Chasing Ravens
Book # 1
By- Jessica E. Paige
Genre- YA Fairy Tale/Folklore
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.
Excerpt
Anouk’s workdays began while the sun was
still creeping above the horizon, and no matter how many layers she wore, the
chill from the mountain air found its way deep into her bones. She often
imagined how warm her aunt and cousin must be, sitting by the fire drinking
their morning tea. It was the time when her loneliness hung on her the
heaviest.
Although she often worked side by side
with her uncle, Petr had little interest in talk. Even his wife and daughter
were barely able to pull more than a few words from his mouth. It soon became
clear that Marya and Polina found their conversation elsewhere. Throughout the
day Anouk could see women come and go from the house, like bees pollinating the
village with gossip.
Each morning, Anouk would bring the milk
to the kitchen and find her aunt and cousin sitting with one of their guests.
They all seemed to wear the same gloomy expression, and Anouk began to think
that an epidemic of discontent had ravaged the village.
Anouk instead found friends among the
animals she cared for on the farm. She quickly developed a special kinship with
one of her uncle’s horses, a little red mare named Lucya. Lucya was small,
hardly fifteen hands tall, with a coat so thick and fuzzy she seemed more like
a stuffed toy than a horse. She was older than Petr’s gelding, Oleg, and
considered past her prime, but there was wisdom and gentleness in the mare’s
brown eyes. Just being around her lifted Anouk’s spirits.
In the late afternoons, Petr would allow
Anouk a little free time after she’d finished her chores. She would settle her
bow on her shoulder, sling a quiver of arrows on her back and walk to the outer
fields where the cows grazed during the day. There, she continued the tradition
she and her father had once had, practicing as dusk fell.
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.
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