Facing the Sun

by Carol Beth Anderson

  Tavi crossed her arms and kicked the dirt on the road as she walked, fuming over the injustice of it all. Despite fear and uncertainty, she had traveled to Savala and helped her cousin escape. The very next day, Tavi had herself escaped from the Grays by using her magic in more powerful ways than ever before. When she’d left Savala, she had felt as though she could conquer the world. And had her courage and competence earned her greater trust? No, she had instead been rewarded by the hovering of three friends who’d turned into mother hens.

  Tullen was the first to speak up, and though Tavi wasn’t looking at him, she could hear his smile. “Tavi, I know you’d have preferred to walk home alone, but what if someone were to attack us? We’re depending on you to pick up our attackers and hurl them to the ground.”

  Tavi’s rebellious mouth insisted on smiling at that image. She glanced at Tullen. “I might not be as easy on them as I was on you.”

  That broke the tension, and all four of them laughed. Tavi tried to hold onto her frustration, but it fled like a bird freed from its cage. As she took a deep breath of the mild summer air, she realized she was still smiling. It’s too nice of a day to stew over my lack of independence.

  Tavi would have loved the freedom of walking home alone, probably would have danced the whole way. But this was life, at least for now. She grasped Tullen’s hand, linking her fingers in his, and they continued to walk down the dusty road.

  Order Facing the Gray today!

  About the Author

  Carol Beth Anderson is a native of Arizona and now lives in Leander, TX, outside Austin. She has a husband, two kids, a miniature schnauzer, and more fish than anyone knows what to do with. Besides writing, she loves baking sourdough bread, knitting, and eating cookies and cream ice cream.

  Acknowledgments

  For decades, I said I wanted to write a book. At some point, I kind of gave up on the idea . . . but it turns out the dream wasn’t dead, just dormant. One day, I decided maybe it was time. I sat down and started brainstorming, and voila (I think that’s French for “insert about a million in-between steps), here we are!

  Writing books can be a solitary pursuit, but getting to the point of publishing certainly isn’t. So many people contributed to the creation of the book you’re holding. Typing their names on this page isn’t thanks enough, but at least it’s a start!

  A lot of people read portions of the book in its early phases. I called these “alpha readers.” Special thanks to my mom Cathy Norris, my sister Becki Norris, and my friends Toni Wall and Kerry Ognenoff for all of their early feedback. If it wasn’t for them, Tavi’s birth story might have been way more graphic. Some of you would have liked that; others of you are now contemplating sending my alpha readers thank you notes! My kids Ana and Eli acted as “alpha listeners.” They listened to me read the book aloud as I finished chapters. It was great fun, and I also got good feedback from their brilliant brains!

  Beta readers read the completed manuscript and gave feedback that turned out to be monumentally helpful. In fact, I did two rounds of beta reading, because I made so many changes due to the feedback I got in the first round. Massive thanks go to beta readers Dick Carroll, Kim Decker, Brenda Elliott, Matthew Fleming, Charee Harrison (my “first super-fan”), Leah Hodges, Melissa Lavaty, Kathryn E. Lee, Sarah E Lentz, Sheri Mayo, my twin sister Becki Norris, Alex Pollnow, DeDe Pollnow, Renee Thompson, Jeff Shaevel, Toni Wall, and Nicole Wells.

  When writing a fantasy book, it can be hard to make up a bunch of character names. So I asked my newsletter subscribers (psst…sign up for the newsletter at carolbethanderson.com) to submit ideas. Special thanks to the folks whose suggestions were used in the book. I’ll list the name of the person who gave each suggestion, followed by the character name(s) they suggested in parentheses. Thanks to Dennis Coonrad (Zagada), Deann Flores (Jenevy), Shelia Keiser (Brindi, Quint), Jonah Kramer (Maizum), Linda Kramer (Nem), Leah Hodges (Tisra), Sheri Mayo (Sessar, Kehl), Tracy Mercer (Rawley), Monique Nadeau (Kley, Nydine, Rolki, Aba), and my aunt Dironda Thurlow (Kale). The book is more interesting thanks to these fantastic names!

  Thank you to Madysun Waldrop for sending me my first ever fan art.

  Thank you to Dennis Coonrad for encouraging me to create audiobooks.

  Thank you to Toni Wall, for coming up with my publishing company name.

  Thank you to my insightful, knowledgeable, cheerleading editor, Sonnet Fitzgerald.

  Thank you to my talented, creative cover designer, Mariah Sinclair.

  Thank you to my husband Jason and our kids Ana and Eli for putting up with my obsessiveness and long hours!

  Thank you to the midwives at the Austin Area Birthing Center for inspiring so much of this series. You walked with me through the births of two children, showing me that care can be the most important part of medical care. Pregnancy and childbirth are personal, miraculous, emotional, and at times confusing and painful. You held my hand every step of the way.

  Thank you to my friends who encourage me to be vulnerable, let me be me, and remind me of this truth: I am enough.

  Thank you to God, the ultimate Creative One who shared a little ember of His creativity with me.

  And you—yes, you, the one reading this—thank you! It’s an honor to have your eyes on my words.

  -Carol Beth Anderson

  Leander, Texas, 2018