Category: Books

Aekhartain, Books, Updates

Icarus Child is Out!

Becca Lusher

Well, I made it *collapse*

Cover_3 Icarus Child

Once there was an island and on that island there lived a boy…

 Britain 135 BC

Orphaned at birth and raised by his aunt on an isolated island, Icastar has led a far from normal life. His body is misshapen, his days are tormented by whispering winds and demanding ghosts, and he only has seals for friends.

But there is more to this boy than his physical hardships and lonely location. The island and his own body might try to hold him down, caging him inside a world of pain, but he is the Icarus Child.

One day he will fly – or die trying.

Available Now from Smashwords!

All other retailers are currently pending, but it should be available everywhere soon.

I’ll put up a proper book page soon as well as the appropriate links as and when they come in. For now, I don’t want to look at another keyboard for the next 12 hours – or more if I can swing it.

Why is it that every time I upload a book to Smashwords it finds a new and even more irritating bug to plague me with? Today it was the .EPUB version, which I’ve never had much bother with before. Ah well, such is life.

In other news – Merry Imbolc, to those in the Northern Hemisphere who celebrate such things! (And Merry Lammas/Lughnasa/Lughnasadh to those in the Southern half.)

Welcome back, Spring – and happy birthday, Icastar/Shaiel!

All right, so it might be a bit early to declare the return of spring just yet, but at least it’s been a beautiful day here. I might just find a patch of sunlight to curl up in and fall asleep. My brain hurts.

Merry Tuesday, everyone.

Aekhartain, Books

SALE!

Becca Lusher

To celebrate the end of another year, the halfway point of another northern winter, Christmas, Yule, the solstice or just because, I’m holding a bit of a sale.

Are you ready?

FREEBIES!

While Sing to Me and Be With Me remain free from everywhere except Amazon – and always will be, since they were written to be given away – Sisters of Icarus is still available for nothing. Sadly, again, this is everywhere except Amazon, and will remain so until The Icarus Child is out, at the very least. Perhaps longer, I haven’t decided yet.

Now, just until January, you can also get Dark Rebel for FREE! If you’ve been a bit unsure about venturing into my Anglo-Saxon world, now’s your chance to explore for free. Let Demero guide you as you get a glimpse at Caligo’s life and see how the Aekhartain of Darkness comes about.

Click on any of the covers below for links and more details.

An Aekhartain Romance  Be With Me  Cover_1 Sisters of Icarus  Cover - Dark Rebel

DISCOUNTS!

Just for the love of it, if you’re still looking for something to read after you’re done with the freebies above, then have a couple of discounts to tide you over.

From now until the beginning of January both Unbound and Free and The Rebel Returns are only .99 (£/$/Euros etc). So if you want more Demero/Demairo, he’s all over both of these books. Plus more Shaiel and Caligo too. What’s not to love?

And for those on Amazon, Dark Rebel will be this price too, since it’s the cheapest Amazon will let me go.

Unbound and Free  Cover - Dark Rebel  The Rebel Returns

Grab ’em while they’re cheap!

Elsewhere, The Crying Child has increased in price, while Orion’s Kiss remains the same. Keep an eye out in February for a freebie run of the latter.

Until then… happy reading!

Aekhartain, Books, Writing

The Crying Child

Becca Lusher

The Crying Child

~ Icarus Child #2 ~

Once there was an island, and on that island there lived three cousins…

Britain 142 BC

Cover_2 Crying Child The Sisters of Icarus may all be gone, but the next generation remains. Bitter, half-selkie and broken, the three women are different in many ways, yet one thing connects them: the island and its quest for a new Icarus.

Ghosts and family, selkies and betrayal, love and loss, these cousins are on a journey that will change all of their lives. And when the stars fall nothing will ever be the same again.

For there will be a new Icarus – the island will accept nothing less.

No matter what the cost.

Available Now!
Amazon: US || UK || AUS || CAN || DE
Smashwords || B&N || iBooks || Kobo

The Crying Child in Brief
What’s in it?: A 78,000 word novel (around 246 pages)
When is it set?: 142-141 BC
Where is it set?: Iron Age Britain, pre-Roman.
What kind of story is it?: A family drama between three cousins, involving jealousy, love, friendship, betrayal, selkies, lots of chores, ghostly goings on and general island creepiness.
What’s the genre?: Historical Fantasy.
Any age restrictions?: Not really. Although it is more geared towards adult themes, such as childbirth, romance, jealousy, etc.

Behind the Story
This used to be the middle section of the original Icarus Child story, and was the part where not a lot happened, except for the island being creepy and characters being miserable. So this time around I wanted to do things differently – starting with Callirye and her little romantic interlude. In the original that was all dealt with in barely a paragraph, but this time around I wanted to know more about her. Especially as in this version she’s Cana and Fox’s daughter.
While I was expanding her story, the island was going behind my back and changing other things. So, if you’re one of the unfortunate people who read the original version on Elfwood around ten years ago, this version is quite a bit different. It’s also made my life very difficult for the last part of the trilogy, but that’s the island for you.

Extras
The original dedication for this book was a bit long, so I cut it down rather drastically. However, since I wrote the long version for a reason I thought I’d include the full thing here.

To Family

Whether big or small, near or far, close or distant, family is the one thing that is always there.
By blood or friendship, bound by shared memories and experiences, real family will never let you down
– or if they do then they are the ones worth forgiving.
They know your worst secrets, drive you to tears and infuriate you as nothing else can, but they also make you laugh, sing all your favourite songs and share in those awful movies that no one else will watch with you.
Family is the hearth that warms the soul.

May your family be strong and your friends be family.

Always.


Read on for the opening chapter from The Crying Child, and be aware that it may contain spoilers for Sisters of Icarus.

Continue reading “The Crying Child” →

Books, Updates, Writing

The Crying Child is Coming!

Becca Lusher

Though I have been quiet, I have been working hard (promise) and The Crying Child is on its way.

Cover_2 Crying Child

Once there was an island, and on that island there lived three cousins…

Britain 142 BC

The Sisters of Icarus may all be gone, but the next generation remains. Bitter, half-selkie and broken, the three women are different in many ways, yet one thing connects them: the island and its quest for a new Icarus.

Ghosts and family, selkies and betrayal, love and loss, these cousins are on a journey that will change all of their lives. And when the stars fall nothing will ever be the same again.

For there will be a new Icarus – the island will accept nothing less.

No matter what the cost.

At this precise moment in time it’s working its way through the mysterious KDP and Smashwords distribution/checking systems so as yet it’s only available from Smashwords, but hopefully within the next day or two all the links will be up and I can post them all.

Also within the next few days I’ll be making Sisters of Icarus FREE! More details on that when I’ve sorted out a few Smashwords related issues.

In the meantime, The Crying Child is coming!

Books, Updates, Writing

Sisters is Out!

Becca Lusher

Cover_1 Sisters of Icarus
The first in the Icarus Child Trilogy is available now!

Amazon: US || UK || AUS || CAN || DE
Smashwords || B&N || iBooks || Kobo ||

Actually it’s been out for over a week, but in my rush to get it ready on time I overloaded my brain and have been useless for anything else since. Oops. Still, better late than never, right?

Cover_2 Crying ChildIn the meantime I’m back at work on the next one – The Crying Child – and I hope to offer both excerpts from Sisters and a few chapter previews from The Crying Child over the next few weeks until it’s ready to be released, which will probably be November now. But as this year seems determined to teach me, the even the best laid plans are prone to going astray…

I’ll try my best to keep on track. Until then – don’t let the island eat you!

Aekhartain, Books, Writing

Sisters of Icarus

Becca Lusher

Sisters of Icarus

~ Icarus Child #1 ~

Once there was an island, and on that island there lived a boy, but before that boy there was another child. And before that child there were three sisters.
Those sisters had a brother.

His name was Icarus.

Britain 163 BC
Cover_1 Sisters of Icarus

On a small island just off the south coast, three sisters are determined to survive against nature’s unmerciful odds, but their brother is mad, everyone thinks they are strange and old voices cry on the wind.

Battling against love, grief, selkies and ghosts, middle sister Raccanta will face many tests of her strength if she intends to keep her sisters safe – and her promises intact. For on the mainland there lives a man who walks the woods and shows Raccanta a world that could tempt her far away.

Except the island keeps what it takes and it has no intentions of letting any of its sisters go.

Available Now!
Amazon: US || UK || AUS || CAN || DE
Smashwords || B&N || iBooks || Kobo ||

Sisters of Icarus in Brief
What’s in it?: A 101,000 word novel
When is it set?: 163-158 BC
Where is it set?: Iron Age Britain, pre-Roman.
What kind of story is it?: A family drama with a bit of romance, a lot of domesticity, broken hearts, selkies, jealous spirits and general island creepiness.
What’s the genre?: Historical Fantasy.
Any age restrictions?: Not really. Although it is more geared towards adult themes, such as childbirth, allusions to an abusive relationship and general ghostly gore.

Behind the Story
The original Icarus Child was one novel split into three sections, detailing the life of Shaiel, the first Aekhartain (which is actually Demero, since Shaiel is… different. As I discovered when I wrote this book eleven years ago). The first part – Sisters of Icarus – was supposed to be a chapter or two introducing Icarus and the women who became Shaiel’s ancestors. I’ve always been drawn to the story of Icarus and there’s something about the word that I really, really like, so I couldn’t resist borrowing a bit of the legend for my book. Which fits in quite neatly with my winged Aekhartain.
Of course the original story ran away with me, mostly thanks to the middle sister, Raccanta/Cana, and the way her life twists and turns. What was supposed to be around five thousand words of backstory turned into a fifty thousand word romance and definitely took on a life of its own.
Because, as I often do, I grew rather attached to my throwaway characters (Cana and Fox this time around) I desperately wanted to find a way to bring them back into the Aekhartain story. In the past I simply made it work because *magic!*, but this time around I needed to find an honest way for how that would happen. Which also meant I needed to work out why a man would have a very Greek name in Iron Age Britain. The latter I solved by marooning a Greek traveller on the isolated island, after his exploratory trip went wrong, but the former involved changing a few things.
None of which I can go into here for spoiler reasons ;)
In the end I tweaked the plot here and there, coloured in the details and tried to make it fit into a true time period for the first time, but in essence much of the original is still here. It just grew even bigger this time around – and I actually knew what was supposed to happen. I just wish the other two were going to be as straight forward.

Read on for the opening chapter of Sisters of Icarus!

Continue reading “Sisters of Icarus” →

Aekhartain, Books, Writing

The Rebel Returns

Becca Lusher

TALES OF THE AEKHARTAIN
Historical Aekhartain
~ Dark Rebellion 2 ~

The Rebel Returns

The shadows are stirring, a tower will rise,
and thoughts of revenge are sweet.
It’s time to fear the darkness.

Nawaquí Caligo may have fallen, but his struggle goes on. Stranded on a remote world with only loyal Noctis for company, Caligo is changed but not defeated.

The road ahead is long, full of shadows and loss and regret. Can he find a way to free himself from thoughts of blood and revenge, or is he doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?

The darkness is coming and this rebel’s fight is far from over yet.

Available Now!

Amazon: ||US||UK||AUS||DE||CAN||
|| Smashwords || B&N || iTunes || Kobo ||


The Rebel Returns in Brief
What’s in it?: A 70,000 word novel, with a bonus short story at the end
When is it set?: 1000-1002 AD
Where is it set?: Anglo-Saxon England and a deserted other world.
What kind of story is it?: One of madness, guilt, grief and revenge. Lots and lots of revenge. Also Vikings, marauding and enjoying themselves.
What’s the genre?: Historical Fantasy.
Any age restrictions?: Not really. There’s some mild language, a bit of violence and some warfare.

Behind the Story
I never intended for this to be two books. I wanted to wrap up Nawaquí/Caligo’s story in one, but as often happens, when I returned to my original stories everything got a bit bigger – and hopefully better.
One of the main reasons why this ended up as two books rather than one was because I wanted to explore where things went wrong between Nawaquí and Demero. Demero’s such a sweet, forgiving guy that I knew something had to have happened, but I’d never written it before. Now I have, and that – along with the fall of Caligo and his descent into Nawaquí – is what this book is about. So if you’re a Mero fan, he is all over this story.
The additional story – St. Brice’s Day – was written to tie up the loose ends between Nawaquí and Maskai. It didn’t fit anywhere else and I liked the ending of RR as it was, so I added the extra story to take care of the larger Aekhartain Tales threads rather than cramming it in where it didn’t really belong.

Read on for a sneak-peek at The Rebel Returns!

Continue reading “The Rebel Returns” →

Aekhartain, Books

The Rebel is Coming!

Becca Lusher

He’s back!

The Rebel Returns

The shadows are stirring, a tower will rise,
and thoughts of revenge are sweet.
It’s time to fear the darkness.

Nawaquí Caligo may have fallen, but his struggle goes on. Stranded on a remote world with only loyal Noctis for company, Caligo is changed but not defeated.

The road ahead is long, full of shadows and loss and regret. Can he find a way to free himself from thoughts of blood and revenge, or is he doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past?

The darkness is coming and this rebel’s fight is far from over yet.

The Rebel Returns

Get it now:
Smashwords
Other retailers coming soon!

Aekhartain, Books

Dark Rebel is Out Now!

Becca Lusher

Dark Rebel 9
Dark Rebel is finally out!

This is part one of Caligo’s two-part tale, Dark Rebellion, the second of which will be coming soon.

It’s also on special offer until April 1st.

Buy it now at Amazon |US|UK|AUS|| Smashwords || iBooks

More links to come when they reach me.

In Other News…

Unbound and Free has been updated and the price has increased. I’ll be posting a deleted short story from that soon.

Spot-the-Aekh and other Dark Rebel related goodies will also be coming soon.

Aekhartain, Books, Writing

Dark Rebel

Becca Lusher

TALES OF THE AEKHARTAIN
Historical Aekhartain 
~ Dark Rebellion 1 ~

A shadow lies over the marshes of Dumnonia.
A man moves in the darkness. He is a whisper, a legend. He is the Dark Dumnonii… and he’s looking for revenge.

In the year 814 AD Egbert, King of Wessex, ravaged and conquered Dumnonia, but there were some who resisted. Eleven years on and the Britons refuse to be subdued. Now the king has returned and the rebels are waiting.

Amongst them is Caligo, a man of darkness, a shadow in the marsh, and he is determined to take back that which was stolen.

Available Now!
Amazon: ||US||UK||AUS||DE||CAN||
|| Smashwords || B&N || iTunes || Kobo ||

Continue reading “Dark Rebel” →