Happy Friday, friend! Today I am chatting with author Maelan Holladay about her upcoming debut novel, The Storm Gathers. This is the first book of a new fantasy series that I am looking forward to diving into!
Get to know the author: Maelan Holladay
Hi Maelan! Welcome to Armed with A Book. Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
Hi! Thank you so much for having me here. Apart from being a complete fantasy nerd who can (and will, if given the chance) tell you the entire plot of the Silmarillion, I am also currently pursuing a degree in animal biology. I have a passion for crocodiles, but also pretty much any large animal that can kill you.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
The first time I tried to write this book was about three years ago. I ended up scrapping it for a few months then tried again. From that point until the last edits, it took me a total of three and a half years to complete this book.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
Anyone who enjoys plot driven fantasy books with a dash of romance. There is magic, magical creatures, fallen gods, and a few mildly psychotic women orchestrating the world’s destruction. If any of that sounds appealing, I would love for you to give it a try.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
I don’t want to give too much away, but there is a scene where one of my protagonists leaps into the sea in order to save another character. During this interaction there is this quote, “Yes, she was drowning. But Alana had been drowning for five years, so what did that matter now?” This is one of my favourite lines in the book because I think it encapsulates both this character and her attitude towards herself.
The Storm Gathers is the first book in a series. Tell me about the series.
The Storm Gathers is the first in a trilogy.
The first book is about journeys. The second will be about politics. And the third will be about war.
Throughout this series each of the three protagonists will become exposed to the central conflict in a different way and as a result these individuals will be pushed to separate extremes.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?
Write. It’s that simple. Write and rewrite and rewrite until you have a draft that you don’t absolutely hate. And then rewrite it again because you actually do kind of hate it.
Where can readers find you on the Internet?
Instagram and TikTok
The Storm Gathers
New Adult Fantasy
Coming: January 2024
One day, my dear daughter, you will destroy the world.
After being forced from her home five years ago, Alana Zaya has finally been given the opportunity to return and claim her rightful place on the Okaron throne. When her voyage is waylaid by pirates, she soon finds herself stranded at sea, surrounded by strangers harboring dark secrets. But hers are perhaps the darkest of all.
Across the world, Rae Toma is a warrior who can’t walk away from a fight. After years of using her skills to rebel against the regime that trained her, her treachery is revealed, forcing her to flee into the Shatter—a maze of islands that no one has ever returned from.
There, she finds Nur Del Sue, a Stormwitch on a mission to prove herself in a world determined to ignore her.
Forced from their homes, can these characters survive long enough to uncover the deadly mysteries at the heart of their world?
Content notes: Murder, graphic violence, discussion of genocide, kidnapping, depictions of drowning, mentions of attempted suicide, depictions of choking on air and water
Book Excerpt from
The Storm Gathers
Emira Zaya, Queen of Okaro, stood in a graveyard filled with her kin. Her line had ruled this island since Extoir the Great first graced her shores. Not once had Emira believed that she would be the last of the royal Zaya line. She had done everything right. Everything.
Arya would have been a perfect queen. Kind and beautiful and strong, she had had the potential to lead Okaro into a new age. Instead, her body lay encased in stone.
Emira looked down at the smooth coffin buried halfway into the ground. It was a black stone, not the white of former kings and queens, and that color alone seemed to mock her. She wanted to rage. She wanted to rip this graveyard apart and force the twins of Life and Death—Etresyum and Etrim—to return her daughter to her. But they were not gods and they could not hear her, and so she stood in silence and mourned all that never was.
She ran a hand over the grave. It was clean, but it wouldn’t remain that way for long. Dust would gather until it was washed away by the frequent storms, only to gather again. It was a cycle, endless and unforgiving.
With a final look at her daughter’s grave, Emira turned away from the city of the dead.
Once outside the graveyard, Emira started down the path to the palace, her guards falling into formation behind her. She only made it halfway before her feet drew her to a halt beside the cliffs. The Western sea was spread before her, dotted with white caps and ships. Slowly, her gaze rose to the horizon—the white line that separated sea and sky. On the other side of that horizon sat Alana. The new Queen of Jaarin, and Emira’s second-born.
Emira clenched her fists and turned her head to the captain of her guard, Victor. “Is it done?” she asked.
The man stepped forward. “I am not certain, Your Majesty. We received a package from councilman Bane. It awaits you at the palace.”
Emira frowned. “A package?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Why would he send a package?” A simple letter would be confirmation enough of the woman’s death.
“I do not know,” he admitted. After a moment’s pause, Victor cleared his throat and said, “You know I will always support your decisions, Your Majesty. However, I hope you do not fault me for expressing an opinion…” When she did not stop him, he hesitated a moment longer, then continued, “Perhaps we should have waited until Alana had produced an heir. That way your House would live on.”
“And give her the opportunity to make a play for my throne?” She shook her head. “We did the right thing in killing her. If the Zaya line is to end, it will end with me.”
Victor bowed his head. “Of course, Your Majesty.” He returned to the guards’ formation.
Emira kept her eyes on the ocean.
Each time a new leader of Okaro was crowned, a Starreader offered a prophecy foretelling their reign. It was a formality used to appease the elder generation—it wasn’t supposed to mean anything. Yet, thirty years later those words still haunted her.
“I see a coin,” the Starreader had said, “a beautiful maiden on one side and a dragon on the other. It spins through the air but has yet to fall. On which side will it land?”
The crone had smiled at the queen with sharp, white teeth and a tongue painted black. “One will save the world. One will destroy it. And both will come from inside your womb,” the Starreader had cackled. “No matter which, there will be disaster. I see ships painted in flames. Castles toppling to ash. Armies smothered in darkness. The world consumed. And still, the coin falls, spinning through the air. You will try to stop the coin—I see that too—but it will slip through your fingers. The stars foretell it.”
Emira had never believed in the fortunetellers before. Never believed that the turnings of the world could be easily mapped out in the heavens…until Alana was born. Each boom of thunder that night had seemed to echo the Starreader’s laugh.
The maiden—Arya.
The dragon—Alana.
She prayed to the gods that the latter was dead. In truth, she should have killed her daughter long ago. There was something strange about that girl. Something that reminded Emira of the xygriths that roamed Okaro’s coast and the electricity of a coming storm. There was a darkness that lurked in her. Something that did not belong in their world. Something that would destroy it if left to fester for too long.
With one final look at the ocean, Emira turned, continuing her path back to the palace.
Interested?
Find this book on Goodreads, Storygraph, and Amazon. This one is on my TBR!
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