Out Today: Wintersun by Cindy Tomamichel

In a land of endless Winter, two heroes are born.
Jana has the magic of trees, Grieve has something…other than magic.
An oath to save their world will shape their destiny. End the Winter brought by the Ice Lord and his demons.
Enslaved by the ice demons, Grieve’s path to discovering his dark heritage will force him to become a gladiator, dragon rider, and pirate. Jana battles the lure of the dark side of power as she strives to control her magic.
It’s not going to be an easy journey. But there will be dragons.
Wintersun by Cindy Tomamichel is an old school epic fantasy quest with fabulous beasts and extraordinary heroes.

An icy wind tore through the small mountain hut. It carried cold and the thin keening sound of hunger. “Maeve…” it called, “Maaeevvee…”
Maeve’s nostrils flared. Stronger than the stench of blood and birth was the scent of evil. Predators that hunted her once more.
Biting hard on the leather strap gripped in her teeth, she grunted, expelling the placenta onto the birthing hide. Glancing at her baby, she tied the cord and gathered her close. The blood smeared girlchild moved strongly in her arms, and a tiny fist batted her on the cheek.
“Be strong daughter. We have a battle to fight yet,” Maeve whispered. She wrapped the babe and tied her against her breast, making sure she was secure. She would need both hands free in the battle to come. “Do not worry, I will not let them get you.” She relaxed as she felt the babe suckle.
The wind keened again, and Maeve shivered. The hungry sound was closer. Not for a few weeks had she heard that sound, and she had hoped she would birth in the village far below. But yesterday they had found her, and a fall down a snowy cliff had hastened her birth time by a week.
One night a bride, nine months a widow. She looked down at the reddish hair of her daughter, she was so like Gareth, the babe’s father.
“Oh Gareth, why did you not let me die with you?” The baby cooed at the sound of her voice, and she whispered to her, “maybe you are the answer.” The tiny hut around her held memories of love and death, courage, and darkness. For a brief time, Maeve allowed herself to remember, wishing Gareth was here to see his daughter. The little girl in her arms was all she had left of her husband. Maeve, woozy from birth and blood loss, let her memories overtake her.
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Outside the air howled again, and the babe at her breast squirmed. Maeve stood up using the broadsword as a support, feeling stronger for the rest.
“Maeeevvvee…Maaeevvee…” the wind howled.
Maeve straightened and shuddered at the call. From deep inside her came an answering contraction.
Another baby. She felt her stomach kick hard.
“Well, you are going to have to wait little one,” Maeve said, standing up and sheathing her sword. “Be strong.” The kick she received seemed to be an answer, and Maeve prayed she could reach the village safe before this one was born. She patted her daughter and covered her face warmly, checking the fastening of the sling. She grabbed her dagger and returned it to her arm gauntlet. Picking up the placenta wrapped in the birthing leather, Maeve staggered outside.
The air was bitter and cold, an icy sleet froze her wet clothes. Maeve swept back her cloak to give herself mobility. She was inured to cold and had ceased to feel it since that dreadful night nine months ago. The happiest and worst day of her life, from maiden to widow in the span of a night. Icy mist flowed down the hillside filling the gully, swirling around her. It smelled of hunger.
Surrounding the hut were the ice demons.
Behind them the moon had risen. It was half hidden; the eclipse had taken a slice and was devouring the glow. Soon the dark of the moon would be complete.
“Time to die demons,” Maeve yelled, whipping her sword from its sheath.

You can keep reading Wintersun as it is available now.

Cindy Tomamichel speaks up!

1) Each book is a new writing experience, what did you most enjoy about writing Wintersun?

I wrote this from a one word prompt from a writers group some years ago. It grew into a one page story of the end scene, then during Nano into an epic. I wanted to write a traditional barbarian quest novel, but the character Grieve turned out to be much gentler and have a sense of humour. Not that he doesn’t enjoy a good fight, but he also likes cats and is kind, a result of a harsh childhood as a slave.
I got to include all sorts of beasts from my imagination and inspired by other authors of classic monster novels, so that was fun too.
The female main character Jana was also interesting, to have her struggle with the pawer of her magic and grow into a teacher of other magic bearers.
So I managed to include all my favourite bits from classic fantasy and sword and sorcery novels, and put a twist on them to make the characters more from a woman’s perspective rather than traditional sword and sorcery male authors.

2) Who is the author that inspires you the most and what is it about them and their writing that does?

I was heavily influenced by RE Howard and his Conan character for Wintersun. The fights, the fabulous beasts, and a simple honest (if sometimes violent) approach to events is a tough act to follow. But Grieve grew beyond a basic barbarian, with his own code of morals and behaviour from being a starving slave growing up.
E. Rice Burroughs is also a great influence, in the breakneck speed of action proving a page turning action filled read. He was never shy about introducing mad queens, sentient beasts and darkling gods if they served the plot. How could I not do the same?
I’ve also been turned off reading high fantasy – the endless descriptions of history, the royal line or local tribal legal systems make me yawn. So I just avoided all that and jumped into the plot!

3) Pasta, fries, or doughnuts?

Pasta is such an every day food that I bored myself with it! Fries, well only the zucchini fries from Grilled – I known, sounds ick, but try them. Doughnuts? I probably have one once a year, but I do yearn for a simple chocolate one – with sprinkles – every so often.

Cindy Tomamichel is a multi-genre writer of action adventure novels. Escape the everyday with time travel, science fiction and fantasy stories or romance. Discover worlds where the heroines don’t wait to be rescued, and the heroes earn that title the hard way. You can find out more about her on her website or sign up for her newsletter to keep up-to-date with all her writing news!