July 11, 2015

Sneak Peek of The Second Prophecy!



As promised last week, here comes a special preview of the sequel to The Song of the Wren-Falcon!

Tentative Title: A Traitor’s Prayer

Possible Alternative Title: The Flight of the Moth

Characters: Many of the characters you know from The Song of the Wren-Falcon, but with a few new faces thrown into the mix—and, well, some old faces making re-appearances in such unexpected ways that they might as well be brand-new characters!

Conflict: Since the end of The Song of the Wren-Falcon, Adelfia has enjoyed six years of peace. Sorek and Orienne are busy with their growing family, as are Cyrus and Viette, and Ryker and Ashnin. Sorek’s biggest problems are trying to keep neighboring countries happy about trade rates, and trying to figure out where his four-year-old learned the word “disembowel”…until a message from Moritar gives him reason to fear that the peace they have been enjoying may not last much longer.
A mysterious dark power has taken hold in Moritar’s capital city. King Saras is dead, murdered by sorcery. And although the ominous turn of events points at Shekiah Hyn, the only known sorcerer remaining in Moritar, she has disappeared and not even Adelfia’s deepest spies can locate her.
Sorek fears that the peace is ending, and that things are about to take a turn for the worse. What he doesn’t know is that the Second Prophecy is about to fulfill itself in ways more wildly incredible than anything he could ever have imagined.
Old fears are about to raise their heads again. Old wounds are about to be reopened. Dark pasts will be revealed. Friendships will be strained to the breaking point. Love will bloom in impossible places. The darkness will deepen, and the cost of defeating it will climb.

What I’m Excited About: In this book I not only get to continue the personal stories of the central characters from Book 1 (characters like Sorek, Orienne, and Allegar), but I also get to dive much deeper into some of the secondary characters who didn’t really have that much time in the spotlight in the first book (characters like Gabriel, Albrius, and Shekiah). I’m so excited about this! It was hard for me to leave these characters largely unexplored and undeveloped in Song of the Wren-Falcon, but the wait is definitely proving worth it! (Now you all can get to know them as well as I do!)
I’m excited about the message of this story—in many ways a re-hash or continuation of the message of Book 1, but woven through enough plot twists and surprises to make it fresh and new.
I’m excited to introduce a couple of new characters as well…but their identities are still classified and you’ll just have to wait and read the book. :P
And of course, because I am a hopeless romantic, I can’t help being super excited about the two love stories that will play out over the course of Book 2. I won’t say much—this isn’t a spoiler post, after all—but I will say that one of the love stories will be both hilarious and heart-wrenching, and the other one will be deeply moving and absolutely gorgeous. And heart wrenching. (Sorry, that’s just the way it turned out. Don’t worry, my publisher and I are currently discussing the logistics of inserting small packets of tissues in the back of every hard copy of the book. [Some restrictions apply; not available with digital versions of the book.])

But what I’d really like to know is: What are you looking forward to in Book 2? What are you hoping to see? Share your thoughts! Who knows? If I like your ideas, you might just end up influencing the story. So don’t be shy!

July 3, 2015

So...what's next?

So now that Song of the Wren-Falcon and A Knight on the Old North Shore are out, what's coming up next from author Mary Ruth Pursselley?

I'm glad you asked!

Of course, if you're one of those who have been asking about the sequel to Song of the Wren-Falcon, let me assure you that it is in the works! I must confess, we're still in the first-draft stage at this point...but it's coming. Recent experiences with setting goal dates and deadlines for myself has led me to decide that I am not going to do so with this project, other than to say that, God willing and the Twilight fans don't attempt a world takeover, it will be out in the first half of 2016.
Since you've all been so sweet with your feedback about the book (and your reviews on Amazon make me want to melt), and it absolutely makes my day every time someone eagerly asks about the sequel, I thought I might as well give you a few little sneak peeks...next week. (Okay, sorry, but I can't help being just a little devious.) In the meantime, here's a look at what else you can expect to see from me over the next several months:

The Shadowfields - An historical novella in the spirit of The Secret Garden...with a tiny dash of Northanger Abbey thrown in. This one will be available both in print and as an e-book.

The Pirate Shrine - High-seas fantasy adventure with generous helpings of espionage, political intrigue, swashbuckling action, and maybe just a little romance. This one will also be available both in print and electronic versions.

Plus, more short collections like A Knight on the Old North Shore! I have two of these in the production stage at this point, but neither has a fixed title yet. These will be available exclusively as electronic versions, with a compilation volume of all of my short books planned to release in print eventually.

Of course, these plans are all writing-related, and there's a whole lot more than that going on in my life right now...but more on that at a later time, too. ; )