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[stacybennettauthor]

Day 5 of the #writerfriendschallenge Name a witchy read. Nettle & Bone by K A Kingfisher is a terrific witchy story with heavy fairy tale vibes. Love the unlikely heroine and her even unlikelier cadre of helpers, the classic tropes and the twists of them. A fabulous five star short read. For those who like fat books with sloooww burn I also recommend the Blackthorn & Grim series by Juliet Marillier. #witchyreads #bookrecommendations #writerscommunity #fairytales #shortreads #bigbooks Thank you to @susanleighneedham and @thatsarahelynn https://www.instagram.com/p/CjY0IZwr9nD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[stacybennettauthor]

Day 4! What’s my favorite writing brew you ask? Well in earlier times it was a Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte with whip or a Flat White. But since that amount of caffeine hasn’t agreed with me lately I’ve transitioned down to a Kevita. It’s not too sweet, not too caff and some carbonation. Just right to wake up my brain. I do miss the coffee and espresso tho 😢 #writerfriendschallenge #indieauthor #writingcommunity #writerslife #coffeelover #recoveringcoffeejunkie @susanleighneedham @thatsarahelynn https://www.instagram.com/p/CjS8CUJr7bo/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[stacybennettauthor]

Happy October and thank you @susanleighneedham & @thatsarahelynn for this #writerfriendschallenge #writingcommunity #indieauthorsofinstagram Seven words to describe myself … https://www.instagram.com/p/CjLx513g5yh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[stacybennettauthor]

Whorls of smoke lift in the aftermath of the spell. The acrid air makes my eyes burn and water, leaving streaks of kohl and soot on my face. The magic backlash courses through my veins like poison, taking its tribute from my flesh and future. A costly spell indeed. But it had to be done. The die is cast now. The Goddess’s revenge is set in motion and only She can see its ending. In time. But time is not my friend. Soldiers rush in as I struggle to my feet, pulling my cloak over my naked form. I fear them and their cursed iron, but Ismani take my heart if I let them see it. I straighten as they surround me, frowning as their muddy boots profane this sacred space. They will suffer for it. That I know. However, my own fate is far less certain. The commander strides in, callous and brutish, a hand taller than his tallest warrior. He stops before me, his visor down so even those midnight blue eyes I know so well are hidden from my sight. Goddess, why did you bring him to me if only to be my enemy? The question is a whine in my heart, a child’s prayer to which there is no answer. Which is answer enough for a wise woman. “Come quietly, witch,” he growls. “Or it will go ill for you.” “It will go ill whether or not I obey,” I whisper. “My end is written in your Law, is it not?” He makes no reply but I sense his hesitation just for a heartbeat. Then he steps back and gestures for me to exit the bower ahead of him. I take in a breath, searching for my proud strength, but it has left me. I am merely a pawn now, a casualty in this war, and my feet don’t move. Then, his hand on my back urges me out into the graying day. The same way it once urged me to his bed. How fickle humans are. All of us it seems. Photo prompt from @magicbookcorner & @tirzaschaefer ‘s stellar FB group. Photo courtesy of Luis Royo FB page #flashfiction #photoprompts #fantasy #snippet #indieauthorsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CaGfU1cLhle/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Excerpt from Call of the Huntress …. The wind gusted, buffeting against his bare chest and drawing his mind back to the present. As the tall cliffs of Tidebluff grew closer, Khoury shrugged into a linen shirt, hiding the forbidden tattoo blazoned on his chest before reaching port. Passing between the cliffs that guarded Seal Bay, Khoury felt an unexpected glow of homecoming. He drew in a deep breath of the briny air and let it out with a sigh. I could belong here, he thought with surprise. It was a simple life, and a good one, here on the edge of the sea. He tried to reject the comfort of such a choice. But isn’t this what I want? he thought to himself. No more fighting other men’s wars. A chance for a home. A family. Family? Where that had that come from, he didn’t know. As he rocked with the ship’s rise and fall, he realized that he missed being part of a clan. With his heart soothed by routine and the wildness of the sea, he let the memories he had always shunned rise only to find not all of them colored with horror. He’d been close with his brothers. Thinking back now, the sorrow he felt wasn’t the sharp pain it had once been. Although there were some like his cousin, that he’d never cared for, his childhood had been spent in the security of a thriving family. continue reading in comments 📚 #corthanlegacy #callofthehuntress #captkhoury #excerpts #sealbay https://www.instagram.com/p/CXorcKVLRTx/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

📚📖Literacy Challenge📖📚 I accepted a challenge from @tfoxsummerlin to post 11 books I love: one per day. No explanations. No reviews. Just covers. Each day I will ask a friend to take the challenge, to promote literacy, and create a reading list for your followers. Day 2: @lisashambrook #literacy #literacychallenge #booknerd #bibliophile #booklover #bookstagram #booksofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CW1wcLgrJNI/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

📚 📖 Literacy Challenge 📖 📚 I accepted a challenge from @tfoxsummerlin to post 11 books I love: one per day. No explanations. No reviews. Just book covers. Each day I will ask a friend to take up the challenge to promote literacy and Crete a reading list. Day 1 @adtrosper #literacy #booknerd #booklover #booklover #booksofinstagram #indieauthorsofinstagram #bookrecommendations #bookchallenge #literacychallenge #ilovebooks #fantasy #romance https://www.instagram.com/p/CWweDB5rgII/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

CARD OF THE DAY Ace of Wands Reversed Okay well, yeah this makes a lot of sense. The card represents blocked creativity, low mood and being stalled out. 😰That’s kind of me right now if I’m being honest. It’s a reminder to take a breath and be kind to myself. Let those batteries recharge. It also reminds me to let you all know the preorder for Hound of Barakan has been pushed back. I can only apologize for the delay with the caveat that I don’t want the quality to suffer. Your experience as readers is important to me along with my limited supply of sanity. So it will be delayed but I have not stopped working on it. It just means more weeks of snippets for you. 😉 So as of right now my release date for Book 3 is December 31st. A terrible day for a release but I promise there will be a party after the new year with giveaways and SWAG and hopefully the release of the Call of the Huntress audiobook. Thank you all for being with me on this journey. I have great things in mind. #indieauthorsofinstagram #delayedgratification #tarotcards #selfcarefirst #corthanlegacy https://www.instagram.com/p/CWLS4spLG5T/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Another snippet from my WIP - Hound of Barakan Remembering him only made her lonely. But maybe she could fix that. A small grin curled the corners of her mouth. She reached down into the land all around Vauxhall to find its power. It felt different than the power of the forest. The flavor of stone and wind was harsh against her heart, like ash and ale on her tongue. Even so it was familiar somehow. She drew the power to her just the same, just like she had beneath the leaves. She gathered it, collected it in her core, and made it her own in increments until she felt she could hold no more. Then she drew the chill up to her heart, infusing it with memories and longing and then let it go. Once more the power and need shot out of her and soared through the darkness, but not in the direction she expected. She flew with it using her heart as a guide until she’d homed in on what she was looking for. There at the edge of her sensing, where she could smell briny sea air and feel the spray of water on her face, the familiar presence waited. Image from Pinterest #fantasybookseries #corthanlegacy #fantasybooks #questofthedreamwalker #talesofthearcher #callofthehuntress #epicfantasy #swordandsorcery #romance #vengefulspirit #druid #indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #captkhoury #cara #falin #animalcompanion #bear #wolf #slowburn #bigbooks #KU https://www.instagram.com/p/CWFR-N5LmYf/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

A snippet from my WIP: “I can make her beautiful again,” Cara breathed with a smile, her fingers trailing through the puppy soft curls on the hound's throat. “A King's prize.” Enys put his gloved hand roughly on her arm, turning her to him. “What you claim is not possible,” he whispered, although she thought she could hear a caveat behind the words. Not possible unless… His vehemence scared her, but instead she tried to respond how Falin might. “What will you give me if I can do the impossible?” she asked with a cheeky smile. The shutters dropped from his face and revealed earnest concern. He looked quickly over his shoulder to where the healer stood at the far end of the tent, then gripped both her arms tightly. “Do not say that aloud,” he growled under his breath giving her a little shake. He glanced quickly at the old man again who had not noted their interaction. “You must not make it perfect.” His words were mere angry rasps of breath. She furrowed her brow with confusion. “But…” “Do not show them who you are,” he whispered harshly. “Never show them who you really are.” Image from Pinterest. #corthanlegacyseries #fantasy #romantic #epic #hound #captain #healer #cara #indieauthorsofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/CVzDzRarl_n/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

How’s the WIP you ask? Well here’s what’s in my head lately. #authorsofinstagram #wip #inspiration #indieauthor https://www.instagram.com/p/CVHZySlALEf/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

“Care for a match, Huntress?” She smiled at that and he had a moment of eager anticipation when she stood and brushed the dirt from her backside. “Love to, Captain, bu we should get moving .” Quest of the Dreamwalker Corthan Legacy Book 1 A scarred soldier, a soul-broken girl and a defiant huntress. Three lives thrown together by fate, bound by destiny, hunted by magic. But time is running out. Cara is a prisoner. The sorcerer Sidonius crippled her soul so he could one day steal her magic. Secluded in the Black Keep, she knows nothing except obedience and duty. She doesn’t have the strength to leave the sorcerer until she meets the captain. Captain Khoury is a mercenary kidnapped by Sidonius as food for the sorcerer's fading magic. An exile with his own dark secret, the captain uses Cara to escape only to find himself bound to her. Is it just her magic calling to his, or something more? Falin is not yet a Huntress of Foresthaven. Brutal and cold, she is sworn to kill any man who trespasses that sacred forest. When the Mothers give her a task that will mark her as a traitor, she must choose between her old life and a new destiny. As the three outcasts flee south, Sidonius chases them from the frozen tundra through Foresthaven to the mountain city of Iolair. It will take all three of them to defeat Sidnoius and stop his final spell. #fantasybooks #corthanlegacy #questofthedreamwalker #talesofthearcher #epicfantasy #swordandsorcery #romance #vengefulspirit #druid #indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #captkhoury #cara #falin #animalcompanion #bear #wolf #slowburn #bigbooks #KU https://www.instagram.com/p/CU_iM_ZrvJq/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Setting the mood for an evening with my favorite tortured hero. #amwriting #writerslife #winemakesmagic https://www.instagram.com/p/CUGXJodLMPu/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Writing is hungry work. Hot Italian sausage and pepper flatbreads. Made from scratch. #sundaydinner #writerslife #hellofresh https://www.instagram.com/p/CUBPfnkLkgr/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Happy Monday! Beware of things that are not what they seem. 🐉🦮 #mondayvibes #newjobjitters https://www.instagram.com/p/CTwm0GyLZcd/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Day 8 Open House: what are you working on? I’ve been trying to work on book 3. TBH most days don’t go well, barely more than staring at the page. But I feel it coming. Here’s a snippet from Hound of Barakan - very new and subject to change. But reassuring to those who hope the captain will find what he’s looking for -a promise from me to you … “Holbrook is almost here,” she whispered. “He will kill us if he can. I'm out of time." Her mismatched eyes were cast down in thought as she paced in front of the hearth. “If I'm what's stopping this change, then I am the one who has to finish it. But..." She turned to give him a look of pure frustration. "I just can't." Her voice broke with uncharacteristic desperation. She turned and paced again. "I've tried, Khoury. I have tried. When Cara sleeps, I try to bend the healing magic to my will, like I did to give Gar to Ruari. But it never works. No matter how much i try to force it, I just can't make it happen. I can't ... join with her and the magic." He could see how those words echoed what she’d felt all her life. That she was the Outsider, always alone. It was obvious the huntress had struggled for a long while before coming to him. He knew what it cost her to ask for his help. She was the most stubborn person he’d ever met. Stubborn and strong-willed. But strength without flexibility turned brittle. If she continued this way, would she break instead of heal? #fantasybooks #corthanlegacy #epicfantasy #swordandsorcery #romance #druid #indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #captkhoury #cara #falin #animalcompanion #bear #wolf #slowburnromance Image from Pinterest if you recognize the artist pls let me know. https://www.instagram.com/p/CTkhNFyLoG-/?utm_medium=tumblr

[stacybennettauthor]

Some words from my WIP - Hound of Barakan (book 3) out this fall and available for preorder now. *** Captain Khoury stroked his horse’s thick neck. It was the same lug-headed gelding that had carried him to Seal Bay and then back here to Bear Clan. He pulled the girth a notch tighter with a creak of leather. The beast shook out its mane and bobbed its head before reaching around to nip at his sleeve. “Raring to go, are you?” he murmured not wanting to disturb the sleeping village. “Me too.” He gently shoved the large head away as he bent to grab his packs from the ground. Khoury sucked in a breath as his thigh wound spasmed. Maura had done a good job of mending it, but it still hurt. And his mistreatment of it the day before at Archer’s wedding was not going to be easily forgiven. Archer’s wedding. Archer’s married, Khoury marveled to himself with a smile even as he felt the twinge of heartache beneath the surface. He shook his head at the thought. How things change. Everything was changing, he realized. Sometime in the last few months, his life had lost its shape. He had been cut loose from routine, lost in chaos. He didn’t know what form his new life would take, but he knew where to start. The dream had at least given him that. The captain swung his gear up behind the saddle and secured it with ties. He’d been awake since before dawn, disturbed by that dream which now seemed more real than his days in Seal Bay. His mind drifted back to what he could remember. Most of the dream had already slipped away like minnows in the murky pond of his mind, but the kiss… that still felt real. He let his mind fall into the sensation of her in his arms, pressed against his chest, the scent of dew and forest on her cheek. And he forgot to breathe… #fantasybooks #corthanlegacy #questofthedreamwalker #talesofthearcher #callofthehuntress #houndofbarakan #epicfantasy #swordandsorcery #romance #vengefulspirit #druid #indieauthor #indieauthorsofinstagram #captkhoury #cara #falin #animalcompanion #bear #wolf #slowburn #bigbooks https://www.instagram.com/p/CTAAy_hr0Pc/?utm_medium=tumblr