It's the fourth book in the War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters series! Read an exclusive excerpt from She's the One Who Doesn't Say Much by S.R. Cronin and then follow the tour for even more. Be sure to chat with the author in the comments! Best of luck entering the giveaway at the end.
Do you know what your problem is?
Olivine knows hers. This quiet thirteenth-century artist has been hiding a secret as she travels to K'ba to meet her friends. Others assume she's fallen in love with another artist, but it's much worse than that. For on the way to K'ba is the dirt poor nichna of Scrud, a place scorned by other Ilarians. And in Scrud is the one man who understands her.
However, Bohdan recognizes the dangers posed by an impending Mongol invasion. When he learns of Olivine's unusual visual powers, he convinces her to pick up her bow and start practicing.
She does, though she's more concerned with moving to K'ba where she can paint all day and see Bohdan whenever she wants. If only her sister hadn't decided Olivine and her fellow long eyes held one key to defending the realm.
Then, as if life wasn't complicated enough, Olivine learns the artist community she yearns to be part of has developed a different take on the invasion. They're sure the only way to survive is to capitulate completely to the Mongols’ demands. Artists who feel otherwise are no longer welcome.
Where does her future lie? The invasion is coming soon and Olivine doesn't have much time to decide.
Read an exclusive excerpt:
The two of us sat on the bench outside of his hut, drinking the afternoon wine I’d brought and eating the holiday honey cakes I’d stuffed in my bag.
“Why aren’t you married?” I hoped I didn’t sound rude.
He nodded as if he’d expected the question.
“I’m the seed of fertile people on both sides and the recipient of unfortunate timing.”
My puzzled look must have told him I didn’t understand.
“Ahhh… of course this would confuse you. Where to start? Scrudites prefer to marry our own, for many reasons, but this preference requires us to pay attention to lineage.”
“You worry about incest?”
“Bluntly put, but yes. We try to avoid having even more distant relatives ….what I’m trying to say is that while my sisters have several men to choose from, I’m too closely related to every unmarried woman in my clan.”
“Oh. So you’re …”
“Celibate. By custom and choice, except when I travel and I don’t leave often. I can’t and won’t leave the carvers for good and that’s the real problem.”
“You won’t leave for good?” Had he just said he’d never leave the forest’s edge? Like never go live in K’ba with a woman he loves?
I sucked in a breath of air to keep from speaking.
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She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how eccentric she is.
All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/cinnabar01
Facebook: www.facebook.com/46Ascending
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/s.r.cronin/
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5805814.Sherrie_Cronin
Amazon: www.amazon.com/Sherrie-Cronin/e/B007FRMO9Q
Author Blog: https://sherriecronin.xyz/
Book Series Blog: https://troublesome7sisters.xyz/
S. R. Cronin will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThe cover is amazing and I love the title.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for having me here today!
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a great read.
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