Cover Reveal: Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword (Zaria Fierce Trilogy, Book 2) by Keira Gillett

Zaria Fierce and the Enchanted Drakeland Sword
by Keira Gillett
Series: Zaria Fierce Trilogy, Book 2
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Illustrator: Eoghan Kerrigan
Narrator: Michele Carpenter

Zaria Fierce must undo the damage she and her friends caused when they accidentally aided Olaf in his quest to release the dragon, Koll. Full Summary: If Zaria Fierce had her say, being a princess would mean you’d never have to wait for news. In the eight months since Olaf tricked her, Zaria has felt a near constant mixture of restlessness, listlessness, and hopelessness. When the time comes to fix past mistakes, she is more than ready to climb aboard the ship sailing towards the giants. Summertime in Norway promises many more adventures, but also many more perils… something sinister lurks beneath the surface following her every move, haunting her, disturbing her dreams, and stealing her peace. Can Zaria figure out what it is and stop it before it’s too late?

 

Pre-order on Amazon: E-book

Praise for Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest (Book 1):

“Are you in the mood for an old fashioned magical jaunt? Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest by Keira Gillett is a classic “perilous adventure” book for middle grade readers.” Jennifer Bardsley, The YA Gal “A captivating blending of fantasy storytelling with today's technology. At the base of this tale is deep, abiding friendship that stands the tests of time, adventure and even danger.” Kathy Haw, Goodreads Review “A great book with a lovely story and amazing characters. It’s a fantasy and adventure book that will be the delight of Narnia fans and those looking for a bit of Norwegian folklore thrown into it.” Ner, A Cup of Coffee and a Book “If you’re looking for an action-packed adventure dipped in fantasy, look no further. This book kept me on my toes with its many cliffhangers and plot twists; it was quite hard to put down at times.” Meredith, All ‘Bout Them Books and Stuff “I love when a story jumps right in and hooks me like this one did. I highly recommend you look into it if you are in the mood for a fun adventure. I also recommend that you get it for any book loving middle schooler you know.” Emily, Midwestern Book Nerd

Illustrations by Eoghan Kerrigan:

Excerpt:

Filip slung his window open and tossed out his backpack. It landed in a thump in the hedgerow. Aleks pulled it out and slung it over his shoulder with his own bag. “How’re you getting down?” “Hopefully with your stargazer.” “Then why toss down your bag?” Aleks asked, exasperated. “Just in case,” Filip said with a wink at Zaria. She suppressed a smile. She looked to the others, “Does anybody have rope?” Aleks and Geirr both nodded. Then Geirr unzipped his bag and pulled out a neat coil from on top. He tossed it to Filip, who snatched it up as it sailed by the window. He disappeared into his bedroom and reappeared moments later slinging the coil out the window. It unraveled to the ground. “Good,” Filip said briskly. “It’s long enough. Now let’s see if it holds.” Filip quickly scaled the side of the house and they gathered their belongings preparing to dash. Without warning, Mrs. Storstrand stuck her head out of a bottom window and shrieked at the sight of them. “Just what do you think you’re doing?” she demanded. “Run!” Filip shouted, grabbing his friends’ sleeves and rushing for the street. Aleks cursed and threw Filip his backpack while slinging his own around to the front and unzipping a pocket. He looked frazzled as he dug inside the opening. Mrs. Storstrand was quick. She was already out of the house and chasing after them. She threatened life and limb and the most terrible of all – letting Filip’s father know what he was about. At last Aleks found the stargazer – a shiny purplish egg-shaped object perforated with stars – and almost dropped it in his haste. After a brief fumble, Aleks located the largest star, and hastily jabbed his finger into the hole. Just like that, Mrs. Storstrand froze mid-run. But so too did Christoffer, Filip, and Geirr. Aleks looked at Zaria and to the others. “Damn,” he hissed. “Wait! How are you not frozen too?

About the Author:
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Keira Gillett is a technical publications librarian, book blogger, world traveler, artist, and now author. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing and Painting. From an early age her mother instilled a love of the written word, as such she has always been a big reader. Her first book, Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, is about a young girl who must complete a quest to save her friend from a nasty river-troll.



About the Illustrator:
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Eoghan Kerrigan is an illustrator from Kildare, Ireland who draws primarily fantasy characters and creatures. He studied illustration in Ballyfermot College of Further Education and has produced work for various independent projects. He has two cats and a soft spot for trolls.



About the Narrator:
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Michele Carpenter is an artist at heart, with a passion for acting. She and her husband (also a voice actor) often work on projects together and help one another through the journey. Together, they have three kids. Michele’s children love to hear her read stories and beg her to edit her narrations in the same room with them so they can listen too. It’s partially for this reason that Michele has come to feel a personal responsibility to only record books that aren't inappropriate for children or young adults–at their respective age levels and according to the maturity levels of the books they're able to read. “We never know how long we have on this earth and I'd rather leave behind a legacy of books that I'm not ashamed to have my friends, family and even future grandchildren, listen to forever.” 

What Sucks About Editing Your Book...malapropisms -Keira Gillett

 Bonjour! Good morning! I’ve known Sharon for some time and I’m thrilled to be here on I Smell Sheep! My name is Keira Gillett and I’m the author of Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, the first book in the Zaria Fierce Trilogy. My book released on March 06, 2015.

I’m here today to share the worst aspect of editing your book (and I’m sure other authors will agree with me.) The part about editing that sucks the most is not having someone point out plot inconsistencies, fluctuating character appearances, errors in timeline, unwieldy spatial depictions, strange behaviors from your characters, or inquiries into your world building. All of that is easy. The small stuff. I certainly didn’t lose any sleep over it. I welcomed those things being pointed out because it would make my writing stronger.

No, the suckiest part had to be finding and replacing the malapropisms within the text. They’re more difficult to spot than other errors because a real word sits in the place of the correct word choice. Spellcheck won’t find these words and suggest the proper replacement because a program like Word doesn't see it the error as incorrect. A word is a word to it. It would be amazing if it did find these wrong words and highlight them for you. (I’m looking to you Microsoft to create this handy feature… I would pay good money for it!) 

Many eyeballs have scoured my story. You’d think this would be a safety net, but casual readers and hired professionals will miss things (although to be fair they miss way less.) I’ve found malapropisms sitting mockingly within my text even after all the edits were done. I think this is because readers, like the spellcheck program, will also skip over the malapropisms without seeing them. This is either because they don’t know better, or they do, and their mind replaced the wrong word with the correct word instantly as they read the passage.

For example in the original text of Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest I found I had typed bypass instead of impasse, hoard instead of horde, took instead of too, new instead of next, the instead of they, and so on. Even after I put the book under more scrutiny, the little devils still plagued me. Luckily, I have an amazing narrator and she caught these errors (prosperity vs. posterity) before recording them.

What I’ve learned from Michele Carpenter is this… “When you’re narrating, it’s impossible to miss [malapropisms] because you have to say every word out loud and have it flow just right.” Lesson learned! Read your book aloud to find those pesky illusive mix-ups. But, even if you don’t, the contextual clues should allow readers to deduce what you really meant as the author. However I think it’s far better if the malapropisms are eliminated before readers get their hands on the book. It’s worth the extra effort (and here’s hoping that every malapropism has been caught!!!)


Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest
by Keira Gillett
Release Date: March 6, 2015
Illustrator: Eoghan Kerrigan
Narrator: Michele Carpenter
Series: Zaria Fierce Trilogy, Book 1
Genre: Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fantasy
Setting: Modern-day Norway
Page Count: 224
Word Count: 36, 200

On her birthday, Zaria Fierce finds her usual path to school blocked by an ugly river-troll. At first she’s surprised and curious, but then Olaf threatens to eat her, which is an act Zaria could not in good conscience consent to, so Zaria counteroffers. A deal is struck and she goes to school, but Zaria is about to learn the hard way that one does not trick a river-troll and expect to win. Early Reviews: “With kids interested in “Frozen,” with Anna and Elsa, this would be a natural progression.” – Judi Oswald, Reference Librarian

Buy Links: E-book, audio book, trade paperback

Excerpt: 

Geirr stooped to pick up some decent-sized sticks, and Zaria bent to grab a few too. They talked amicably and walked, stretching their legs, until they were too burdened by their loads to keep going.

“My arms are going to collapse,” Zaria huffed. Her breath fogged around her face, covering and then revealing a well-pinked nose and cheeks. “Let’s head back to camp.”

“Sounds good to me,” Geirr said and turned around to do just that. Zaria followed and collided into him, dropping her load of kindling all over the ground.

“Hey!” she exclaimed, as she went to gather them. “Why did you stop?”

“I don’t think we’re going to find camp,” Geirr said, worrying his lip. He juggled his armful of wood and pointed haphazardly forward. “It’s like pea soup.”

Zaria looked up from playing fifty-two pickup and saw what worried Geirr. In front of them was a wall of fog, thick, viscous, and impossible to see through. She gulped and carefully set down the pile she’d been working to gather again. Was it her imagination or did the fog seem to be breathing? It crept closer in stages. Not fast enough that she saw it while looking directly at it, but if she looked away and back, it most definitely moved.

“Uh, Geirr,” Zaria said, slowly gaining her feet. “I think we should move and fast.”

Geirr looked at her puzzled. “I don’t think fast is an option here. Now if you pick up your stack and stick near me maybe we can Marco Polo our way back to the others.”

“Geirr,” Zaria hissed, her voice ratcheting higher. “The fog is moving.” He didn’t look impressed. The breathing sounds from within the fog grew louder, distressing Zaria. “No seriously, it’s moving like it’s alive.”

Geirr looked back again and stared hard, trying to penetrate the fog with his gaze alone. Zaria started to ease away, firewood forgotten.

“Come on, Geirr, we have to move. Can’t you hear the breathing?”

“That isn’t you?” he asked, alarmed.

“No!” Zaria shouted. “Run!”

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About the Author:

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Keira Gillett is a technical publications librarian, book blogger, world traveler, artist, and now author. She graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in Drawing and Painting. From an early age her mother instilled a love of the written word, as such she has always been a big reader. Her first book, Zaria Fierce and the Secret of Gloomwood Forest, is about a young girl who must complete a quest to save her friend from a nasty river-troll.