Lanterns In The Sky
by P.S. Malcolm
The Starlight Chronicles, #1
April 2nd 2019
YA Fantasy
Everything was normal for Lucy Maisfer until the day a star fell from the sky and knocked her out. Upon waking, she comes face-to-face with Jason Woods, who also happens to be the mysterious new guy in her best friend, Valarie’s, life.
Then the strange dreams begin, and she learns about the Starlight Princess— who must not under any circumstance be reawakened. Driven to uncover the meaning of it, she finds herself caught up in a strange twist of events that eventually lead to bigger danger than she ever anticipated. Before long, Lucy is forced to make a choice between saving the world, or saving her best friend; only to discover that Valarie cannot be saved… that she has an even darker secret, and that her supposed star-crossed romance with Jason might not be so destined after all…
SNEAK PEEK
A pair of boots, complemented by the pitter-patter of bare feet, echoed through the empty, glimmering corridor. Hair rose on the fair skin of the brunette girl as a chill settled upon her. She wore fighting leathers and wielded a dagger. The chill on her skin was battered by a single, naked flame, flickering on the torch she held. It eradicated every shadow cast off the marble columns and towering archways surrounding them.
“Hurry! They’re catching up!” she insisted. Her other hand pulled a blonde girl in a lacy white nightgown along with her.
The girl in the leathers tried the nearest door— white and wooden with intricate gold detailing. The door handle simply rattled in its socket.
“Who is? What’s going on?” the other girl asked, her voice trembling. She shivered in her nightgown and brushed her hair from her eyes. Unlike the first girl, she hadn’t been expecting this—any of this—and had been safely tucked away in her quarters until the other girl had barged in to whisk her away.
The brunette turned to the blonde and looked her firmly in the eye.
“There isn’t time to explain,” she said darkly. Her severe words struck like ice, and all warmth seeped from the other girl’s chest as dread roped around her lungs.
The girl in the leathers tried the next door, which creaked open. They both hurried inside.
Looking around, the girl in the leathers remembered the first time she’d set foot in this room. It had been a much happier time. Now, the library looked as dark and dreary as she felt—books sat in their cases, watching tragedy unfold before them.
Three levels high, with bookshelves just as tall, the library was the most impressive part of the palace. But at night, it was a dark, forbidding maze, hiding secret passageways everywhere.
Those passageways would be the key to their survival.
The girl in the leathers tugged hard on a particular book, sitting in a particular bookcase, and the adjacent shelves began to slide away, revealing a tunnel.
“Do you trust me?” she asked, turning to the other girl, who frowned.
“Of course I do—”
“Well don’t. Don’t trust anybody. Just run.”
Frozen, the other girl struggled to make sense of the situation. Then, almost as though she remembered who she was, her authority started to thaw through the ice that had encased her, and a hard glare appeared on her face.
“I don’t understand—”
“There is no time! You must go!”
She hesitated. The last thing she wanted to do was run from the unknown, without a single reason why.
The girl in the leathers gritted her teeth. Knots formed in her stomach at the thought of what would happen if the other girl didn’t hurry up, and she cried,
“Go now!”
At last, the other girl caved and ducked into the secret passageway. The girl in the leathers watched her run until voices echoed through the
corridor outside, followed by heavy footsteps. Her stomach twisted, and she quickly yanked on the book once more. The bookshelf groaned as it slid back into place, trapping the blonde in the dark unknown with a loud, final echo.
And here she is...
P.S.Malcolm (Pagan) grew up in Proserpine, Queensland-- a small, Australian country town on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef. She was a storyteller from a young age and spent years perfecting her craft.
For two years, she juggled waitressing in tourist filled coffee shops while undertaking two degrees in Creative Writing online. She has always had an interest in writing, but never saw herself working in the industry until she made the choice to self-publish her debut novel, STUCK ON VACATION WITH RYAN RUPERT. Realizing that she loved the process of publishing her book, she pursued an internship at a publishing house and snagged a spot as Pen Name Publishing's Marketing Assistant.
In between interning and writing, Pagan opened her first business working as a freelance Marketing Strategist for Paperback Kingdom-- which helps indie authors with all aspects of their author careers.
Pagan also enjoys reading-- particularly fantasy and paranormal-- and is a passionate blogger. She reviews books that she has read on her personal website, and indie books on her business blog. Some of her favourite and most influential authors include Amanda Gernentz Hanson, A.G. Howard, Marissa Meyer and Michele Jaffe. She is a cat enthusiast, tea lover, and floral fanatic.
Her newest book, LANTERNS IN THE SKY, is set to be released by The Parliament House Publishing in Spring 2019.
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