by Candy Crum
Get ready! she sent to Lorelei.
Arryn grunted as she flung her arm forward, and frozen shards of ice whipped out of the maelstrom, impaling Esmerelda and Selena as she anchored them to the ship as well. Finally, Arryn screamed as she sent a blast of telekinetic energy straight down into the deck of the ship, blowing it apart.
Water began to rush in, and within seconds, the ship turned over, and Arryn was thrown into the maelstrom. Something struck her in the head, knocking her unconscious, as she was pulled deeper down and thrown about like the debris from the ship as the ocean swallowed them whole.
Epilogue
When she finally awoke, Arryn found herself lying on the beach with the sun shining down on her. She vaguely recalled being grabbed by several people and carried through twisting currents back toward the other ship. Slowly, her eyes opened, then she sat bolt upright to be met by faces all around her.
Mariana, Veren, and their crew were sitting off to the side, and her own group was hovering closely around her.
“I know I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am,” Samuel said.
“I wish I could’ve been there!” Corrine said enthusiastically. “They told me all about it, and I’m so mad I wasn’t there!”
Arryn shook her head, fighting a migraine. “That was not a place you wanted to be, believe me.”
“Thank you,” Mariana said. “I have been hunting that ship for months, but every time we got close, they would flee.”
“And because of you, we can feel safe again,” Lorelei said. “Thank you for everything you did to help us.”
“We were all just in the right place at the right time,” Arryn shrugged groggily as she closed her eyes from the brightness of the sun. “We saved potentially hundreds of lives from their influence. We all deserve credit.”
Cathillian hissed a little. “Yeah, but not all of us crushed a ship while flying.”
Arryn laughed. “Slacker.”
“So, what’s next?” Lorelei asked.
“Yeah, where will you guys go now?” Brann asked.
Arryn yawned. “First, we nap. I need sleep. Then we go to Kemet and fight whatever is going on there. Speaking of, we are going to need to find a way southeast,” Arryn said.
“I might know a ship willing to take a few kind souls in that direction,” Mariana smiled.
Arryn nodded as she sighed. She collapsed back into the sand, putting her hands under her head as she closed her eyes. “That sounds great. Thanks. Oh, and don’t let me forget to test this damn bracelet. If I don’t send a message to Margit, bad things will happen.”
“Maybe you can try to send Amelia a message, as well,” Cathillian said. “She could pass one on to the Dark Forest, instead of us having to send Echo.”
Cathillian had barely gotten his last words out, when Arryn quietly moaned ‘mmhmm’. Then she drifted back to sleep under the peaceful warmth of the sun, surrounded by her friends.
FINIS
Author Notes - Candy Crum
Written April 10, 2018
WOW!!! It’s been a LONG time, guys! It’s kind of hard to believe how long it’s been since I published an AoM book. Sorry about that! So, an update… lots of things have happened since I wrote one of these.
First: December 29, 2017, we signed on the house I grew up in! Long story, but this is actually the third time I’ve lived there. It was owned by someone else the last time, and I was renting it when it went through a foreclosure. We moved into a duplex for a year, and my house went up for sale just in time for our lease to run out.
Here’s the cool part… Because of you guys—because of the KGU—I was able to buy back my home. My childhood home. Every day I wake up there, I go out to my office and work. I get to look out my back window and see the MASSIVE tree that I planted with my mom when I was a little girl. So, I deeply appreciate the support. When I say that… I absolutely mean it. You guys and LMBPN have been nothing but a blessing.
Next. I’ve been busy… I have been writing like crazy. It’s April 10th, and I have Into the Maelstrom publishing tomorrow and the second (third counting the prequel) book in my Therian Chronicles series publishes FRIDAY! Two books in less than a week. Boom. My goal is the get two more books out this month (one in each series) but that’s a lot to do in one month. We shall see, and I’ll keep you updated!!
For those interested in checking out the series… They ARE available on KU (the prequel isn’t YET, but it’s only .99c). And you can find them here:
Origin (Prequel): books2read.com/u/mVZorP
The Dark Professor (book 1): books2read.com/u/mqpYDO
I’m very excited for that series! So many cool things happening in it already. Book three will be out April 27th! Not too much longer. I’m excited to see what it can do!
Now for the future of Arryn… I have ten books planned, potentially twelve, though I am planning to do a small series on Corrine as well. I have lots of plans. But now that Arryn is heading for Kemet, we will see a whole new world open up. I wish I could talk about it, but I can’t!!! Michael Anderle helped me figure out exactly what I wanted to do. I had some ideas, but I wanted something REALLY cool and REALLY set apart from other series. And damn it… Michael delivered. I’m so fucking excited and I know all of you will love it. Because he’s a genius haha!
Thanks to everyone again for sticking by my side and reading this series. And thank you to everyone that’s been reading the new series!!! You’re amazing!
Don’t forget to check out The Candy Shop: Candy Crum Fan Club Facebook group for updates and fun stuff like sneak peeks on covers and things like that.
See you next time! <3
Author Notes - Michael Anderle
Written April 10, 2018
THANK YOU for reading all through the story, and through these author notes as well.
I am a big believer in supporting people working their asses off to accomplish good things in their live(s) and working to do better for their children. I am very aware that not all opportunities exist for all people. However, I’m also very aware not all people take the opportunities in front of them, or quite early.
Candy didn’t give up when she wrote and published her books starting a LONG time ago. You remember a few of the stories in the Bible where someone was promised a blessing, and they ‘just about’ gave up before their blessing was delivered?
THAT is Candy’s story in a nutshell.
She worked eight (8) years on her stories, trying time and time again to get a story out which readers would read and sell well enough to continue the series. The challenge (and there are a lot of challenges in our profession) beat against her for EIGHT YEARS.
She was not successful
Candy was to the point of giving up. (Hell, I probably would have after eight years – I suck like that.)
As Candy was contemplating throwing in the towel, she got the job of editing Chris (CM Raymond) and Lee’s (LE Barbant) Rise of Magic series in order to bring in any extra income she could for her boys. From there, she was an integral part of their success and effort and was invited by those guys to write in the Age of Magic in the Kurtherian Gambit Universe…and if you are reading these books, you know the rest.
Candy brings her own version of WONDERFUL!!!! to our little happy family (I give her SUCH grief over her massive use of exclamation points. Now it seems like it has become a damned meme).
I still remember when she and I worked out the tweaks to her character and the series name, “The Feisty Druid” came about. I was driving back from Austin to Dallas when we had those conversations.
I believe it was just under a year ago or so that we were talking… In indie publishing, that feels like a decade.
I’m going to give Amazon major KUDOS for providing the Indie Writers the tools and infrastructure to create our own publishing businesses. Whether it is just one person publishing their book, or something a bit larger…all the way to our size at LMBPN Publishing.
If Amazon had not created the KDP sy
stem so many of us would not have the life we do today, and likely Candy would not have her family home back.
Amazon has facilitated the opportunity for creatives like Candy and myself to write stories and put them on sale through their distribution tools to get them in front of you, the fans.
But without you supporting us like you have? Well, I wouldn’t be in this home I’m sleeping in tonight, either.
We wouldn’t have had Bethany Anne or any of the other stories.
I always tip my hat to you, the fans. This time, I’m going to also tip my hat to Amazon for making what we do possible. As a reader, the first time I was able to just order ‘book 02’ of a series from my Kindle (DX) and start reading right away?
It was a magical experience.
I wish I had been smart enough to buy Amazon stock way back then, but I was too busy reading to be bothered with something like potential future wealth.
Or sleep.
Or even eating sometimes.
I’m blessed that Candy was afforded this opportunity to grow her own publishing company. I appreciate another feather in the Kurtherian Gambit Fans’ hat of author lives you have changed.
Thank you from all of us.
Ad Aeternitatem,
Michael Anderle
Books by Candy Crum
TALES OF THE FEISTY DRUID
*with Michael Anderle*
The Arcadian Druid (01) - The Undying Illusionist (02) - The Frozen Wasteland (03) - The Deceiver (04) - The Lost (05) - The Damned (06) Into The Maelstrom (07)
THE THERIAN CHRONICLES
*with Amanda Browning*
The Dark Professor (1) The Therian Prince (2)
Books by Michael Anderle
For a complete list of books by Michael Anderle, please visit
www.lmbpn.com/ma-books/
All LMBPN Audiobooks are Available at Audible.com and iTunes. For a complete list of audiobooks visit:
www.lmbpn.com/audible
Connect with the authors
To see ALL of Candy’s different books check out her website below
Website:
http://www.candycrumbooks.com
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/thecandyshopgroup/
Michael Anderle Social
Website:
http://www.lmbpn.com
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