Monday, September 29, 2014

Bramble Burn snippet (the latest book featuring Haunt)

Sorry, been distracted. Bramble Burn is consuming my imagination, so Rowen & Gold is on the back burner. Of course, all those who were clamoring for Haunt will be pleased.


Bramble Burn

by
Autumn Dawn

PUBLISHED BY:
Autumn Dawn on Smashwords

EDITED BY:
Judy Stone

Cover images by: Shutterstock.com

Bramble Burn
Copyright © 2015 by Autumn Dawn


All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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Bramble Burn

Super-duper book blurb here.

It had been thirty years since the Convergence, when the dimensions aligned and combined Earth and the world of Gwyllon, known in human mythology as “Underhill”. Elven castles and random buildings sprouted in vacant lots, on major highways, sometimes merging with existing buildings, twisting into completely new structures; the courthouse had merged with an Elven government building. Roads and rail systems reformed, and after the rioting, starvation and death, agriculture finally sorted itself and food began to flow. A new government formed of elves and men had arisen, a society of human tech and elven magic. Cell phones and frost giants, race cars and elven steeds, dungeons and dragons…
And everywhere, monsters.
Juniper was twenty-three, a child of the new generation of small farmers. Her grandfather was Tylwyth Teg, an elf of the forest. Her father had been mostly normal, or pretended to be, but Juniper had her grandfather’s hunger for growing things. He’d tolerated her visiting his woods as long as he could, but there could be only one Forest Lord. He’d told her kindly but firmly to find her own Wood. She could not go back, or he’d kill her.
                                
XXX words


Chapter 1


“You’re a fool, girl.”
Juniper Rose stared at the blasted, twisted wreckage of the former park and contemplated her mother’s words. She might have a point.
She kicked the dirt with her worn work boot, her sky blue eyes frowning at the scorched, salted soil. Broken glass glittered in the late afternoon light and she could smell motor oil and threadbare tires warmed by the June sun. Trash caught on the burnt skeletons of trees and old cars, and she could smell something rotten, probably carrion. The local gangs probably dumped bodies here.
Bramble Park had once been a cute little park in an upscale neighborhood, five blocks long by two blocks wide. After the Convergence, a well of wild magic had opened, spawning monsters. The panicked neighbors had tried to burn it, hoping to stop the critters from eating their children, and the army had used explosives. The park kept growing, quadrupling, spawning nightmares. Finally it was quarantined, the once prosperous neighborhood now a slum. The residents installed bars on windows and doors and invested in guns; there were no pacifists there.
It had been thirty years since the Convergence, when the dimensions aligned and combined Earth and the world of Gwyllon, known in human mythology as “Underhill”. Elven castles and random buildings sprouted in vacant lots, on major highways, sometimes merging with existing buildings, twisting into completely new structures; the courthouse had merged with an Elven government building. Roads and rail systems reformed, and after the rioting, starvation and death, agriculture finally sorted itself and food began to flow. A new government formed of elves and men had arisen, a society of human tech and elven magic. Cell phones and frost giants, race cars and elven steeds, dungeons and dragons…
And everywhere, monsters.
Juniper was twenty-three, a child of the new generation of small farmers. Her grandfather was Tylwyth Teg, an elf of the forest. Her father had been mostly normal, or pretended to be, but Juniper had her grandfather’s hunger for growing things. He’d tolerated her visiting his woods as long as he could, but there could be only one Forest Lord. He’d told her kindly but firmly to find her own Wood. She could not go back, or he’d kill her.
“Be sure to write, let me know how you’re doing,” he’d said, and meant it. After all, they were still family.
Her mother paced the farmhouse while Juniper packed. She’d given Juniper her light brown hair and lanky body, but they couldn’t be more different. “I don’t know what’s gotten into you! You don’t see your sister or cousins leaving. Cities are dirty and dangerous, and if you were sensible, you’d get your head out of the clouds and stay here.” She couldn’t hear the call of the wild magic, and wouldn’t want to hear about it if she did.
Juniper patted her Black Adder mount, Twix, and fished in his saddlebags. A mix of horse and Kudu, it had a kudu tail and long spiral horns, a broad deer’s head, fast horse body and horse hooves. Its bite was mildly venomous and it liked to dine on hay, bracken and small rodents. He was tireless and cheaper than a car, because gas was expensive. Convergence caused magic pulses that played havoc with geology, and magic was needed to reinforce the mines. The black elves had cornered the market on the technology, and they weren’t cheap.
A mist rose from the ground, obscuring rusting cars, a crashed airplane and blackened ground. Parts of it had been salted, as if salt could contain magical monsters.
Her hand brushed aside the deed to Bramble Park, aka Bramble Burn. She’d made a deal with the city and gotten it cheap, on the condition that she stop the expansion. She had a year to do what no one else had done and no time to waste. She couldn’t afford a hotel if she wanted to buy supplies, and she wouldn’t survive a night in the open. A group of rough men were openly watching her, and shadows slinked in the Bramble. Her pistols could only do so much to protect her.
She pulled out her seed collection and chose an acorn. Time to move in.

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