I watched the dark shapes of the brants circling on the horizon. They wouldn’t stray far from Lharmell. They just weren’t able.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rhiannon Hart remembers writing before she could read, puzzling over the strange squiggles in Jeremiah and the Dark Woods by Janet and Alan Ahlberg and putting her own words in their places. Her first love was Jareth the Goblin King at the tender age of eight. She wrote fan fiction in high school but she’d never admit to it out loud, so don’t ask. When she’s not reading or writing she is belly dancing, chasing after other people’s cats, or putting the pedal to the floor at her sewing machine. She grew up in north-western Australia and currently resides in Melbourne, where she works in marketing. Rhiannon has been published in the Australian Book Review, Magpies and Viewpoint and blogs at http://rhiannon-hart.blogspot.com/.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks must go to the following people who helped make this book what it is today, and kept me sane.
All the staff and students of RMIT’s Professional Writing and Editing course, particularly Clare Renner and the students of the 2009 Writing For Young Adults class.
The blogosphere and Twitterverse, without whom this journey would have been a lot lonelier.
The authors Amanda Ashby and R. A. Nelson for holding my hand across the miles.
The Random House Australia team for their enthusiasm, particularly Zoe Walton, my publisher, for taking a chance on a first-time author, and Abigail Nathan and Kimberley Bennett for their keen editorial eyes and helping me see the bigger picture.
My agent Ginger Clark. It seems obvious to say I couldn’t have done this without her, but I really couldn’t have done this without her.
The early readers of the manuscript who got me excited about the project and gave invaluable insights, including Shona Cameron, Megan Davis, Benjamin Harlow, Robert Hart, Michael Kimpton, Robert Lawlor, Reannon Shaw, Libby Stewart, Sandi Worrall-Hart and Melissa Wren.
The later readers, who kept my hopes alive, and are too numerous to list.
My dear friends for keeping me sane and, best of all, for being proud of me.
All my family, but particularly my mum and dad, for teaching me to read, reading to me, for a childhood surrounded by books, and for making me who I am today.
BLOOD STORM
The Second Book of Lharmell
The rain wanted to be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes glowed blue.
I spoke a single word. ‘Rain.’
In the Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward daughter married to a prince at all costs.
Coming soon
Blood Song: The First Book of Lharmell Page 19