Sun & Dream (The Channeler Trilogy, Book 2) by J. Steven Lamperti

 

Release date: May 7, 2022

Subgenre: Epic Fantasy, Coming of Age

 

About Sun & Dream:

 

Anise has power in her dreams – too much power.

When your dreams can change the world, you need to learn to control them.

Anise’s uncle Sebastian takes her to the Academy, the school where the wizards of Liamec learn to use their powers.

But the people in Anise’s small village are not the only ones who notice the young girl’s abilities. Who is the Watcher, the malevolent presence Anise feels in her dreams, and why is Helios, the sun-god, protecting her?

While Anise studies the ways of the wizards, a dark secret that hangs over the founding of the Academy threatens to unravel reality and destroy the land of Liamec.

 

Excerpt:

 

Prologue

 

Nestled in the foothills of the Etenies mountains, in the northwest corner of the kingdom of Liamec, was a lake. A pretty little body of water, the lake was a beautiful crystal blue. Cold, it was fed by streams flowing from the mountains to the west. It was high enough in elevation that many of the trees on the lake’s western shores were evergreens. The outlet from the lake was a stream that wound east down toward the lower lands. Eventually, this stream gathered force until it joined the Dragon river from the south. Together, they roared into the ocean far to the north and east.

Deer, bears, and wolves came from higher hills and drank the crystal waters. There were smaller creatures living in the woods also. All manner of birds flew through the skies and sang among the trees. Hares and badgers scurried through the underbrush. There were rumors and stories of larger, darker creatures coming down from the mountains.

On the lake’s eastern shore was a small, undistinguished town called Lakeside. Lakeside was so small and undistinguished that it’s hardly worth mentioning, so we’ll leave it in peace for now.

On the western side of the lake, among the evergreens, was the town of Ashton. Ashton was supposedly so named because it had been burned to ash by a dragon’s flames and then rebuilt in the distant past. No one in living memory had seen a dragon, and there were other theories as to why the town was named that. One of the industries in Ashton was the production of soap.

Ashton had other distinguishing features. In addition to contributing to the cleanliness of Liamec by producing soap, Ashton made magic, and people trained in magic. In and around Ashton were buildings, places, and people that, put together, constituted an academy of learning. A place where people from all over Liamec, and sometimes further abroad, came to learn how to control and direct forces that allowed the manipulation of reality.

The Academy, as it was referred to throughout Liamec, was housed in a walled enclave adjacent to Ashton. There was also an island in the lake. This island, a short distance through lake waters from the Academy, was known as the Isle of the Wise. The Isle was only accessible to students and faculty of the Academy. Stories and rumors about what was on the Isle were rife among the non-magical citizens of Ashton.

But that’s not where our story begins. Our story begins in the village of Hero, in the opposite corner of the kingdom of Liamec.

 

Amazon

 

About J. Steven Lamperti:

J. Steven Lamperti is working on the Tales of Liamec, an award-winning series of fantasy novels. So far, books in the series have won a red ribbon from the Wishing Shelf Book awards, a Royal Dragonfly and a Purple Dragonfly Book award, and a five-star medal from the Reader’s Favorite website. By the Sea was a finalist in the 2021 Best Book Awards. The BookLife Prize website described The Wolf’s Tooth as “A gripping read that is hard to put down.”

A former application developer who has abandoned the world of bits and bytes for a career in writing, he and his wife live in California near their three daughters.

 

Website | Facebook