Welcome, friend! I hope you are having a good week so far and are excited for the coming weekend. Today I bring you a collaborative post with author Leslie Griffin whose book Of Water and Dance is an Epic Fantasy on my TBR. This is the first book of The Golden Twins series. You may remember Leslie mentioning it in her indie recommendations post a few months back. Let’s welcome her and read an excerpt from the book.

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Get to know the author: Leslie Griffin

Welcome, Leslie! Tell my readers and me a bit about yourself!

I have a B.A. in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies and a minor in English from the University of Kansas. Over the years I’ve completed courses on herbalism, Seichim Reiki, and Registered Behavioral Technician training. I am passionate about early childhood development and education, as well as teaching others about Autism Spectrum Disorder. Of Water and Dance is my first published piece of fiction, and I’ve previously written articles on herbalism, gardening, self-sufficiency, and traditional medicine in Mother Earth Living Magazine. 

I am an avid PC gamer and first fell in love with Fallout 1 when I was in middle school. Currently I’m playing Kynseed, Medieval Dynasty, Anvil Saga, Sacred Fire, and Ambition. I have two small children, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, two guinea pigs, three chickens, and a husband whose ADHD has brought home dozens of guitars and speakers, medal smithing equipment in the shape of lathes and smelters, enough art supplies to fill a museum, and more DIY solutions than I thought possible. 

My family motto is: “Sharesies!” And “It takes as long as it takes.”

Finally: I am a hat-stall between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, eventually landing in the Hufflepuff House.

What inspired you to write this book?

I have always loved reading and writing. And when I say always, I do mean that. My teachers all the way back in elementary would give me a maximum number of pages for an assignment, where the other students got a minimum. When I was in college, I found my passion in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, and that bled into my reading. I wanted to see healthier depictions of relationships (romantic and platonic). I wanted a fantasy where women were just as powerful as men and men just as emotionally intelligent as women. I wanted subtle topics of feminism to be interwoven into the plot. I was exhausted by love triangles, by creepy male protagonists slipping into the female’s bedroom at night, by plots that glorified the sexual oppression of women and control over their bodies. So often these topics weren’t overtly in the reader’s face, but they were themes that I found far too frequent (especially in the YA material at that time- I even wrote a paper on it).

So, I wrote a story that I wanted to read. One that depicts strong, intelligent, and sometimes emotionally flawed (but not in an abusive way) men and women. I enjoy dark stories, but I also want to see redemption (and romance- please and thank you!) 

In the first novel, you will find a country that is in disarray. A society meant to be matriarchal that has lost its footing. There is famine, disease, and a black market that thrives on the trafficking of women. Most characters are represented alongside another that compliments them, this is not always romantic, and at times their counterbalance will change. But in the first book you will find men holding the primary power. They are most often the protectors, the assailants, the decision makers. But as the chapters progress, the women are the ones who enact change. They sacrifice and fight, and the second book will be a very different dynamic as women gain power back.

How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?

Seven years. Yeah… sounds intense. However, the majority of that time (I want to say about five years), she was dormant. I had a difficult pregnancy and labor with my eldest, that left trauma and postpartum anxiety. I needed time to heal and find my joy again (I did not read or write during this time). Thankfully, I found a great support network, started writing again, became pregnant with my second child, and then my eldest was diagnosed with ASD, Speech Delay, and Global Developmental Delay. I poured every ounce of energy into getting him the services he needed and deserved. We did in home ABA therapy, speech and OT, you name it. Had my second child, had more delivery complications, found out my spleen needed to be removed, pandemic hit… and then it’s a blur.

When I found that I was ready to again refocus on my dream of being an author, I knew that I just needed to get Of Water and Dance published. In the space of a few weeks, I did another round of edits, researched KDP, IngramSpark, eBooks/EPUB, installed Adobe Illustrator, purchased rights to photos and fonts, created my book cover, formatted my documents, and FINALLY got her published.

Who would enjoy reading your book? 

Readers who enjoy epic and high fantasy, fans of Karen Marie Moning, those who want to read stories where women not only come into their own power, but then embrace it. I am to integrate a feminist dialogue in my writing by pressing topics on sexuality, the social construction of gender, and the place of bodies in society. Also, if you enjoy reading sex positive narratives, I am a romance reader and author, and you will always find steamy romance scenes in my novels!

What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?

Firstly, I’d love for the readers to think about the social construction of gender, the place of bodies in society, the form of power certain people are afforded and how that power is used against others. The first book in this series will establish a power dynamic where men inherently wield more. But this is a flawed system, and we see it crumbling. Let’s peel those layers and look beneath the surface. 

Second, the concept of balance. My herbalism teacher would lecture that complete balance is actually death, because when you are utterly balanced, you are so still that you’ve stagnated. Only in death can you be perfectly balanced. This resonated with me. The whole concept of how you create a feeling or experience of balance means you have something actively countering you. You see “balance imagery” throughout the novel. Evengel and Castor. Maeuveen and Andy. Liliat and Alastor. Bane and Raeve. Craic and Myra. But as the story progresses, a dance begins, and when partners are swapped and new counterparts are discovered, the power dynamic begins to shift.

Finally- I know that we read many stories where women are rescued by men. Their stories are intrinsically tied into a man’s journey. This is not lost on me and know that there is a method to my madness.

Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?

Evengel’s vision blurred as something warm and wet splattered down her front, and the eyes above her flickered before becoming hazy. A moment later, they disappeared. “No,” she cried out as someone grabbed her shoulders and shook her. Gold teeth flashed before her as the Prince’s face came in and out of focus. The man cupped her chin, and there was a look of utmost horror on his face.

“How—” he whispered, and his warm hand awoke some of Evengel’s senses. She turned to look at her brother who was being supported by the blond-haired woman.

“Sir,” the woman yelled, regarding the crowd with unease. But Evengel didn’t hear what else was being said as she sank into the floor.

The Prince caught her up before her head could hit the dais, and he cradled her against the side of his chest. The man smelled of lavender and something metallic, and with her head pressed up against him, Evengel heard two separate heartbeats. As she listened in confusion to their chaotic rhythm, her eyes became heavy, and she fought to keep them open. Blinking rapidly, she saw Rae standing some feet away on the stage with his weapon bloody and drawn. At his feet was the executioner, and as she eyed him two enormous, black wings erupted from his shoulder blades.

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Book Excerpt from
Of Water and Dance

Bane sprinted up the staircase to the third floor, almost falling over in his haste. When he got to the landing, he ran the length of the hallway. Lora was calling after him, but he ignored her as he half-pushed, half-kicked Maeuveen’s door open so that it hung on its hinges.

“Prince—” Maeuveen’s dress billowed behind her as she turned to him.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he panted.

“Tell you?”

Bane stared at her, so angry he thought he could punch the wall. He crossed the room in quick steps, until he was less than a foot from her. “You did that.”

He said the last word scathingly and closed his eyes, picturing the way the siblings had turned their faces in unison toward him. Bane hadn’t noticed it so much in Castor, but when Evengel had stepped onstage, he recognized it for what it was.

“Yes,” she said.

He let out a long breath and cursed. “Dammit Maeuveen! Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?” But he didn’t let her respond before continuing to yell. “Whatever you needed from tonight we could have done together and in a controlled environment. But no, you manipulated the situation instead. Why didn’t you tell me… why can’t you just ask for something?”

Maeuveen rounded on him, and there was a fire in her voice he hadn’t heard before. “Why didn’t you tell me that you had a lover?” Her emerald eye glistened as she glared at him, and Bane faltered. 

“Bane,” Lora called, striding into the room.

“Did you know?” Maeuveen asked Lady Hyte before turning back to him. “Or am I right to assume that you were shamed into silence?”

“What is she speaking about?” Lora asked, clutching at her side. Bane glanced at Maeuveen before rubbing his eyes.

“It’s nothing.”

Maeuveen laughed. “It most definitely is something.” 

“Bane?” Lora took a tentative step toward him. “What’s going on?”

“Our Prince has been hiding the fact that he had a lover as a young man,” Maeuveen said over the sound of approaching footsteps from the hallway. 

Bane glanced over his shoulder. Both Kylie and Andy were walking toward them, and he slammed the doors shut before either of them could enter.

Turning back to the two women, he measured his words. “It was a long time ago, before my parents died. It was of no consequence—”

“Oh really?” Maeuveen slid across the room in an eerie fashion. “I thought that perhaps you didn’t tell anyone because the woman involved was Provincial.”

Lora gasped. “Is this true?”

He glared at Maeuveen. “How did you find out?”

The woman tilted her head up, exposing her neck. “You’ve been carrying something on your person since you first visited me at my home. In your breast pocket,” she said as he touched his jacket. “Curious that you would keep something like that next to your heart.”

Bane’s fingers trailed the jacket lining before he reached inside the concealed pocket. From within he pulled out the sapphire and diamond necklace and held it up to the dying light of the fireplace.

“Gods,” Lora whispered, watching it twinkle and spin.

Bane looked past the jewels, into Maeuveen’s face. She seemed to be both watching him and the necklace with different eyes. 

“You showed me that once before,” she said. “An item you’d kept hidden in this Castle until recently. Tell me, how do you make sense of it disappearing from your person, only to be found in the ashes of another?” The air around them sparked with energy, and when Bane didn’t respond, she continued. “There’s a crack forming in the wall. Soon it will split and magic will spill into the land once more. The ritual I set in motion tonight will help ease this transition. If I had not done that, this land would very well have been ripped apart. You cannot drop a newborn into water and expect them to swim. The ritual is your life-vest, but before any of this can come to fruition, you, Prince Bane, must acknowledge the rift and mend what has been broken.”

Maeuveen swayed. She’d always been thin, as all Provincials were, but the way she looked at that moment was beyond emaciated. She looked like death.

Lora reached out to touch the jewels, but Maeuveen stopped her. “Don’t. That belongs to the true Queen. No one else shall touch it.”

Bane dropped the necklace to his side.

“What’s going on?” Lora asked him, turning her back on the Provincial.

“Yes, Prince,” Maeuveen agreed.

Bane looked between the two women before shaking his head. “It doesn’t seem possible.”

“Probable,” Maeuveen corrected. “I believe that’s the word you’re looking for. It is entirely possible, considering you had a lover. Or are you not familiar with how consummation works?” Her lips twitched as she held back a smile, and Bane shot her look. 

Of course it was possible, but he’d always assumed that nothing had come from their romance. After his parents had died, he’d tried to find her once more, but he’d been unable to locate her. After enough time had passed, he’d resolved that she’d moved out to one of the further Provincial towns, never to be seen again. 

He shook his head thinking of Castor’s eyes. Did his sister have the same ones? Were they too, just like his own? Bane tried to think back to when he’d cupped her face, but he’d been too distracted by her golden hair. It was so similar to the streaks that had once touched another woman’s hair so long ago.

“Those are no ordinary children, Prince,” Maeuveen whispered. “They bear ancient markings, ones I’ve never before had the honor of seeing. While definitely Provincial, they also contain the blessing of the Royal line. The original siblings were twins, you know.”

He tried to smile. “How did I not see it? It’s as if a shield has been lifted. When I saw them, up on the stage-” He broke off, staring at the floor.

“What?”

“I didn’t notice it in Castor because, well… as a woman it was so much more identifiable…”

“What was her name?”

“Lili,” he answered, and Maeuveen inhaled through her mouth as if to taste his words.

“Lili,” she repeated, and Bane shivered as she gazed at him, wide-eyed. “Was that her full name?”

Bane shrugged. “I never knew her family name, but I once overheard someone call her Lili-At.”

Maeuveen made an odd noise and turned away. “That was a very powerful protection spell. I’ve never encountered one with such…” She trailed off and then quite suddenly, spun around. “I doubt you saw Castor fully before this evening.”

Bane gave her a curious look. “But why would she have hidden my own children from me?”

Maeuveen raised an eyebrow. “I would have thought that obvious. Their mother, this Lili, feared for their safety-”

“Yes,” he said annoyed. “But why?”

Maeuveen regarded him for a long moment. “As they are your children that would mea-”

“Hold on,” Lora exclaimed, and Bane had almost forgotten that she was in the room as she stepped between them. “Are you telling me that those bizarrely colored siblings- are your children?” When he nodded, she stared at him, aghast. “You have two bastard children?”

“No,” Maeuveen said, sidling up next to her. “He has twins, born bearing the ultimate blessing on their skin.”

“Blessing?” Lora spat. “There is no blessing in being a Royal bastard—”

Maeuveen held up a hand for silence. “Do you know the importance of that necklace you hold?”

Bane glanced between the two women. “I know its valuable.”

“Of course it is. But its importance is beyond coin. Your Provincial lover is the woman you’ve spent the last years of your life searching for. The High Priestess of the Queen’s Coven.”

Bane’s mouth fell open.

“No.” He shook his head. “There’s no way-”

“Why else would she hide them in plain sight?” Maeuveen asked, rounding on him. “Why didn’t she give birth in the Provinces, in some far corner, never to see Edania again? Why did she create an allusion- one I might add,” she said importantly, “that was made up of the most powerful magic I have ever seen? Magic, only a High Priestess from a long line of holy women could produce. No,” she finished. “They’re here because it is their birthright, something Lili knew they couldn’t, and shouldn’t, avoid. The blood magic bound to them kept them safe until the time came. That time is now, Prince.”

Bane stumbled on a chair as he backed away, and he had to catch himself on the mantel of the fireplace. “You can’t be serious.”

“How are you feeling?” she inquired. “You haven’t coughed up any blood since being in my room.”

“I-” he began but stopped himself. 

She was correct. He hadn’t coughed once, not at all, not even when he’d sprinted up the stairs. Reaching into his pant pocket, Bane slipped out his handkerchief. But even before unfolding it, he knew that where there should have been crusted, black blood, that there would be nothing. He stood there, staring at the pristine bit of cloth, his hands beginning to shake.

“Call the remaining members forth if you don’t trust me,” Maeuveen said. “Have them identify that necklace for you. But mark my words they will say the same as I.”

Lora was gazing at Maeuveen open mouthed, and when she looked at Bane, there was hurt in her eyes.

“Maeuveen,” he pleaded. 

She shot him a look. “I thought this is what you wanted? A Queen. More importantly, a rightful Queen, to rule Edania, to bridge the rift between here and the Provinces.” Maeuveen glowered at him. “There was magic on that stage, Bane. Are you really going to sully and ignore it as others in your position have done before? Out of fear?” 

She sashayed over to him, her body vibrating as she moved, and Bane saw her flick her fingers in a symbol.

“Are you witch?” he whispered. “Is this a spell you’ve placed on me?”

“Spell?” Maeuveen ran a hand up his torso to his throat. “I never bespelled you, darling.” She shivered, and Bane inhaled as her face shifted into that of the woman he once loved. 

“I did, but it was never my intention to lie to you,” Lili said, standing up onto her tiptoes. She looked into his face and brushed a piece of his hair back. Bane made a choking noise as everything he’d ever felt for her came rushing back. It hit him in the gut and left him winded. “It was a chain of events I never anticipated.”

Lili leaned into him so that their noses were brushing, and Bane searched her face, looking between her green eyes before kissing her on the mouth. She tasted of fresh mint, something he hadn’t experienced since his days as a young man, and he had a fleeting memory of how her hair felt trailing down his naked body.

“Lili,” he moaned against her mouth, but when he opened his eyes, his lover was gone and in his arms was Maeuveen.

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Interested?

Find Of Water and Dance on Goodreads and IndieStoryGeek. You can buy it on Amazon. Be on the look out for my review in the future!

Thank you for hanging out with us today. Connect with Leslie on her website, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads and Amazon.

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If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Check out other book excerpts here.

Cover image: Photo on Unsplash