Dust
by Sarah Daltry
Publication date: November 7th 2014
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult
Synopsis:
Who makes YOUR choices?
"I was once the type of person who was impressed by starlight; the type of person who would dance beneath glass ceilings and let the world swim in its loveliness. The sky reminds me of the parties we used to throw - parties like the one last night. The memories bring back the trill of harps and endless ripples of satisfied laughter. Now, though, when I try to recall what I felt, all I hear is screaming."
In a world ravaged by war and oppressive forces of evil, a princess must fight to claim her bloodright and save her people.
When the princess, Alondra, falls for the beautiful, blue eyes of a hooded stranger, it awakens in her a taste for freedom and an escape from her duty.
But her parents have other plans; they have a kingdom to protect and Alondra must marry to ensure the peace between nations. Only what happens when your parents choose a cold-hearted assassin as your betrothed?
As lies, illusions, and long hidden vendettas surface, the princess has to confront a very secret history. One that makes her realize that she not only risks losing her liberty, but also everything she has known and loved.
Excerpt:
A scream distorts the sound of marching footfalls on the bleeding earth. I don't know when Seamus dropped my hand, as I have kept my eyes trained forward; focused on the caves and what we will find. I do not want to see what the army does to make my passage safer.
However, I cannot avoid turning this time. There is something about the scream that is ceaseless. I wish I hadn't; Seamus removes his sword from the stomach of a boy whom I guess is little more than twelve-years-old. The boy's entrails slither along the blade and out of his wound. The woman standing behind them is the one who is screaming, but she does not move.
"Make it stop," I ask no one in particular. "Please, make it stop."
It is not the first death I have seen and I am certain it will not be the last. I want to feel compassion or empathy, but the blaster in the dead boy's hand tells me that Seamus' blade is the reason I am not dust. At my side, Theomore flinches at the pitch of her screams, but he readies his aim and the bullet enters the woman's windpipe, bringing a sudden and eerie silence. Her body joins the boy's in the dirt. Their blood, mingled in the pools forming below them, glides in an unhurried stream to my boot tip. I wonder about the stories that used to run through that blood. I didn't recognize either of them. Were they Kooramen who hated us for the luxury of our lives? Did they come with the army from another land? Were they simply people who misunderstood the targets of their violence? The answers are forgotten in the scarlet slicks. "And we continue," Ereditus says, taking the boy's blaster. The woman was weaponless. This time, Seamus does not jest. He does not take my hand. He joins me in walking toward the caves, but I can see that the dead boy burdens him. I do not have the words to console him. The wretch had been aiming for me and that fact truly resonates for the first time. I am eighteen and I have lived a life of silliness, yet, according to my father as we fought in vain to save our city, I am now the greatest threat Anara faces as death reigns - and I don't know why. An Interview with Sarah Daltry: What is the most important thing you have learned since becoming an author? You need to write for yourself. It's hard for me, because I love books and I love to read anything, so I guess I naively used to believe everyone was like that. It took me a while to put it all together and figure out what was most important to me and what that meant for me as an author. Is there one subject you would never write about as an author? What is it? I can't redeem characters who abuse other people or animals. A character who sexually assaults someone or bullies them or beats them will never deserve redemption in my eyes. There's a line and I am a fan of complicated characters, but once you abuse another person for your own benefit, you don't earn the right to be redeemed. And I absolutely will never make that abuser a love interest. What do you consider to be your best accomplishment? My Gamerscore? :D You write across many genres, from fantasy, to comedy, is there a genre you prefer not to write in? Not really. I used to write romance, but when I think of romance I like, I think of books like those by Simone Elkeles or Jenny Han or even Danielle Steel (at least when I used to read her books 20 years ago). However, I've never enjoyed the "Fabio romances," and when I wrote romance, I wanted to write love stories about real people. I don't think the escapism that people prefer in romance and my style of writing mesh well, so generally, I think romance is something I'm going to put aside. Do you remember the very first book you read on your own? What was it? I don't really, because I remember reading before anything else. I don't have a lot of memories of my childhood and I loved The Velveteen Rabbit and the Little House series, but I don't remember what I read first on my own. What is the hardest thing about writing? Trusting yourself. It's incredibly difficult for me to have faith in my work, because I don't have a lot of faith in myself as a person. I tend to hate everything I write and I have very loud inner critical voices that never go away.
"Everyone who isn't us is an enemy." - Cersei from Game of Thrones for two reasons: 1. I think she's awesome and 2. it says a lot about how empathy really works in the world. Eventually, if it comes down to ourselves or anyone else, most people choose themselves.
What advice would you give the younger you?
None of it matters, so do what you want to do. You can't please anyone, not really, and it's the only life you have. I spent a lot of my life trying to make everybody else happy, but in the end, it wasn't enough and no one really was.
What is the easiest thing about writing?
I like the escape into another person's life and to be able to put into words the ways of the world.
As the author of YA novels with strong female protagonists is there anything you would like to say young girls who would be reading your novels?
To quote Cersei again, "Everywhere in the world, they hurt little girls." Let's make a world where they don't.
Growing up who were your role models?
My grandfather, my high school English teacher, Holden Caulfield, Jane Eyre, Eponine in Les Miserables
About the Author:
Sarah Daltry is a varied author, known best for the contemporary New Adult series, 'Flowering', a six-title series that explores the complexities of relationships, including how we survive the damage from our pasts with the support of those who love us. Although the books are no longer in print, they are being rewritten and redeveloped for future publication. Please visit Sarah's website for more details.
As a former English teacher and YA library coordinator, Sarah has always loved Young Adult literature and 'Dust', an epic fantasy novel where romance blends with the blood and grit of war, is her second official foray into YA, following the gamer geek romantic comedy, 'Backward Compatible'. Most of Sarah's work is about teens and college students, as it's what she knows well.
Sarah's passion in life is writing - weaving tales of magic and beauty. The modern and vast social networking world is an alternative universe that she makes infrequent trips to, but when she does, readers will find her attentive, friendly and happy to discuss the magic of stories and reading. Please stop by and say hello anywhere Sarah is online! You can find these places at Author Sarah Daltry
Sarah has moved back and forth between independent and traditional publishing. Her first novel, 'Bitter Fruits', is with Escape, an imprint of Harlequin Australia, and she signed with Little Bird Publishing in the spring of 2014.
Sarah has also written 'The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,' a reimagining of one of her favorite poems in a contemporary setting.
She is an obsessive Anglophile who spends more time watching BBC TV than any human being should, as well as a hardcore gamer and sarcastic nerd.
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