A TALISMAN ARCANE, J.M. Ney-Grimm, Ney-Grimm

Sarvet walks with a grinding limp, and her mountain culture keeps girls close to home. Worse, her mother emphasizes all the things Sarvet can't do. No matter how gutsy her spirit or bold her defiance, staying put means growing weaker. Yet only boys get wanderyars. Lacking their supplies and training, how can Sarvet escape?

Can dreams-even big dreams-and inner certainty transform impossible barricades into a way out?

KAUNIS CLAN SAGA

The Hammarleeding people dwell in the high mountain valleys of J.M. Ney-Grimm's North-lands. They wield a tribal magic born of dance and song and the flow of sacred waters.

Ritual and tradition hold a special place in Hammarleeding culture. Their rites are beautiful and uplifting, but they underpin a way of life that features many thou-shalt-nots.

In each story of the Kaunis Clan Saga, one woman-or one man-challenges the shibboleths that threaten her-or his-particular bright dream.

Sarvet's Wanderyar (1)

Crossing the Naiad (2)

Livli's Gift (3)

Winter Glory (4)

Each installment presents a unique protagonist from a fresh generation of the family. The stories stand alone and need not be read in order.

PRAISE FOR SARVET'S WANDERYAR

..".great introduction to the Hammarleeding's society that left me craving more. Sarvet is a wonderfully strong female character..." -P. Saternye

..".it's an entrancing story with a character you care about, and desperately want to succeed..." -James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes

"J.M. Ney-Grimm has woven a beautiful, multi-layered tapestry... All the characters, human and otherwise, in her world are well-rounded and believable." -Barbara Karp, Readers' Favorite

EXCERPT FROM SARVET'S WANDERYAR

Tense and furious, Sarvet shook her mother's angry grip from her forearm. "I'll petition the lodge-meet for filial severance," she snapped, and then wished she'd swallowed the words, so hateful, too hateful to speak. And yet she'd spoken them.

The breeze swirling on the mountain slope picked up, nudging the springy branches of the three great pines at Sarvet's back and purring among their needles. Their scent infused the moving air.

Paiam's narrowed eyes widened an instant-in hurt?-flicked up to encompass the swaying tree tops behind her daughter, then went flat.

"You dare " she breathed. "You're my daughter. Mine alone. And I'll see to it that you and every other mother in the lodge knows it too. You'll stay under my aegis till you're grown, young sister, even if I must declare you careless and remiss to do it "

Oh

Sarvet only thought she'd been mad before. "You never wanted me " she accused.

Was it true? Or was she just aiming for Paiam's greatest vulnerability, aiming to hurt? Because under her own rage lay . . . desperation. Something needed to change. She just didn't know what, didn't know how. And didn't want to be facing it right now, facing her mother right now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore-online or on Main Street.

Beauty from all the ages graces the castle - medieval towers, renaissance columns, and gothic vaults - but underneath the loveliness a lurking evil stirs.

Fae hates the loneliness and the sense of hidden malice oppressing her. Even more, she hates the feeling that just around some receding corner of lost memory lies the answer to her predicament - an answer just out of reach.

An answer essential to surviving this castle's dangers - both subtle and not so subtle.

Somewhere in her forgotten past lies the key.

A mythic tale of family and betrayal told with all the twists and moments of sheer joy that J.M. Ney-Grimm brings to epic fantasy.

EXCERPT FROM CAUGHT IN AMBER

She'd been betrayed by someone she trusted.

It felt awful.

She snatched a pillow from the head of her bed and clutched it, muffling her mouth in its softness. Was she going to cry?

No, she decided. She wasn't. She'd hold out for more information. There was so much that she didn't know. More she didn't know than she did know. And knowledge was the key out of her prison, she felt more and more sure.

I'll go find out. I'll hunt down my answers.

She paused before the mirror of her dressing table.

Did she look like a girl who deserved to be betrayed?

Thick dark hair pulled back in a simple braid. Gray eyes, slightly reddened, even though she had not cried. Pointed chin, a little wobbly.

No, she didn't look like a girl who deserved betrayal. But she did look like a girl who wasn't getting enough to eat. Did she? Really? Chin a little pointier, cheeks a little thinner, eyes and temples a little stretched?

Maybe. Or maybe not. She felt hollow inside, and scared. Which made her face look scared too.

I'll figure something out. She'd figured out a lot already. I'm not giving up.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

Spanning the North-lands history, from ancient times to the pastoral present, A Knot of Trolls features seven such evildoers. Seven trolls and the ordinary youths called by chance or by destiny to take a stand.

"The Troll's Belt" stars motherless Brys Arnsson, challenged as much by his own deceit as by his troll foe. "Crossing the Naiad" presents shepherd girl Kimmer with a dangerous tragedy from the distant past.

"Skies of Navarys" follows two friends with a vehement difference, their contested decision to decide the fate of thousands. In "Resonant Bronze" Paitra and his brother struggle to claim appropriate guilt - neither too much nor too little - and thereby defeat a troll warlord.

"Rainbow's Lodestone" offers the spirit of the rainbow a chance to learn that the smallest places birth freedom. "Star-drake" stalks a pitiless troll-herald to defeat - or is it victory? - utterly unforeseen.

And in "Perilous Chance" young Clary needs a miracle. But her miracle - when it comes - sports razor-sharp talons, world-shaking power, and a troll-witch to guard its sleep.

Seven tales of magic balance death and destruction against destiny and hope.

PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM

"It's no secret...that I have favourite writers. J.M. Ney-Grimm is one of them, and with good reason - her writing style is unique, and engrossing." - James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review

..".Ney-Grimm paints a vivid, lush picture worthy of the Peter Jackson treatment." - D.J. Gelner, Amazon review

..".the world depicted is magical, but the people are very real." - Mary Anna Dunn, Smashwords review

"Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip...I'm really pleased to have discovered her " - Mira, Amazon review

EXCERPT FROM A KNOT OF TROLLS

She was eleven, and she was hurt.

Her leg lay under her, knee throbbing. Her arm ached, the broken bone within sickening in its pain.

But worst of all, worst of all, a vast shadow loomed above her, dark wings spanning distances too great for the grotto enclosing them, razor-sharp talons sparking with the spitting blue fire of a strange power.

"No, please, no," she whispered.

How had it come to this? Her day had started so ordinarily, getting breakfast for herself and her sister, because Mama could not. She cast her thoughts desperately back to the morning.

I'm there. Not here. I'm there.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

His curse turns on the choices of his childhood friend Elle. She once shared Kellor's idyllic rambles through the wilderlands. She now loves all things musical. Might Kellor persuade her to neglect her own dreams to confront his lethal nightmare? Should he?

But no troll-witch permits her prey to escape with ease. The illusory loopholes in Mandine's curse all twist back to its entombing heart.

J.M. Ney Grimm tells a lyrical Beauty and the Beast tale, rife with moments of shining glory, dark magnificence, and unexpected significance. The fate of an empire, a people, and a world unfurls from Kellor's deeds and Elle's choices.

PRAISE FOR TROLL-MAGIC

..".Troll-magic has a certain poetic style I've yet to come across elsewhere. Descriptions are...evocative, characters are natural and complex..." -James J. Parsons, GoodReads

"This is the kind of book that you keep thinking about... All through the day you will find yourself hoping for just a few minutes to pick it up again. Loosely based on a familiar folk tale, the world depicted is magical, but the people are very real." -M.A. Dunn, Smashwords

"Troll-magic was a fun read... This story mixes adventure, romance, life lessons and, of course, magic. J.M. Ney-Grimm has created a fascinating new world. Her detailed descriptions and colourful writing style bring the world of Silmaren and the Norse-lands right off the page and into life." -W. Walsh, Amazon

"Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip... if you're looking for an intelligent, fun and interesting read, I highly recommend this book." -Mira, Amazon

EXCERPT FROM TROLL-MAGIC

In darkness he touched his nose, felt his ears. Oh Sias They were larger. More deformed. Horror shook his fingertips. What should he do? What could he do?

Chaotic memory gripped him. Stabbing tangerine light and agonizing pain. His body taken by unfathomable force and twisted, reshaped.

What was this? Where was this? None of it made sense. And the absolute blackness didn't help. He took a deep breath. And another. There. He was steadier now. Some sort of solution existed. He could sense it, just out of reach. Closing his eyes against the dark, he stretched his mind. He'd done . . . something . . . last . . . night? It didn't matter when. What was it he'd done? He tried again to call it to mind, pressing against the blankness in his thoughts. Breathing was part of it; patterned breathing. Which reminded him that holding his breath wouldn't help. Someone . . . a teacher, had told him that tension inhibited . . . something. He sighed. Patterned breathing. Fine, he would do some. He breathed out to a slow count of three, then in for the same.

And then he had it. Patterned breathing and patterning. He was a pattern-master. Or, at least, an apprentice one. And he'd done . . . not patterning, last night, but a forbidden version of it. Something other.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

SARVET'S WANDERYAR

Running away leads right back home - or does it?

Sarvet walks with a grinding limp, and her mountain culture keeps girls close to home. Worse, her mother emphasizes all the things Sarvet can't do. No matter how gutsy her spirit or bold her defiance, staying put means growing weaker. Yet only boys get wanderyars. Lacking their supplies and training, how can Sarvet escape?

Can dreams - even big dreams - and inner certainty transform impossible barricades into a way out?

LIVLI'S GIFT

In Kaunis-spa's magical spring, Livli achieves spectacular cures. A born pioneer, she hopes to match new ways for healing with new ways of living. But the Kaunis-sisters fear rapid change. While Livli pushes forward the new, one influential foe champions the old. Home will keep its ancient customs, even if Livli loses everything.

Must surrender spell defeat? Or could letting go harness real power?

PRAISE FOR SARVET'S WANDERYAR

..".great introduction to the Hammarleeding's society that left me craving more. Sarvet is a wonderfully strong female character who you also meet again in Livli's Gift." - reader review

"Breezed through Sarvet's Wanderyar; delightful I think this is my favourite..." - reader review

..".it's an entrancing story with a character you care about, and desperately want to succeed... At first I saw Paiam as the clear antagonist, but I came to sympathize with her. This makes for a complex interaction between the two characters that rages almost completely in the subtext-very clever on Ney-Grimm's part, and very effective... On a side note, one of my favourite things about Ney-Grimm's work is her treatment of fantastical creatures...the pegasi seem ethereal...creatures of light and gauze that are somehow the most real things in the world." - Speaking to the Eyes review

PRAISE FOR LIVLI'S GIFT

"Extremely fascinating and insightful..." - reader review

"I'm enthralled by the world..." - reader review

"EXCELLENT A thoroughly enjoyable read " - reader review

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

A worship made taboo half a millennium ago. Performed still in secret by a few. Quietly tolerated by the king.

Until madness took him, there beside the stone well on the grassy hillside of the castle's outer bailey.

As the king's mind unravels into violence, no one near him remains safe, not even his best beloved. Especially not his best beloved.

Worse, Remeya believes King Xavo's insanity arose from her own mistake. Because she said yes, instead of no.

When life itself hangs in the balance, putting wrong to right is surely past praying for. Or is it?

Epic fantasy in which old beliefs and old loyalties clash with hidden magic in the Middle Ages of J.M. Ney-Grimm's god-touched North-lands.

EXCERPT FROM HUNTING WILD

The pebbles of the underground stream bed dug into the soles of her feet, and the chill of the shallow water numbed her toes.

The rough surface of the ceiling sloped down, scraping her back, forcing her to bend, to crouch, to curl enough that she caught her balance with her hands in the wet.

The light faded swiftly. Had she gone far enough?

She paused, eyes adjusting.

The glimmering ripples of the spring's source cast dim flickers against the rocks pressing her down.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

On fabled Navarys - the Atlantis of the North-lands - Liliyah studies energea as all thirteen-year-olds do, devoting her mornings to mastering the music that controls her magic. Afternoons, she hobnobs with the artisan crafters and shopkeepers who built the island city-state into the trade capital of the world.

Her friend Mago faces struggles unsuspected by carefree Liliyah. His father, a renowned inventor, succumbs to irrational flashes of rage. His mother holds a lethal secret close.

When the king's geomancer announces that a tidal wave threatens Navarys, every citizen on the island springs to action. Amidst the uproar, the aeromancer Palujon steals Mago's father's latest invention: unique lodestones with the potential to revolutionize life as the Navareans know it.

Mago vows to make good his father's loss. But Liliyah questions Palujon's motives. Why would a man of his stature break the law? Is he truly a dastard?

Two friends. Two answers. Life and death hang on their choices.

PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM

..".a coming-of-age story with elements of Steampunk make it a great tale for fantasy enthusiasts of all ages." - D.J. Gelner, Amazon review of Troll-magic

"I loved this story It is lively, perky and interesting." - W. Walsh, Amazon review of The Troll's Belt

"J.M. Ney-Grimm is a master of epic fantasy], and I've been a fan of her work since the first paragraph I read..." - James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review of Sarvet's Wanderyar

"Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her " - Mira, Amazon review of Troll-magic

EXCERPT FROM SKIES OF NAVARYS

The tale is usually told with the great Palujon Clisto as rogue and thief, and the legendary Zandro Mytris as hero and savior. But one mother of ancient Navarys knows the truth.

She was there on the fabulous airship Subindo, the only one of the fleet to ride untouched through the storm.

* * *

Liliyah clutched the back of the divan where she knelt, bounced once, and pressed her face to the slanted window pane of the airship. The glass felt cool against her nose tip.

"Look Look " she exclaimed. "It's Eirene Going to the park."

"How can you tell?" Mago's shoulder nudged hers as he peered downward. "We're way too high to tell who's who."

"She always goes now. Besides, I just know. It is her."

Why did Mago have to doubt everything? He'd been nicer when they were younger. Now it was always "are you sure?" and "why do you think that?" and never just taking her say so. Liliyah gritted her teeth.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

Almost as much as he loves playing pranks.

But when Earth's guardian Gaia bids Mercurio to organize a circus act for Sol's birthday celebration, the joke's on him.

While Mercurio wangles his way around the captious refusals of his would-be stilt-walkers and clowns-"No, no, and no "-the somber guardian of Pluto plots a darker scheme.

With the subtle delight, clever misdirection, and teasing wordplay that Mercurio himself enjoys, J.M. Ney-Grimm tells a tale of steeply rising stakes in a clockwork solar system ruled by the gods of ancient Rome.

PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM

"It's no secret...that I have favourite writers. J.M. Ney-Grimm is one of them, and with good reason-her writing style is unique, and engrossing." -James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes

..".Ney-Grimm paints a vivid, lush picture worthy of the Peter Jackson treatment." -D.J. Gelner

..".the world depicted is magical, but the people are very real." -M.A. Dunn

"Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her " -Mira

EXCERPT FROM DEVOURING LIGHT

Draco loomed large, reptilian, and uncooperative in the center of his refuge. His tails cracked, emphasizing his displeasure.

"Would she let me devour her, younger cousin?" he asked, a sly note edging his harsh tones.

Mercurio slipped on a spill of star dust, swallowed complaint, and sprang upward. Might as well spread his sandal wings. He maneuvered away from Draco's twitching tails toward the dragon's face.

Draco yawned.

A miasma of burning cold belched from his gullet.

Ah Not directly in front then. Right.

Draco snickered, and Mercurio shuddered. A blast furnace opening its maw, that's what it sounded like, despite its chill.

"I don't need your blandishments to coax Juno. I've blandishments of my own," Draco remarked.

Too true. But surely Mercurio possessed something Draco wanted. "Name your price " he blurted. Uh, oh. That was a mistake. Cronos only knew what the dragon might come up with. And once he settled on something, he wouldn't take anything else.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore-online or on Main Street.

Nerine, a sea nymph of the ancient world, knows too much about both.

Each morning, in the chill before the sun's rising, Nerine and the three Fates stand under the mighty branches of the World Tree, gazing into the depths of the root-girdled Well of Destiny to master the dooms they must bring to life that day.

When the dawn's visions show Nerine's lover - shipwrecked and drowning - all her renounced yearning for him rises anew.

Surely, as handmaiden to the Fates themselves, she might tilt the odds to give her beloved a chance.

Somehow - this day, this morning, this time - Nerine must subvert destiny or lose the companion of her heart forever.

Love and coming of age in a mythic Mediterranean where the gods and goddesses of old shape history.

EXCERPT FROM FATE'S DOOR

Nerine served all three norns as handmaiden. And Nerine would choose the new materials required for this day's weaving.

She would need pale peach for the baby born to a king, blood red for abattle between Sparta and Athens, gold for a hero's bright deed. And ifshe failed to watch the images unfolding in the Well of Destiny, shewould not know the other threads to choose for the day's work.

She had to know.

So Nerine watched, but her heart ached, and memories from her past overlaid the flowing images on the waters of the well.

Altairos as a curly black-haired boy, laughing, his eyes crinkling in that way that only he had.

Altairos as a gangly youth, earnest and passionate, reciting poetry to her.

Altairos as a young man, strong and sure, pressing a first kiss upon her willing lips.

Who but she would lay out the symbols of his death? She, the handmaiden of the fates. She couldn't bear it - to lose him so.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

Motherless Brys Arnsson digs himself into trouble. Bad trouble. Tricked by a troll in J.M. Ney-Grimm's richly imagined North-lands, Brys must dig himself and his best friend back out of danger. But that requires courage . . . and self-honesty. Traits Brys lacks at depth.

A twist on a classic, The Troll's Belt builds from humor-threaded conflict to white-knuckle suspense.

PRAISE FOR THE TROLL'S BELT

"I loved this story It is lively, perky and interesting. While the author notes it is "a re-casting of Hansel & Gretel with a Norse twist," I found the storyline to be much more creative and original. I am looking forward to reading more from J.M. Ney-Grimm " - W. Walsh, Amazon review

"The writing style is fantastic. It's somehow youthful (as it's through the eyes of a twelve year old) and mature at the same time. Normally, it would be a challenge to discuss...responsibility, loyalty and forgiveness with such a young "voice," but Ney-Grimm does so easily. The result is a thought provoking tale...Heartily recommended, and it's made me look forward to reading more of her work " - James J. Parsons, GoodReads review

EXCERPT FROM THE TROLL'S BELT

Brys slammed the door behind him and stomped across his room in fury.

It wasn't fair. It just wasn't fair.

Did Jol have to sweep the floors each afternoon when school let out?

No.

Did Jol have to wash the curing cheese wheels in his motter's dairy?

No.

Did Jol have to help put up vats of kraut when too many cabbages were ready in the garden?

Of course not.

It wasn't fair, it wasn't fair, it wasn't fair

He banged open the shutters of his bed nook, threw himself down on the mattress, and punched his pillows a few times.

And now he wouldn't get to go to the solstice bonfire either, shun it

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.