Today I am taking part in the blog tour hosted by The Coffee Pot Book Club featuring Mary Anne Yarde and her novel - The Du Lac Curse - which is book five of The Du Lac Chronicles.
Firstly, I'll introduce the book before sharing an excerpt.
The Du Lac Curse
By Mary Anne Yarde
Book 5 of The Du Lac Chronicles
God
against Gods. King against King. Brother against Brother.
Mordred
Pendragon had once said that the sons of Lancelot would eventually
destroy each other, it seemed he was right all along.
Garren
du Lac knew what the burning pyres meant in his brother's kingdom
— invasion. But who would dare to challenge King Alden of
Cerniw for his throne? Only one man was daring enough, arrogant
enough, to attempt such a feat — Budic du Lac, their eldest
half-brother.
While
Merton du Lac struggles to come to terms with the magnitude of
Budic's crime, there is another threat, one that is as ancient as it
is powerful. But with the death toll rising and his men deserting who
will take up the banner and fight in his name?
Publication
date: April 20th 2020
You can purchase The Du Lac Curse here -
Amazon
UK
Now for the excerpt -
“Where
will you go? What will you do now that you are a free man?” Hirsh
had finally asked, breaking the silence.
Garren
had shaken his head and sighed. “I don’t know,” he had replied
with honesty. Freedom came with possibilities. Many possibilities.
And yet, he feared that this was a dream. He feared that all too
soon, it would be time to wake up and live with the bitter
disappointment of his reality.
“I
have never asked, but where are you from? I know from looking at you
that you are not from the Eastern Empire.”
“Where
am I from?” Garren had repeated
Hirsh’s words. “I don’t know. I can’t… I can’t remember.”
“Yes,
you can,” Hirsh had stated with the firmness of a father. “I know
you were not born a slave. What do you remember about your homeland?”
“I
don’t know… Grass... Sea,” Garren had closed his eyes as he
spoke and he had tried to picture his homeland. For a moment, he had
fancied that he could feel the breeze coming off the ocean, and he
could hear the sound of the gulls as they circled overhead. He could
see the waves as they crashed against the pale red rocks of the cliff
face. Just for the briefest of moments, he could picture his brother,
Alden, glancing back at him with a grin on his face as they raced
across the beach on the horses their father had bought for them.
Brittany. His homeland. His kingdom.
“Brittany?”
Hirsh had rolled the name on his tongue as if he were tasting some
strange exotic wine.
Garren
had opened his eyes. He had not realised he had spoken his kingdom’s
name aloud.
“Where
is that?”
Garren
had stared at the desert in front of them, but he did not see the
vastness of the sand. Instead, he saw a castle. He saw a chamber,
filled with laughter and soft candlelight. He saw his wife as she
turned to look at him. She was smiling and cuddling the cat that he
had rescued for her. Amandine...
“Where
is Brittany?” Hirsh had asked again.
“It
does not matter,” Garren had replied quietly as he tried to hold on
to the image of his wife. But it faded, as memories do. “I cannot
go back there,” Garren had mumbled. He had raised his hand to his
mouth and began to chew on his already bitten fingernails. It was a
nervous habit he had acquired over the years. Sometimes he bit his
nails past the quick until they bled. And even then, he would not
always stop.
“Why
not?” Hirsh had persisted in his questions. Demanding answers, when
Garren had no answers to give.
They
had not come for him, his brothers. They had not searched. He was
dead... He was dead to them. His wife had, no doubt, remarried. There
was no life waiting for him in Brittany. He would be a fool to
return.
So,
this is what it felt like when your wildest and most unattainable
dreams came true. Freedom had left a bitter taste in his mouth.
“My
father…” Garren had tried desperately to recall his father’s
face. But ten years was a long time, and his father had died a few
years before Garren had been taken — stolen.
Hirsh
had put his arm around him again. “You do not have to talk about
it.”
“He
was the king,” Garren had mumbled, and he had turned to look at his
former master. “My father was the king…”
Mary Anne Yarde
Mary
Anne Yarde is the multi award-winning author of the International
Bestselling Series — The Du Lac Chronicles. Set a generation after
the fall of King Arthur, The Du Lac Chronicles takes you on a journey
through Dark Age Britain and Brittany, where you will meet new
friends and terrifying foes. Based on legends and historical fact,
The Du Lac Chronicles is a series not to be missed.
Born
in Bath, England, Mary Anne Yarde grew up in the southwest of
England, surrounded and influenced by centuries of history and
mythology. Glastonbury — the fabled Isle of Avalon — was a mere
fifteen-minute drive from her home, and tales of King Arthur and his
knights were part of her childhood.
You can get in contact with Mary Anne Yarde via the following -
I hope you will check out Mary Anne Yarde's work and enjoy.
Till the next time
Take Care Zoe
