Some heroes have swords. Essimore Darkenchyl has a pen. But it’s a magic pen.
Some wizards have spellbooks. Essie has Gossen’s Guide to Shipping Law. But it’s a current edition.
Some sailors have . . . experience. Essie has a new diploma and a year-long contract, and her people have won wars with less.
And that’s good, because between stolen weapons, a coup, and a strange disease creeping in around her and the crew, she might need to win a war.
In a world that blends traditional fantasy with the Age of Exploration, Essie knows a pen is mightier than a sword, especially since hers sometimes shoots lightning.
But what she thinks is a routine political dispute turns out to be something much, much more, and she may have finally met the one problem she can’t talk her way out of.
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EXCERPT:
Essie cleared her throat. From her backpack, she removed the letter of service that granted her travel permission to sail on the ship. It was folded neatly into thirds, with a glittering blue wax seal on it.
“Essimore Darkenchyl at your service, sir. I’m your new fully licensed shipping coordinator with Power of the Pen. It’s an honor to be aboard.”
The captain took the letter without opening it, folded it in half with no regard for the beautiful wax seal, folded it messily again, and jammed it into his pocket. The whole time, Essie winced.
“Right-o.” As he smiled, the older man’s cheeks dimpled and his white teeth shined in the sun. “Well, I thought we were leaving without you, but here you are. Good on you. Great. Yeah.” The captain turned to the teenager at his side. “Grab her bag and get her stuff to her room. She can hang out there til dinner.”
As the teenager shouldered her bag and grunted, she and the captain looked at each other, the captain with his beaming smile. Once the teenager left, she said, “Thanks for welcoming me onto your ship.”
“Yeah. Fully licensed, you say?”
“Absolutely!”
“Okay. Have a nice one. See you at dinner.”
“Don’t we need to . . . uh . . . onboard?”
“You’re already on board. You managed that just fine.”
“But . . . signing things. Paperwork. Reviewing the staff log. Staff log, sir!”
The captain’s smile faded, but reappeared so fast she wasn’t sure if she’d seen it go.
“Okay, fine. Let’s talk in my cabin.”
About Author:
Zac Lindsey is an anthropologist and a linguist who focuses on the Maya people of Quintana Roo. Since childhood, he’s had a not-so-secret love of weird, silly, and well-structured fantasy. When other people’s parents were reading them picture books, his mom was reading him Terry Brooks. He typically writes hopeful and character-driven fantasy.
Today, he lives in Quintana Roo, Mexico with his wife, daughter, and various stray cats.
Insta: https://www.instagram.com/z.lindsey_fiction/
Face: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550498257222
Amazon preorders (for ebook): https://www.amazon.com/River-Against-Sea-Z-Lindsey-ebook/dp/B0CH3TW3YD/
B&N preorders (for paperback): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-river-against-the-sea-z-lindsey/1144077772
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Q and A with Author:
How did you come up with the concept of your book?
The book started off as an idea my wife had for a Dungeons and Dragons character. She never got to play the character, though. So when we had our kid, I told my wife stories about the character to entertain her while we had to be quiet and keep the baby sleeping. Since you also do beauty blogging, I thought you’d enjoy knowing that the main character, Essie Darkenchyl, is named for the nail polish brand! She’s from a fantasy world, but if she lived in our world, she’d rock Ella&Mila’s Drippin’ Gold.
While fashion and beauty aren’t a huge part of the book, I had a lot of fun describing the clothing and makeup of the island chain Essie goes to. Though the clothes Essie wears are bland as is expected for her job as a bureaucrat, her ally Two Rabbit wears some pretty intense makeup and magic earrings.
I like there is a magic pen in your story. How did you come up with this idea?
One of the jokes of the book is that there is magic, but for most people it’s pretty boring. Instead of doing cool things with it like summoning great winds or lightning storms, they usually just use it to weigh boxes and finalize contracts. So a pen seemed to make more sense than a wand (although Essie ends up using her pen more like a wand anyway). I was also inspired by the scene in The Secret of NIMH where the rat writes these beautiful cursive letters as magic sparks fly from his pen.
How long have you been writing?
I wrote a short story that made absolutely no sense when I was in fourth grade and I haven’t stopped since then. For a while, I wrote journalism, then academic works, but now I’m back to fiction.
Z. Lindsey will be awarding a $20 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f4756/