with fantasy, love, and courage.
Anouk continued picking, tossing every other berry to Pip. But it didn’t take him long to figure out he could do the job faster on his own. Instead of waiting his turn, he began sniffing out the berries and plucked them off gingerly with his mouth.
After she’d eaten the ripest fruit, Anouk started on a new bush nearby. Each berry seemed to taste better than the last, and she continued picking in the shade of the forest, unaware of the dark clouds moving in. At first Anouk could only hear the rain as it began to fall on the forest canopy, but within moments it turned to a downpour that came through the branches in heavy drops.
She grabbed Lucya’s reins and ran deeper into the woods until she spotted a fallen tree that had left a deep hollow. The roots arched over the cavity, shielding it from the rain. Anouk quickly tied Lucya under a neighboring tree and crawled into the hole, Pip wriggling his way beside her.
From the refuge of her little burrow, Anouk watched the drops fall, and drank in the smell of dry ground turning wet. She expected the storm to pass quickly, but as the light of day began to disappear and the rain continued, she realized she would have to spend the night where she was.
Jessica Paige hails from the Seattle area where she lives with her husband and two dogs. Though she was raised in the Pacific Northwest, Jessica has long been intrigued by the ancient folklore of her Slavic and Lithuanian roots. Her love of horses and the outdoors led her to a career in environmental outreach, and her studies in herbalism. When she’s not working or writing, you’ll find her digging in the garden, creating herbal remedies, or walking in the woods with her dogs. You can visit her at www. jessicaepaige.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment