Columbine’s Tale

Columbine’ Tale, like its predecessor in the Tales of Tarya, presents readers with a unique and engrossing world, full of colour, sound, taste and texture – a vivid world for readers to lose themselves in. The characters leap from the pages and entice you to follow them into a story of travelling actors with amazing abilities that are as dangerous as they are wondrous. Mysteries and machinations, tragedy and heartbreak, love and betrayal, adventure and fantasy come together in this spellbinding book.

George Ivanoff, award-winning author of Other Worlds series

For three hundred years the traveling actors of Litonya roamed the land entertaining crowds, but secretly leaving devastation in their wake. Is Mina the only person with the power to stop them?

Tragedy and an ancient mystery plunge Mina ever deeper into the ethereal otherworld of Tarya, known only to a select few artists, a place where dreams are transformed into reality. In Tarya, Mina begins to master the rare, inexplicable powers somehow attached to her gift for storytelling. She discovers she can touch dreams, influence the real world, and perhaps find out who is manipulating Tarya for dark purposes. In the waking world Mina is on the run, pursued, plotted against, beset by divided loyalties between the travelers, and caught between two men she could love and a brother who desperately needs her help.

Columbine’s Tale is more than a fantasy novel. It’s a mystery, a romance, and a celebration of creativity and ancient arts made new. This second installment in the trilogy draws you deeper into the mystery, expanding the intriguing hidden world of Tarya while taking you on a breathlessly intense journey of loss and restitution, in a lovingly rendered and utterly believable fantasy world.

Columbine’s Tale is the second book in a Young Adult fantasy trilogy, The Tales of Tarya, about the gift of creativity and where it can take you.

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Lisette waited until everyone stilled again, then began to sing a dark, haunting song. None of the listeners understood a single word. She had not sung in Rennish since her daughter’s death, but now the words flowed out on a lilting, minor melody. She filled the air with her grief and love, reclaiming her mother tongue from the pain that had held it silent for so long. When the song was finished everyone stood frozen, as though they still heard echoes of mournful music.

Lisette lifted her silver locket from around her neck. She climbed the stepladder next to the children’s tree. With a trembling finger she traced Jal’s sculpted picture of her daughter, reached higher and dropped the locket into a hole in the tree. Then she sang a second song, her voice soft. Though this too was in Rennish, its meaning was clear for it had the soothing tones of a lullaby. A single tear ran down Lisette’s cheek. As she ended the song, she spoke a few inaudible words. The watchers sighed.

~ Columbine’s Tale