Release Week for Unclean

The big day arrived yesterday, and Unclean (The Hexborn Chronicles Book 2) is finally live on Amazon Kindle! Check out the blurb and these early reviews!

Sometimes love comes after marriage. Sometimes peace requires a war.

 
Shiloh was born cursed, but she was raised to fight. And a fight is just what she and Silas have on their hands. The new queen is out for blood. Her allies in the church begin a purge as brutal as it is efficient. Soon, Silas sits locked in the Dark Tower, and Shiloh labors under the cruel eye of the most powerful priest in the realm . . . a man with evil ambitions of his own.

Not content to wait for help that might never come, Shiloh is determined to save herself, Silas, and the innocents who surround her. New friends help her to form a daring plan while Silas works desperately to wield influence at court from inside his prison cell. But even if Shiloh prevails, she has no idea what comes next.

Can Shiloh harness her magic in a new way to protect herself, her husband, and the people of Bryn? Can she face a future that is not the one she would have chosen? And will Silas still be by her side? 

Don't miss this sequel to the award-winning Hexborn!

Here is an Amazon Review from one of my ARC (Advance Review Copy) readers :

"Unclean" is a wonderful sequel to Hexborn, Manay's venture into fantasy adventure. Well placed for fans of Robin McKinley's The Blue Sword or The Hero and the Crown, the book deviates from the Cromwell-Tudor theme to a unique plot line filled with suspense, double cross, and heroic deeds. (And while Elizabeth was always rumored to be a witch, Shiloh actually has magical powers.)

Manay spends sufficient time establishing her characters, including a truly horrid villain, yet manages to keep the plot and action moving so the reader does not lose interest. One of the strongest references I can give in support is the morning after receiving the advance copy, I spent the day yawning at work since I stayed up all night reading. And, I still wish the third book was already available.

Grab your copy on Kindle or in paperback and see what all the fuss is about!

Local Press for Unclean

I'm pleased as punch to be mentioned in my town's local paper this week. Check out this article in the Independent about the forthcoming launch of my novel Unclean.
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The Geography of the Hexborn Chronicles

I feel like it's not really a high fantasy novel unless there is a map. Not that I'm one to ever look at it while I'm reading--I'm not much of a visual person. But I did want to have one as I was writing the Hexborn Chronicles. They say to write what you know, so I based the geography on the region where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area. I did a rough pencil sketch then hired designer Taran Lopez to make my vision beautiful.

I put the capital city where San Francisco would be located, naturally. My own town I placed in the Flats, as we are in a valley here. The San Joachin Valley became the Range. Napa and Sonoma, naturally, became the Vine. The Sierras became the Teeth. You get the idea.

You see in the map shaded areas labeled with skulls. Those are the Deadlands, places damaged by dark magic during the recent Sibling's War. Just as the war's curses marked Shiloh's body, so too did they mark the land where large battles took place, leaving them blackened and barren. In Hexborn, Shiloh discovers a way to heal portions of those lands. In Unclean, you'll see how she takes it further.

Do you look at the maps in books you are reading? Why or why not?

Inspirations for the Hexborn Chronicles

People often ask me where I get my ideas. Honestly, I'm not really sure about many of them, but there are a few I can trace back. Today, I'm sharing with you some of the inspirations behind my Hexborn Chronicles Series.

Some ideas I get from history. For example, the court in Hexborn is loosely based on that of Henry VIII. I went on a Philippa Gregory binge some years ago, and I found the people in and around the Tudor dynasty endlessly fascinating. As you may recall, Henry parted ways with the Pope because he wanted a divorce from his first wife in order to marry Anne Boleyn, partly due to his lack of a male heir. In Hexborn, King Rischar has taken over the church and cast his own wife aside for similar reasons. The Tudor line rose to power at the end of the War of the Roses, another fascinating time period in British history, in which cousins were fighting over the throne. So, I thought, what if you took royal adultery and a religious reformation, added a dash of wizards, and set it following a civil war between a brother and sister rather than between cousins? That's what inspired the political situation in the world of Hexborn.

The political situation in Unclean, book two of the series, is inspired partly by the Inquisition. When Mary became queen of England after the death of her father, Henry VIII, she married the king of Spain, bought back the Catholic Church, and started rounding up enemies and Protestants, Spanish style. In Unclean, Esta takes the throne and restores the Patriarch to power over the faith in Bryn. The church, in turn, helps her round up her own enemies along with Reformers and heretics.

As for main character Shiloh's and her hexborn condition, I think that idea began when I was thinking about Harry Potter and what would have happened if Bellatrix Lestrange had had a child. I mean, obviously, the Death Eater would be a terrible mother. But I wondered if all that dark magic she cast might affect the baby the way Voldemort's evil magic warped his appearance. What if magic could affect a baby the way some medicines can, leaving the child with a permanent disability? That question was the seed for Shiloh's character and her affliction.

As you can see, I'm influenced by history and by other fiction. You never know what will spark an idea. I hope you are interested enough to grab a copy of one of my books. Unclean will be out next week, and it is currently available for pre-order. Hexborn is on sale for two more weeks at the bargain price of $0.99. Happy reading!

The Unclean Trailer

I wanted to write today about the trailer I've created for Unclean, the Hexborn sequel being released on February 19th. I did things a little differently this time. I've recently gotten my first Mac (the new Mackbook Air, which I love), so this time I played around with a template in iMovie. Take a look, and let me know what you think.

I thought I'd tell you a little about some of the images I chose. I chose these two to represent the deepening of the relationship between Shiloh and Silas that takes place over the course of the book. I don't know that I would call it a proper romance, but their bond certainly changes character.

Here is a depiction of our primary villain, Fenroh. He's a priest in the Elder's Order, fanatical supporters of the Patriarch. He's also the Patriarch's illegitimate son. He merited a brief and unflattering mention in Hexborn. Silas characterized him as "unstable." You will get to see just how right he was in the first third of Unclean.

This one is meant to represent Shiloh's biological father, Keegan, the chief of the Feralfolk. As you know from Hexborn, Shiloh and Silas both have a violent history with him. You will get to find out more about the complexity of that history over the course of Unclean.

Anyway, I hope the trailer makes you excited to read the next chapter of Shiloh's adventure. Order your copy here, and happy reading!

The Unclean Playlist

As many of you know, whenever I write a book, I put together a playlist whose songs reflect various aspects or themes of the work. My playlist for Unclean (which drops February 19th!) is just about finished. You can follow it on Spotify and both enjoy the songs and keep up to date on any future additions to the list. In this post, I'll discuss the meaning behind my choices for a few of my fave songs on the list. In case you don't have Spotify, I'll also list all the songs at the end of this post, and you can find them on the streaming service of your choice.

I recently discovered The Secret Sisters, and I adore this song, "He's Fine." It's about pining for a lost/stolen love, and it makes me think of my character Daved Jennin, who loves Shiloh passionately but lost her to Silas when Silas arranged his marriage to Shiloh.

When I was young, Death Cab for Cutie (once known as The Postal Service) was all the rage. "You've Haunted Me All My Life" makes me think of the connection between Silas and Shiloh that began when Silas killed her mother on the occasion of Shiloh's birth, when Silas, himself, was barely more than a child.

Now, not all of the song fits, but take a look at these lyrics:

You've haunted me all my life

Through endless days and countless nights

There was a storm when I was just a kid

Stripped the last code of innocence . . .

And there's a flaw in my heart's design

For I keep trying to make you mine

Sound like a certain Lord Northgate we know and love?

Unclean finds the somewhat formal and strained relationship between Shiloh and Silas begin to develop a more romantic character. That prompted me to include another Secret Sisters song, "Rattle My Bones."

Lastly for today, a Laura Marling cover of "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" represent's Shiloh's avenging angel determination through much of the story in Unclean.

Here's a full list for your listening pleasure, and don't forget to order your copy of Unclean!

"Fast and Slow" by Sons of the East

"Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" by Cage the Elephant

"Hard Time" by Seinabo Say

"Electric Bones" by Findlay

"I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie

"Kid Fears" by the Indigo Girls

"Laughing With" by Regina Spektor

"Blue Lips" by Regina Spektor

"You've Haunted Me All My Life" by Death Cab for Cutie

"Far Away My Love" by Old Bear Mountain

"A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" by Laura Marling

"The River Song" by Old Bear Mountain

"Medicine" by Old Bear Mountain

"Pilgrim (You Can't Go Home)" by Dave Rawlings Machine

"Long Time Traveller" by The Wailin' Jennys

"Ain't No Grave" by Crooked Still

"The Littlest Birds" by The Be Good Tanyas

"He's Fine" by The Secret Sisters

"Tomorrow Will Be Kinder" by The Secret Sisters

"If I Don't" by The Secret Sisters

"Motherless Child" by The Wailin' Jennys

"Away But Never Gone" by The Wailin' Jennys

"The Times They Are A-Changin'" by Bob Dylan

A Shiloh Flashback Excerpt from Unclean

Today, I'm bringing you a Shiloh excerpt from the forthcoming Unclean, the sequel to Hexborn. In this excerpt, you get to see how Shiloh met her bird, Honey, who plays a crucial role in the plot of Unclean. Happy reading, and don't forget to pre-order your copy today!

***

Shiloh sat down in the shade to rest. Her basket was nearly full of berries, and it had grown heavy on her arm. She leaned against the tree trunk and closed her eyes for a moment.

“What’s the matter, freak? Too weak to carry your basket home?” Meegan taunted.

Shiloh’s eyes snapped open, and she leapt to her feet. Meegan had already snatched up her basket and begun to eat.

“Give that back and leave me alone!” Shiloh cried.

“Make me,” Meegan taunted, mouth full of berries. The girl bent, picked up a rock, and pulled back her arm, preparing to throw it at Shiloh.

A screech sounded overhead, and both girls looked up to see a young falcon dive out of the trees, straight toward Meegan. The child shrieked and dropped both basket and rock in her desperate effort to protect her face.

The raptor kept attacking her until she ran from the clearing, screaming, then it flew to Shiloh’s side and landed lightly on a tree stump. Shiloh’s mouth twitched, and soon a raucous laugh escaped her lips, continuing until tears poured down her face.

“Thank you, my lord birdie,” Shiloh finally told him, her hysteria exhausted, and she offered a curtsey. She bent to pick up a handful of spilled berries. “You want some?”

Carefully, the bird took one berry at a time from her juice-stained hand. Then he watched as Shiloh gathered up the rest of the fruit and refilled her basket for the walk home.

“I’m Shiloh,” the little girl said. “What should I call you?”

The bird shrugged.

“How about Honey?”

A New Excerpt from Unclean

Today I'm going to share with you one of the flashbacks from my forthcoming novel Unclean, the sequel to Hexborn. As in Hexborn, I start every chapter except the first one with a flashback from either Shiloh's or Silas's past. It will give you your first peek at the books' primary villain, Brother Fenroh. Fenroh is the illegitimate son of the Patriarch, who is the series's equivalent of the Pope. And he is bad news, indeed. Enjoy, and don't forget to pre-order your copy of Unclean.

***

Young Silas stood in the foyer of the Patriarch’s mansion in the Claw, trying not to twitch as he awaited a response to Alissa’s letter. At least it’s warm in here, he thought. He’d spent twenty hours straight in the saddle, and the weather had been none too pleasant. His stomach growled.

A boy a few years his senior pushed open heavy doors and strode toward him. His gray robes hung pristine from his lanky frame, and Silas was acutely conscious of the mud on his own boots.

“His Holiness requires more time to compose a reply,” the boy said importantly. “You may take a meal in the kitchen and bunk with the guards.”

“May I, honored brother?” Silas replied drily.

The boy glared at him. “You ought to be grateful for the Patriarch’s kindness.”

“Oh, I am, I assure you,” Silas told him. It was a challenge to hide his disdain. “If you would direct me toward the kitchen, honored brother?”

“I’ll show you. I don’t intend to have you traipsing all over this holy residence unescorted,” the boy replied.

They passed another priest in the corridor. The older man half-bowed to the boy, greeting him with, “Brother Fenroh.”

Silas raised his eyebrows. “You’re someone important’s son, I take it, honored brother?” he asked Fenroh.

The boy grinned savagely. “Only if you consider a God to be important.”

Silas followed Fenroh out toward the barracks, cursing Edmun silently for sending him on this mission. The Patriarch’s compound made his skin crawl, and his creepy son was probably planning to stare at Silas the whole time he ate, as though his every bite was suspect.

As they entered the courtyard, his host stopped short. A group of guards stood in a circle, laughing and tormenting a woman. They shot hexes at her bare feet, forcing her to dance to avoid their sting. At the sight of Fenroh, the guards came to attention.

“What is this about?” Fenroh asked, his voice somehow both silky and sharp.

“She stole from the collection plate at the temple out by Wilsar Creek, honored brother,” one of them explained with a bow.

“Is this true?” Fenroh asked the unfortunate creature.

“No, I would never!” she protested. Tears had carved lines through the dirt on her face. If she stole, it was because she was starving, Silas thought, taking in her bony shoulders and ragged clothes.

Fenroh looked at the guards, eyebrows raised. “Brother Tytoh caught her red-handed,” one of them offered.

That seemed to be enough for Fenroh. Silas stepped back as the boy drew his wand. A curse crackled, and Silas heard the crunch of bone an instant before the screaming came. Fenroh holstered his weapon and continued across the courtyard as though nothing had happened, the woman’s broken body lying on the uneven stones.

She continued to scream, all her limbs bent unnaturally. Blood gurgled in her throat. The guards did nothing, neither to help her nor to put her out of her misery. Sighing, Silas drew his own wand and flicked it at the doomed woman, who stilled at once under the fatal curse.

Fenroh looked back at him, head cocked sideways.

“I have a headache,” Silas claimed. “And she was loud.” But his casual words did not hide the disgust in his eyes.

Unclean Sneak Preview

I'm finally ready to share more about my next novel, Unclean.  It's the sequel to Hexborn, and it finds Silas and Shiloh in a heap of trouble.  Here is a sneak peek at what is in store for them at the beginning of Unclean.  This excerpt is from the end of the first chapter.  Enjoy!

Notice of Annulment. Silas hoped his grinding teeth were not audible. “And they plan to tell me when?” he managed to ask. “Before or after they clap me in irons?”

“I don’t know,” Kiven admitted. “My visions of your forthcoming doom are not dated for our convenience.”

“I appreciate the warning,” Silas told the Academy’s Master of Farsight. His eyes burned hot. He stared at the paper, irritated that it did not catch flame with the heat of his displeasure. “I feared this was coming when the Patriarch brought back the Cleanliness Laws.” He closed his eyes and opened them again. “I had a month of happiness with her. I suppose that was more than I deserve.”

“It was foolish to fall in love with her, though I can hardly fault your taste. I would not consider this development a positive sign with respect to your long-term safety. Yours or hers,” Kiven pointed out, unnecessarily.

“I know that, Kiven. I’m not an idiot,” Silas snapped. “Esta probably has my shackles already picked out.”
“Well, then, do forgive me for trying to help you,” Kiven retorted, easily affronted as ever.

Silas sighed. “I’m sorry, Kiven. I appreciate your help, truly. Will Shiloh be permitted to return to school, at least?”

Kiven shook his head. “She’s ordered Headmaster Markas to declare her graduated. Her Grace is frightened that the girl’s power grows too great. The thousand acres Shiloh healed in the Frontier, her work containing the fever, her handling of the incident with the Gernish raiders—it’s all fueled the queen’s paranoia. The Patriarch is only too willing to encourage her fear.”

“The Gernish Raiders? She and her men killed a half dozen wandless thieves. It was hardly anything to be frightened of,” Silas protested, throwing his hands into the air. “It was barely even worth notice. And the fever? Was Shiloh supposed to let it spread? Thousands would have died.”

“I know, I know,” Kiven replied. “But the tales are growing in the telling. Shiloh is becoming known as a defender of the common folk. And that won’t do with a weak queen on the throne.”

“Then what is Shiloh to do? Take holy orders and stay on at the monastery at Northgate?” Silas asked. At least there he could see her and know she was reasonably safe. His lips pressed together until they almost disappeared.

Kiven shook his head. “Rumor has it that Patriarch Vinsen has sent some of his priests north to fetch her.”

Silas felt his stomach turn to ice. “To make her join the Elder’s Order? To force her to serve him?” he asked.

Kiven swallowed grimly and placed a hand on Silas’s shoulder. “I’m not certain what the Patriarch intends. But I fear that would be the best of the possible outcomes.”

How do you suppose Shiloh will get them out of their predicament?  I'm afraid you'll have to wait until February 19th to find out--unless, of course, you would like to join the ARC Team.

You can pre-order Unclean now on Amazon Kindle.  And if you haven't gotten around to reading Hexborn yet, it's currently available for only $0.99!