Promo - The Faery Sickness

This book came about by an article that I read about a remote mountain village that believed in the Fairy Sickness. When babies died at birth or shortly after, the villagers believed that the fairies took them. Old beliefs die hard. Once modern medical intervention occurred the babies stopped dying. But the villagers merely assumed that the fairies were no longer interested. They didn't connect the better health care with the infant survival rate.

I got to thinking, what if they were right? What if the fairies really were taking the babies. Why would they all of a sudden stop? Thus, THE FAERY SICKNESS was born.


Here is the blurb:

Vala Kalei has always been different from the other villagers, saved from death by the fae, and condemned by her own neighbors. But when she makes the decision to go to the faery realm and retrieve the babies that have been dying, she opens up another whole world of mystery, pain, heartache and love.

And here is an excerpt:

Vala scrambled to her feet, terrified and confused. Too startled to do anything else, she turned and bolted. Past terrors pursued her, down the road, across the meadows and into a thin copse of leafy trees. Still, she did not stop, but raced on, stumbling, falling, picking herself up, and always moving on. The waterskin banged and sloshed against her hip as she ran, leaking cold water down her leg.

At last, exhausted, out of breath, she staggered to a stop, using a birch tree for support. Her chest heaved with exertion, her leg muscles quivered. Confusion numbed her. What had happened? What had caused the red light? Shaking, she pulled the medallion from beneath her shirt and looked at it in the moonlight. The large red stone embedded in the silver sparkled. How could it have done that to Odig? What exactly had it done? So much didn't make sense anymore. Not Tyrs' words, not her uncles', not the strange occurrence with the medallion. Vala shook her head, and returned the medallion to its hiding place beneath her shirt. When she was rested enough to be aware of her surroundings, she gasped.

She had never seen this part of the meadow before. Two huge boulders stood like sentinels, black against a darker background. Puzzled, she straightened, her leg muscles quivering in protest, and walked toward the rocks. As she passed between them, a tingle shot through her body, much like the ripple of excitement she used to get as a child, playing hide and seek. She paused, one hand on each boulder and leaned forward as a gust of wind swept around her. It brought a strange scent, one she had never smelled before. She took a hesitant step forward, then shrieked as the ground beneath her suddenly gave way.

She slid down a steep embankment, clawing and grabbing at anything she could find to arrest her fall. Sharp grass sliced through her fingers, small shrubs broke free in a cascade of dirt and stone, jagged rock cut into her stomach and arms. And still she fell, until at last, she landed on a small ledge jutting out from the bank. She lay still, stunned, one hand still gripping a piece of plant she had pulled free.

A new sound reached her, pounding and roaring in her ears. She struggled to her knees, her head reeling. She had only a second to take in a vast stretch of water, sparkling in the moonshine, before she toppled, plummeting over the side of the ledge to a pool of water far below.

And here is where you can buy it and read the the first chapter:

http://www.readerseden.com/writers/product.php?productid=148&cat=26&page=3

JennaKay Francis