C.S. Lewis, George MacDonald, J.R.R Tolkien … their names are legendary because they didn’t just give us stories that inspired us, they gave us worlds to wander.
Those worlds still call to many of us. They haunt our dreams. They inform our thinking.
And they still inspire us, somehow, to live more fully and seek more meaning in our own worlds.
If you haven’t heard yet, I’m running a giveaway this month that features a brand-new Kindle Fire and two full series, in paperback. The series in question are Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s TALES OF GOLDSTONE WOOD (8 novels and a novella) and my own SEVENTH WORLD TRILOGY (by Rachel Starr Thomson, if you don’t know whose blog you’re on … yeah, I know, that happens in this weird world we call the Internet.)
I wanted to give away copies of Anne Elisabeth’s books because I love the world she created in Goldstone Wood. It’s like all the best old fairy stories, with deeper meaning under it all that can change how we see our own world.
And of course, I tried to create something like that in the Seventh World Trilogy too. Readers tell me it worked.
One reader and friend tells me that he often quotes a line from The Seventh World Trilogy in worship:
He is the Sun-King, and the Moon-King,
And All-the-Stars King,
And he shines like them all together.
WIN TWO CHRISTIAN FANTASY SERIES IN PAPERBACK
Excerpt from Heartless
“Yes,” she said, nodding. A determined line settled between her brows, and she took a few more steps across the bridge, the heels of her shoes clunking on the planks. “I’m going to cross over.”
“No, you aren’t.” Felix swung his feet up on the bridge and leaned back to support himself on his hands. He watched her, his head tilted to one side as she stood looking into the far forest extending down Goldstone Hill.
“You aren’t,” he said again.
“I will.”
“When?”
She did not answer for several long moments. Felix pushed himself to his feet and went to stand beside her. They gazed into the leaf-shrouded shadows.
Goldstone Wood waited.
A breeze darted between them, dragged at Una’s skirt, and skittered off into the forest beyond, rustling leaves as it went. The trees laughed quietly together, and their branches seemed to point at the brother and sister standing solemnly on the Old Bridge.
Somewhere far away down the hillside, a wood thrush sang again. The breeze darted back, carrying the silvery song to their ears–a song of mystery, of secrets.
“Now,” Una whispered at last. “I’ll go right now.”
Excerpt from Burning Light.
Black water lapped black rock under flickering torchlight, and the men of two worlds bowed their heads as Divad raised his hands and spoke.
“Blessed be the King of the World, who teacheth our hands to war,” he intoned. “Blessed be those who lay down their lives for the right.”
The Ploughman listened with his eyes fixed on the cavern ceiling, searching beyond the rock for a glimmer of light. Golden light. He was not alone. He knew that now.
In a boat behind him, a tall man sat with his limbs pulled in, his face shadowed by the hood of his cloak. His eyes were fixed on the leader of Pravik, the one who had tried to force him to choose allegiance. Asa had chosen his allegiance, though no other knew it. He listened to the words of the high priest with distaste, feeling only the slightest of pangs as he remembered what it felt like to believe in something greater than himself.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Anne Elisabeth Stengl
Anne Elisabeth Stengl makes her home in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband, Rohan, a passel of cats, and one long-suffering dog. When she’s not writing, she enjoys Shakespeare, opera, and tea, and studies piano, painting, and pastry baking. She studied illustration at Grace College and English literature at Campbell University. She is the author of the award-winning Tales of Goldstone Woods series, an ever-growing world of knights and dragons, mystical forests and hidden demesnes, unspeakable evil and boundless grace.
Her first novel, Heartless, won the Christy award for best debut in 2011, followed by an unprecedented consecutive win the next year for Veiled Rose, in its own category, and Starflower was most recently honored with the Clive Staples Award for 2013.
Rachel Starr Thomson
Rachel Starr Thomson is in love with Jesus and convinced the gospel will change the world.
A speaker and spoken-word artist with 1:11 Ministries, Rachel leads audiences worldwide in exploring the depths of biblical truth. She is also the author of the Seventh World Trilogy, The Oneness Cycle, and many other books.
Her blog, Revelatory Creative, shares studies and stories to reveal Jesus anew. Check it out at www.rachelstarrthomson.com.
In her other life, Rachel is a freelance editor and publishing consultant. Visit her website and check out her editing services, or take the leap from rough draft to published with Independent Publishing Solutions (www.independentpublishingsolutions.com).
Rachel lives in the beautiful Niagara Region of southern Ontario, just down the river from the Falls. She drinks far too much coffee and tea, daydreams of visiting Florida all winter, and hikes the Bruce Trail when she gets a few minutes. A homeschool graduate from a highly creative and entrepreneurial family, she believes we’d all be much better off if we pitched our television sets out the nearest window.
ENTER THE CONTEST NOW
Because, why not? There is nothing to lose and a world of adventure and inspiration awaiting.
The giveaway closes July 3, 2016.
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