Greetings, friends. fam, and fans of TLC! My name is Winnie Price and I want to be a writer. No, wait—I am a writer. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love books and reading and words and I hope one day to make a career of my writing. In the meantime… wow has life gotten more exciting than I ever expected.
But since I don’t want to spoil the story of When Magic Sleeps for you (because, seriously, who actually likes a spoiler???) today I’m going to share with you a sample of my writing.
Enjoy this excerpt from The Fae of Forest Fell!
Golden leaves crackled in the crisp autumn breeze as the fox wound her way through the woods. Along the narrow, barely-perceptible path that no human eye could see. Then again, she wasn’t human. Nor was she vulpine. Not entirely.
She hurried her gait, following the scent that had called her through the forest. The scent she had not smelled in more years than she wished to remember. Her soft pads tread lightly on the leaf-covered earth. Her careful steps made no more sound than a feather falling into a cloud.
Snap!
The fox froze. Utterly still and intently focused on her surroundings. Had she been followed? Her heart pounded. She dared to draw in a breath and sensed… something. Was it animal or fae? Friend or foe? She couldn’t tell.
The scent was fading. She was running out of time. If she was being hunted, she would face that threat when it came. But for now, she needed to hurry before the scent vanished altogether.
She broke into a sprint. A desperate animal on a mission, she sped toward the source of the smell. The sounds of something—or someone—crashing through the woods followed behind her. She couldn’t care. The sounds grew louder and louder as the scent grew stronger.
Just as she reached the edge of the forest, as she prepared to move through the veil, she heard a roar.
As she turned around, a black bear charged straight at her. She braced for the attack, teeth bared and body tensed. Then, just as the bear leapt for her, it transformed. Black fur and dark eyes became chestnut skin and amber eyes. A short, stout fae with broad shoulders and an even broader grin.
“Slaihn, wait!” He held up his hands in surrender. “It’s just me.”
In an instant, fox became fae. A tall, lithe female with dark auburn hair that fell in thick waves down her back. “Fergus! What on earth are you doing here?”
“Following you, of course,” he said.
The slight quiver in his voice told her that he hadn’t been entirely certain she wouldn’t attack him. Good. She liked to keep her younger brother on his toes.
He made that helpless shrug that always managed to erase her anger. But the glint in his eyes told her the real reason he was there.
“You smelled it too,” she guessed.
He nodded.
Turning to face the edge of the forest, Slaihn drew in a deep breath. She no longer had the olfactory powers of her vulpine ainmhi, but she didn’t have to smell that scent to know it was still there. To know that its source lay beyond the veil, in the human world. She felt it.
She didn’t have to ask her brother to know he felt it, too.
“Let’s do this, then,” she said, not bothering to look back as she crossed through the magical barrier. “Let’s go rescue our sister.”
I’m so nervous! Did you like it? I hope you liked it. It’s one of the first stories I ever wrote and, well, it feels kind of raw to just… share it. Boy oh boy was pushing the publish button hard. But I’m glad I did. And glad I now get to share this magical world with you.
The crazy thing is that this world is my life now! Not my whole life, for sure. I still spend plenty of time outside the Veil and with my aunt Maureen. Partly because I’m still human and Maureen is my only family, but also because the fae realm suffers from a distinct lack of publishing industry. So if I’m going to become a bestselling author someday, I’m going to have to do it in the human world.
To that end, I’ve devoured all of TLC’s articles for writers and they have been so helpful. If you’re interested in writing, too, you should definitely check them out. Oh, and be sure to read my magical story in When Magic Sleeps.
Bye for now!
~ Winnie Price
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