Can't wait for this to come out! I'd have applied for beta-reading, but my job makes me miss many things... :(
Ah, well; I can participate in this! And snag a copy of the book when it comes out in August (the 27th)! It sounds like a perfect summer read.
Summary:
Princess Obsidia’s father was killed the night she was born. Since there was no male heir, the crown went to the man who killed him, by Dialcian law. This never bothered her, growing up, and when it comes time for Obsidia to choose her husband, she chooses Prince Delaney, the son of that man, with little hesitation. Only then does her life start crumbling around her.
Adrian expected to live a normal life, taking his father’s place at the print shop when his father retired. But, on his eighteenth birthday, when the princess’ engagement is announced, his world is ripped out from under him when he learns that his life was a ruse, and he is the twin brother to the princess – and expected to take back his father’s throne.
Delaney knows that his country is hovering on the brink of war – and that his father may harbor murderous intentions towards his intended bride due to her Zovordian blood. He wants nothing more than to protect Obsidia and his people, but as merely prince, he has little power against his father.
The ancient war between the Dragons and the Immortal King and Queen is nearing its climax, and the three are already caught in it.
Snippet:
“I see.” Adrian frowned. “Then what do I need to do?”
“This is a war that I have waged for many long years,” said the queen, shaking her head, “yet I still cannot see how it will end – or even if it ever will, so long as this world stands. I saw my first world die, and I thought it a terrible thing indeed. I saw this world’s birth, and thought that I had witnessed perfection. It was only many years later that I realized that it was in the destruction that true perfection was achieved.”
“Then … there’s nothing to be done?”
“Oh, quite to the contrary. There is everything to be done,” said the king, suddenly stepping up and laying his hands on his wife’s shoulders. “Don’t let her speeches of gloom and doom deceive you. Evil must be fought, and respites of grace can be won.”
And now the cover! It has a wintery feel to it...take a look! To read the first chapter, click the image/text. To add on Goodreads, click here.
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| Click to read the first chapter! |
I had some random questions for the author, and she has answered. :D
1. Did you have to go through many title options before deciding on "Worth of a King?"
Jack and I tossed several before we settled on this one, and then the conversation that had planned to write, which had inspired it, never happened. So I actually nearly changed it several times - until Laura jumped in with a new conversation that made it beautiful.
2. How hard was it to choose your characters' names?
Main characters? No, not at all. Naming a major character is easy, because you can get an easy feel for their character. Obsidia, Delaney, and Nadilynn, I all picked based on their meanings. I don't know all of Jack's logic with the characters she named - Adrian, Christa, Jerolin, and Ossian - beyond the fact that Adrian is Latin name to go with Obsidia.
You know what's hard? One-off characters. Characters that are mere references. Because their name is 90% of their personification, and you scarcely know who they are. I had a historical queen go through three or four names before I finally settled on Katina.
3. A non story-related question for the last, if you don't mind. I read on your profile that you're an aspiring herbalist. Have you learned anything particularly unexpected/amazingly cool that you'd like to share?
I'm more into oils of late, but ... let's see. Oh, basil is really good for earaches!
Kendra
E. Ardnek loves fairytales and twisting them in new and exciting ways. She's
been or acting them on her dozen plus cousins and siblings for years.
"Finish your story, Kendra," is frequently heard at family
gatherings. Her sole life goal has always been to grow up and be an author of
fantasy and children's tales that glorify God and His Word.
Participating Blogs:
Ok, as far as character naming goes, I have almost the exact opposite problem. One-off characters are easy; I can usually just grab a name and move on. Major characters, and important minor characters, are way harder, and I'll spend a lot of time agonizing over what to name them- except for certain characters who come with names attached, but those are usually the ones who have their whole PERSONALITY intact from the start. So, yeah.
ReplyDeleteOoh, I love it when characters have a whole personality right at the beginning. It makes things so much easier.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
I also have the opposite problem: minor characters are easy for me to name, because as I see it, their name doesn’t matter quite as much. More main characters are much harder for me because their names must be perfect in every way. That’s one reason I tend to pick uncommon names - so I can shape their character more easily.
ReplyDeleteikr? The only problem is when you throw a name on a seemingly unimportant minor character, and they end up becoming important. Then you end up with a "Rory" in a group of much more impressive names. That's my problem, at any rate. :P
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
That's an interesting though on the names. I rarely agonize over minor characters, but I've had a few that just don't like my attempts at naming them.
ReplyDeleteMajor characters also vary. Some take forever to name, some are easy, and some were quickly named minor characters who decided to take of the story.
In one case, I quickly invented a list of core characters, and now I'm wanting to add to it, those characters are still known as 'the prisoner', 'the official's wife' and 'Emerald's baby sister'.
Every once in a while, I'll have a character get fed up with my attempts at naming them, and they'll say something along the lines of, "Fine! My name's such-and-such, will you please stop?!" XD
DeleteThanks for stopping by!