My
New Release by Sarah J. McNeal
Legends
of Winatuke: Pennytook & Peregrine’s Curse
Fire
Star Press
Buy Links:
My new release is actually 2 stories in one volume which
finalizes the Legends of Winatuke series. PENNYTOOK is the first story, a short
story about the Gypsy who has helped so many rid themselves of the Witch-Queen through
his knowledge wisdom, and courage. In this short story, Pennytook finally finds
love again.
PENNYTOOK,
Legends of Winatuke book4
Myths are supposed to be false…but some are terrifying
and true.
Blurb:
Pennytook is a war weary Gypsy who longs for peace from
the past and wants something meaningful in his life.
Esmeralda, a Gypsy trick rider, has harbored a deep
affection for the chieftain, Pennytook, for many years. But her dark secret
will never allow him into her life.
A mythological creature is about to unleash its horror
and change the destinies of Esmeralda and Pennytook.
Excerpt:
"Aye. That mare in the ring would be a good
match." Sabo tilted his head in the direction of the performer. A crowd of
Chergari and Djamba Gypsies had gathered around the riding ring where they
stood, and cheered as the performer flipped backward and landed with her feet
on the horse's back. When she did the same trick through a ring of fire, the
crowd's cheers grew even more enthusiastic.
"Do you know that chi? I must make her an offer for her mare." Pennytook hoped
his friend could introduce her to him, but not just to speak to her of horses.
"I wonder that I have never seen her before—not even at the annual horse
trading in Vel'ka Mulano or at one of the festivals in Valmora. Do you know her
or where she comes from?"
A breeze ruffled the eagle's feathers. The creature
cocked its head as if it listened to some far off sound. Sabo made a clicking
sound with his tongue and the bird settled quietly on his arm. "Her name
is Esmeralda Kanaluka."
Something about her seemed familiar, but Pennytook felt
certain he had never seen her before. Perhaps she reminded him of his beloved
wife. He had lost Anka when they were imprisoned on the Dark Isle so many years
ago. The horror of her death haunted him still.
The second story in the duet is a novella, PEREGRINE’S
CURSE. This final story was the most challenging story I’ve written so far.
Because the heroine is deaf, I had to find ways to make her communicate through
sign language, lip reading, and her odd speech. She is also a dancer and I had
to find unique ways for her to understand the patterns of music and move to
them. Above all, this is a love story.
A
musician who cannot love and a dancer who cannot hear …Can they find happiness?
Blurb:
Peregrine McKnight is a successful musician and composer
who wants above all things to fall in love, marry a woman who understands him
completely, and to have a family as close as the one in which he was raised.
Though Peregrine is blessed with unusual music ability, he is cursed. After a
foray into the dimension of Winatuke to save a prince from the witch-queen,
Peregrine was thrown into the deadly Lake of Sorrows where he suffered a curse
from the evil Nivasi king who ruled
there. He managed to survive the curse, but its shadow remains preventing him
from falling in love.
Parisa Jahida Habuba, a Bedouin, survived the war in
Syria along with her older brother after their parents and younger brother were
killed in the conflict. Her aunt and uncle, who live near Wilmington, North
Carolina, adopted Parisa and her brother when they were children and gave them
sanctuary in America. Her Uncle Rahim is a Christian minister and her Aunt
Alice raises a line of superior Arabian horses. Her brother, Ahmad formed a friendship
with Falcon McKnight and Thomas Zoradia and, through them, she learns of a
position for a dancer with the famous musician, Peregrine McKnight, Falcon’s
younger brother. It may be her only chance to prove she can dance in spite of
her hearing loss.
When she falls on stage in the middle of a performance,
Parisa believes she has ruined her chance at dancing. But when Peregrine helped
her up and began to dance with her as if it were part of the performance,
something unexpected happened between them.
It might take a miracle for Peregrine and Parisa to find
love. But, in Winatuke anything is possible.
Excerpt:
Peregrine ran his gaze over the filled seats in the
audience and grinned. This is what I
love; playing my music and having people enjoy it. He placed his violin
under his chin and signaled to the small band of musicians and the backup
dancers. The audience cheered as Peregrine began to play.
A couple of tunes into the show everything was going
great. Peregrine felt confident that his new album was going to be a success. A
glance back over his shoulder at the backup dancers told him Albert had done a
terrific job on hiring the choreographer and dance company. The costumes were
colorful, ruffled renditions of Gypsy dancers he remembered so fondly from that
other dimension and his family’s secret world of Winatuke. He smiled to himself
as he thought of his friends in that magical realm: Pennytook, the Gypsy
chieftain, his brothers-in-law, Gabriel and Raphael Fionn, both princes in the
kingdom of Valmora. The smile faded when he remembered the demon who threw him
into the malignant Lake of Sorrows and the curse the Navasi king cast over him.
With painful clarity, Peregrine remembered how the curse kept him from ever
falling in love. He would never experience the most intimate relationship a
human could have or ever hope for a family of his own. His music was all he
had.
All of the sudden, the audience gasped, and Peregrine’s
thoughts were swept away from Winatuke and his curse when he glanced back and
saw one of the dancers had fallen. She glanced up and met his gaze with dark
eyes filled with humiliation. He handed his violin over to another musician and
signaled for them to keep playing. There’s
only one thing I can do.
Peregrine walked casually over to the dancer and
stretched out his hand to her. A cloud of confusion moved across her face as
she took his hand and allowed him to help her to her feet.
“Am I fired?” she asked in an odd slurred voice.
“My God, woman, are you drunk?” Peregrine wrapped one arm
around her waist and held her other hand in his.
The woman shook her head. “No, of course not.”
“We’re going to dance the Samba and make it look like
it’s part of the act. Can you do that?”
She nodded her head in the affirmative. Her eyes were
wide and alert and she certainly didn’t dance like someone inebriated. The
Samba suited this piece of music perfectly and Peregrine was relieved when the
audience clapped and cheered as he and the dancer began to move into the
sensual dance.
Sarah J. McNeal
Author of Heartwarming
Stories
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