Storms of Destiny (76 page)

Jezzil looked down at her with an expression that made her pale features flush. “You have more courage than all of us, my lady,” he said softly.

“It will take more than courage,” Khith said somberly.

“Soon enough, I suspect, we will discover whether we have what it will take to prevail in the face of this evil … and what it will cost to save our world.”

There seemed to be no more words. As one, the comrades turned to stare out at the harbor, where the sun was setting, painting the ocean with streaks of fire.

Many people helped me with information and commentary during the writing of this book. With the caveat that any errors are my own, I’d like to thank: Steve Osmanski, who helped plan battles, and check my information on antique weapons. I couldn’t have done it without you, Steve.

Victoria, my partner in Writer Beware (
www.writer
beware.com
), who read the manuscript in chunks and served as a personal cheering section. Without her support and encouragement, I’d have crashed and burned a dozen times— and she also pulled me out of a couple of plot holes, which are even deadlier than quicksand-filled sinkholes for a writer. Thanks, Vic.

Kathy O’Malley, the first person to read the whole manuscript when it was finally finished. Kathy read it and assured me that it kept her reading and made sense—which is the greatest gift a first reader can bestow.

My husband, Michael Capobianco, who drew the maps, helped with the languages of the various lands, and kept my ancient computer running throughout the writing of this book.

Larry R. Kotkin, PhD, who gave me suggestions on how to improve the hypnosis scenes.

My agent, Writers House, Inc., and Ginger Clark, who read the manuscript and made a very useful suggestion.

My Harper editor, Diana Gill, and her assistant, Will Hin-ton, who were always responsive and helpful.

My friends John (Dino) and Sonia, who happily read whatever I send them and tell me I’m wonderful. Every author needs at least two friends like Dino and Sonia. I’m blessed.

And a special acknowledgment to Michael Longcor, who wrote the songs used in this book. When I first had the idea to write this trilogy, I knew that I wanted the world to have its own music. I spoke with Teri Lee at Firebird Arts and Music. She put me in touch with Michael Longcor, who agreed to provide the music for Boq’urain. Michael designed songs to fit individual scenes in the book, and I occasionally rewrote scenes to incorporate some of his wonderful songs. This relationship between songwriter and author is unique, so far as I know, and it added immeasurably to the project.

If you’re interested in hearing the songs and music from this book, visit http://www.firebirdarts.com, or call 1-800-752-0494 (fax 503-255-5703). Or write to Firebird Arts and Music, P.O. Box 30268, Portland OR 97294.

A.C.CRISPIN is the author of twenty-two novels, including seven
New York Times
bestsellers, among them V, the novelization based on the television miniseries;
Sarek
; and
Rebel Dawn
. Ann Crispin has served as Vice President of Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and helped to found Writer Beware, a group sponsored by SFWA that helps aspiring writers avoid writing scams (www.writerbeware.com).

Crispin lives in Maryland with her husband, SFWA past president and science fiction writer Michael Capobianco, her cats, and her horse. She is a frequent guest at science fiction and fantasy conventions, where she teaches writing workshops. Visit her website at www.accrispin.com.

Don’t miss the next book by your favorite author. Sign up now for AuthorTracker by visiting www.AuthorTracker.com.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

STORMS OF DESTINY
:
The Exiles of Boq’Urain
. Copyright © 2005 by A.C. Crispin.All rights reserved under International and Pan-Ameri-can Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.

PerfectBound™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader July 2005 ISBN 0-06-087693-X

Song lyrics copyright © Michael Longcor. Used with permission. Map by Michael Capobianco

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1