How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days (The Embraced #1)

Any author starting a new series is bound to feel a mixture of excitement and apprehension. For while it’s exciting to embark on a new journey, there’s always the worry that I’ll be making the voyage alone! So first of all, I must acknowledge my readers. If you have joined me here as my travel companions into a strange new world, you are my heroes and heroines. Thank you! I sincerely hope you’ll enjoy your new story.

While I do my best to provide the entertainment onboard, there is a team of people behind the scenes, steering the boat. My thanks to everyone at St. Martin’s Press: my editor Rose Hilliard, her assistant Jennie Conway, and the art, marketing, publicity, production, and sales departments.

I doubt I would survive the writing of any book without my friends and family on the home front. My thanks to my husband, Don, and our kids, for always believing in me and feeding me whenever I’m under deadline. My thanks, also, to my critique partners, who have been with me for over seventeen books, scouring each and every page that I write and kicking my ass as needed. Miraculously, we are still the best of friends, and somehow, they manage to keep me reasonably sane. Admit it, M.J., Sandy, and Vicky: that last line made you snort.

In order to create a new world, I picked bits and pieces from our world that especially appealed to me. For instance, the setting for the fortress at Vindemar is based on the lovely castle of Dunnottar in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. My thanks to fellow writers/traveling companions Cathy Maxwell, Lorraine Heath, Elizabeth Essex, Deborah Barnhart, Denise Coyle, and Bonnie Tucker. Our trip to Scotland was magical! Thank you for sharing it with me. And my thanks to all the readers who came to see us in Glasgow! Meeting you was such a hoot!

The castle keep and catacombs at imaginary Vindemar were inspired by Kronborg Castle in Helsingor, Denmark. Kronborg, also known as Hamlet’s castle, has a long history of providing inspiration. The castle’s strategic location enabled the kings of Denmark to collect tolls from any ship entering the Baltic Sea. This idea found its way into my book, where the ruling house of Eberon collects tolls from any boat traveling up the Ebe River. Many thanks to Erik, Kate, and Stephan Nielsen for driving me around Denmark, showing me so many wonderful sites, and even venturing into the spooky catacombs with me. Thank goodness the passages weren’t stacked to the ceiling with bones like the ones in this book. And luckily, we didn’t run into any ghosts (that we know of).

My thanks to any new readers who are giving this series a chance. For all my readers, old and new—welcome to the world of Aerthlan. May it bring you hope, joy, and the comforting warmth of remembering those we have loved.





The magic continues …

Read on for an early preview of book two in The Embraced series!

In another time on another world called Aerthlan, there are five kingdoms. Four of the kingdoms extend across a vast continent. They are constantly at war.

The fifth kingdom consists of two islands in the Great Western Ocean. These are the Isles of Moon and Mist. On the Isle of Moon, people worship the two moons in the night sky. On the Isle of Mist there is only one inhabitant—the Seer.

Twice a year, the two moons eclipse. Any child born on the night the moons embrace will be gifted with some sort of supernatural power. These children are called the Embraced. The kings on the mainland hunt and kill the young Embraced, and any who seek to protect them. Some of the Embraced infants are sent secretly to the Isle of Moon, where they will be safe.

For as long as anyone can remember, the Seer has predicted more war and destruction. But recently a new king and queen have ascended to power in the mainland kingdom of Eberon. King Leofric and Queen Luciana are both Embraced, so they have declared Eberon a safe haven for those who are born on the night the moons eclipse.

Because of the new king and queen, a new prophecy has emerged from the Isle of Mist. The Seer has predicted a wave of change that will sweep across Aerthlan and eventually bring peace to a world that has suffered too long.

And so our story continues with Queen Luciana’s four adopted sisters, who grew up in secret on the Isle of Moon. They know nothing of their families. Nothing of their past.

They only know they are Embraced.





Chapter One


“I cannot play,” Brigitta told her sisters as she cast a wary look at the linen bag filled with Telling Stones. Quickly she shifted on the window seat to gaze at the Great Western Ocean. The rolling waves went on for as far as she could see, but her mind was elsewhere. Calm yerself. The prediction will ne’er happen.

At dawn they had boarded this ship, accompanied by Mother Ginessa and Sister Fallyn, who were now resting in the cabin next door. This was the smallest vessel in the Eberoni Royal Navy, the captain had explained, sturdy enough to cross the ocean, but small enough to travel up the Ebe River to the palace at Ebton. There, they would see their oldest sister, who was now the queen of Eberon.

According to the captain, Queen Luciana had intended to send more than one ship to safeguard their journey, but at the last minute, the other naval ships had been diverted south to fight the Tourinian pirates who were raiding villages along the Eberoni shore. But not to worry, the captain had assured Brigitta and her companions. Since the Royal Navy was keeping the pirates occupied to the south, their crossing would be perfectly safe.

Indeed, after a few hours, it seemed perfectly boring.

“If we don’t play, how will we pass the time?” Gwennore asked from her seat at the round table. “’Twill be close to sunset afore we reach Ebton.”

“I wish we could wander about on deck,” Maeve grumbled from her chair next to Gwennore.

Sorcha huffed in annoyance as she paced about the cabin. “Mother Ginessa insisted we remain here. I swear she acts as if she’s afraid to let anyone see us.”

“Perhaps she fears for our safety because we are Embraced,” Gwennore said.

Sorcha shook her head. “We’re safe now in Eberon.”