A Seared Sky - Joinings - Paperback

by Heather Murphy (Illustrator), Stuart Aken (Author)

When a misjudged omen undermines a tyrant's rule, how will he ensure his survival?When the Skyfire arrives early, Dagla Kaz sets out for the ancient homeland to harvest a new Godwood and exchange Virgin Gifts. He must lead his pilgrims hundreds of leagues over pirate-infested seas, across hostile lands, and return triumphant before the seared sky dies back to normality. In his father's absence, the renegade Aklon risks torture and death to bring justice to the people. Mindtalk with a wise woman on the distant mainland has opened his eyes to the evil underlying the society he inhabits. And, whilst seeking truth, he finds a soulmate in the most unexpected place.Seeing his daughter Tumalind wrongly chosen as a Virgin Gift, religious fanatic Aglydron follows the mission to right the wrong. Okkyntalah, her betrothed, helps kidnap the rightful victim to take her over unknown seas and lands, facing violent death at the end of their journey.

Author Biography

Born, against the odds, to a recently widowed artist, in a neighbour's bed, Stuart Aken loves to use imagination in the construction of his stories. His fiction is the only place he bends the truth and, after love, remains his raison d'être. Unwilling to be constrained by genre, he writes his stories first and then selects the niche into which they most closely fit. His back catalogue includes romance, science fiction, fantasy, erotica, horror and something that might be considered literary. A husband, father, novelist, playwright, short story writer, blogger, word wrangler, and romantic open-minded optimistic radical liberal, he has been described as sometimes dangerous to know. Raised by a gifted mother who painted and knew what love meant and a step-father who lacked imagination but loved and educated him in things natural and worldly, he feels his childhood was magical: not always considered the optimum background for a writer. But he's had his share of tragedy, loss, love, illness, adventure, luck of both types, and hard experiences to provide a life that informs his writing with reality. He takes a professional approach to authorship but has never allowed that discipline to erode the very real pleasure he gains from creating stories and having readers respond with positive enjoyment.