Livli's Gift

Livli struggles with a secret she keeps from everyone, even her closest friends, and she must solve the problem at its heart before she's discovered.

She's certain the answer lies in a fragment of folklore and magic half-remembered from her childhood. Almost certain.

She wouldn't need forgotten magic if only the men and women of her secluded mountain culture dwelt together. But the women-and Livli-inhabit their sister-lodge atop its lofty bluff, while the men live apart in their brother-lodge several valleys away.

Unless she can force a change, Livli stands to lose everything . . . including the most precious thing in her life: her son.

A story of secrets, shibboleths, and deep-forged strength told with all the insight and engaging intimacy that J.M. Ney-Grimm brings to epic fantasy.

KAUNIS CLAN SAGA

The Hammarleeding people dwell in the high mountain valleys of J.M. Ney-Grimm's North-lands. They wield a tribal magic born of dance and song and the flow of sacred waters.

Ritual and tradition hold a special place in Hammarleeding culture. Their rites are beautiful and uplifting, but they underpin a way of life that features many thou-shalt-nots.

In each story of the Kaunis Clan Saga, one woman-or one man-challenges the shibboleths that threaten her-or his-particular bright dream.

Sarvet's Wanderyar (1)

Crossing the Naiad (2)

Livli's Gift (3)

Winter Glory (4)

Each installment presents a unique protagonist from a fresh generation of the family. The stories stand alone and need not be read in order.

PRAISE FOR LIVLI'S GIFT

"...fascinating and insightful..." -P. Saternye

"I started reading and couldn't put it down. I love the world and the characters..." -Diane Riggins

EXCERPT FROM LIVLI'S GIFT

Mmm. It was so peaceful in the library.

The memory of her departure from home intruded on Livli's quietude. There was an unpeaceful scene: Thoivra shrieking and shaking her finger at a horrified brother.

Poor skinny Issat had no idea he wasn't welcome in the foyer of Kaunis-lodge. He figured he was walking with Livli for the first leg of his journey to Tukeva. And she was going out the front door. Why shouldn't he?

Thoivra told him why. This is the lodge, not the healing spa. Get out

Livli shook her head. "Ugh I don't want to think about Thoivra right now," she told herself. "I want to enjoy not being in the same place she is. Enjoy my break from the bustle of the spa. Enjoy Siajotti's tranquility."

Although her earliest memory of Siajotti-lodge was the reverse of serene.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands. Look for her novels and novellas at your favorite bookstore-online or on Main Street.