I’ve got a massive backlist out there, but I’m focusing mostly on my indie releases now, which a lot of my readers haven’t heard of yet. So we’re going to be putting up excerpts of the indie work I’ve done—both full length and short collections, each Wednesday, to encourage you to give my new work a try.
Today’s excerpt comes from Moon Shimmers.
Series Page: https://galenorn.com/series/otherworld/
Book Page to find buy links: https://galenorn.com/book/moon-shimmers/
THISTLEWYD DEEP ENVELOPED us like a glove enveloping a hand. It sucked us in, closing away the world outside. The outskirts of the Windwillow Valley had been alive with the sound of droning bees and bird song that flickered through the air. The hum of summer reverberated through the valley, but the moment we passed into the borders of the Deep, the sounds changed. Oh, it wasn’t silent here, not by any stretch of the imagination, but the birdsong changed to echoing calls, haunting and lonely. And bees still skimmed the bushes and flowers, but their hum was drowned out by that of the forest itself. The magic ran so thick here in the Deep that it tattooed its own beat, low and resonant, through the woodland.
Delilah nudged her mount over toward me, so we were riding side by side. She hadn’t ever been to Thistlewyd Deep, although she had been through Darkynwyrd, which could easily be a wooded nightmare of its own.
“The forest makes me uneasy. I feel we’re being watched,” she said in low tones.
“That’s because we are. We have a couple days’ ride to get through this part of the Deep so you might as well get used to it. This is where I felled…” I stopped, glancing ahead at Bran. If he could hear us, he made no indication. “The Black Beast. Within this wood.”
“The forest practically reeks with Raven Mother’s energy. Everything feels chaotic and topsy-turvy. I wouldn’t want to live here.” She shuddered, but when Bran gave a quick glance over his shoulder, she fell silent.
“Watch what you say here. And watch what you think. As deadly as the goblins and their ilk are, this is probably one of the most dangerous places in Otherworld.” I used my knee to nudge my mount to quicken her pace. The sooner we were through the Deep and into the mountains the better. But I was curious about the safe place Bran had mentioned. The words “safe” and “Thistlewyd Deep” didn’t exactly go together.
We rode in silence for some time. I wasn’t sure how long—watches didn’t work very well in the Deep, and I couldn’t wear one anyway. My aura stopped them like…well…like clockwork. But the morning gave way to noon before Bran motioned to a side path off trail. He tsked at his horse and turned to the left, heading northwest into the thicket of undergrowth that carpeted the forest floor. Foliage grew knee high here, ferns and brambles, shashka bushes and ivyvine. The forest was a lot like those of the Pacific Northwest over Earthside, coniferous and ancient. The oak groves tended to grow in the Elfin lands, but here, conifers ruled, tall fir and spruce, sequoia and cedar.
