The Lotus Effect (Rise Of The Ardent) (46 page)

The man stood taller, turning his head back to me, and like Xander, regarded me with an unbridled reverence. “You, Lily Emerson, are the first female Ardent born to this world, chosen by the great Mother herself. We have been waiting, and for good reason. For you are not simply an Ardent, no,—you are
The
Ardent.”

The man smiled sadly, his features proud.

“Engineered to save us all.”

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank the following people:

Mom—for giving me that spark, the one that encouraged me to write down my crazy dreams and stories. And to Dad—thanks for being my Mtn’ Dew buddy! To my older brother and sister, thanks for being awesome, even if you draw all over my face with permanent marker, or ‘accidentally’ toss my water slinky from the window of a moving car, or suck my hair up into the vacuum cleaner. And to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law—thanks for laughing at my corny jokes and for sharing my excitement! To Susan and Jeanne, thanks for rooting me on. To my nieces and nephews—I can’t wait until you all become old enough to read this book, so we can finally talk about it! And to the others in my extended family that I haven’t named—I love you all!

To Anne Elisabeth Stengl—thank you for your writing wisdom. I couldn’t have gotten this far without your sage advice. To the Bronies of the world. Keep on keeping on. Love and tolerate! /)(\

And to my readers—thanks for giving
The Lotus Effect
a chance. I’m
very
appreciative of your time. Thank you!

Most importantly, thank you, Stephen, for believing in me and helping me pursue what I love. You’re my best friend—Partners for now and always.

~

About the Author

Bridget Ladd never quite grew up
.
She’s most likely to be caught carrying a pocketful of souvenir rocks and shells (to the washer’s dismay) and gets excited over trivial things like colorful ponies and raiding tombs alongside her longtime favorite video game pal, Lara Croft. The smell of freshly turned dirt and the sea air are her favorites, and she isn’t above doing twirling spins barefoot in the grass on a beautiful day in her yard. Her books are her shields and she will admit to having her head in the clouds more times than she probably should . . . but she doesn’t let any of this bother her too much, remembering her favorite quote by Le Guin, and knowing that the creative adult is indeed the child who survived.

She graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 3D Computer Animation/Interactive Design and minored in Art History at East Carolina University
. Living her life solely as an artist and illustrator after school was not enough—knowing that a picture was only worth a thousand words—she felt that she needed more. She had to get the
trapped stories, the vivid, sometimes adventurous, sometimes terrifying dreams, out of her head. Like the authors, artists, musicians, scientists, peaceful warriors who inspire her, she
too wishes to share her worlds with others, let them escape into the unknown. Let them know that like her, it’s okay to be different.

Lily and Xander’s journey continues in Book Two:

Ardent Ascension

Coming Soon!

A Personal Note From Bridget

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to you—my readers. I hope you enjoyed the beginning of Lily and Xander’s journey. Almost two years have passed since
The Lotus Effect
was only an idea and a goal of mine—to one day write a story that others could get lost in. Now, writing has transformed well past being just a hobby or career, but into a love of dreaming of new worlds and sharing them with others.

If you enjoyed this first novel, I ask you to please consider leaving a positive review on the website of your choice. The more positive feedback I get, the more time I can spend writing and honing my craft! I’d love to chat with you on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads . . . you know, those old dogs, about anything really—movies, shows, books, comics, video games, cosplay, sushi, crazy cat pictures, rocks, ponies, spaceships—you name it! Thanks again and happy reading!

-Bridget