Pawns and Puzzles is Available
I would have announced this yesterday, but it was Canada Day. I was out on a Toronto Heritage tour, and then we had friends over.
Pawns and Puzzles is out. It’s the first volume in the Daros Chronicles and contains all the installments published so far.
Two friends learn how quickly life can change when they go from living lives of luxury to being the most wanted fugitives in the land.
When assassins threaten Princess Fi’s life, her foster sister Erryn summons cursed beasts to save her. Branded a heathen, Erryn escapes the guards ordered to kill her and flees for her life. When she hears about a faraway temple that may reveal why she has summoning powers, she sets out on the long journey to reach it. But Erryn’s pampered life doesn’t serve her well in the wild. Bounty hunters and guards become the least of her worries.
Back at the castle, Fi tries to carry on with her life. But then her father is assassinated, and Fi is framed for the crime. With the help of those loyal to her, she escapes from prison and searches for Erryn, hoping to enlist her aid in reclaiming the throne. But the outside world isn’t kind to treacherous princesses. Fi’s quest to prove her innocence leads to another cage, one that has her wishing she was back in a prison cell.
Volume Two is with my editor and will be released in late August/early September.
If you liked The Salbine Sisters, this book is in the same genre.
Canada’s 150th Birthday
Yesterday Canada celebrated its 150th birthday. We started the day by going on a tour with Heritage Toronto. It focused on citizenship and stopped at a few places downtown.
Here’s the Toronto sign that was placed in front of city hall for the Pan Am games. It has changed a bit since then. The maple leaf is newish.
Here’s Jen and me at the end of the tour.
After the tour, we had a couple of friends over for lunch. One of them baked a birthday cake. Unfortunately it was raining, so we couldn’t sit outside, but we did go out for a few minutes to take photos. Here’s a festive corner of our back deck.
I hope my fellow Canadians had a great Canada Day, and if you’re American, an early Happy Fourth of July to you! 
