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Do you know what your problem is?
Olivine knows hers. This quiet thirteenth-century artist has been hiding a secret as she travels to K’ba to meet her friends. Others assume she’s fallen in love with another artist, but it’s much worse than that. For on the way to K’ba is the dirt poor nichna of Scrud, a place scorned by other Ilarians. And in Scrud is the one man who understands her.
However, Bohdan recognizes the dangers posed by an impending Mongol invasion. When he learns of Olivine’s unusual visual powers, he convinces her to pick up her bow and start practicing.
She does, though she’s more concerned with moving to K’ba where she can paint all day and see Bohdan whenever she wants. If only her sister hadn’t decided Olivine and her fellow long eyes held one key to defending the realm.
Then, as if life wasn’t complicated enough, Olivine learns the artist community she yearns to be part of has developed a different take on the invasion. They’re sure the only way to survive is to capitulate completely to the Mongols’ demands. Artists who feel otherwise are no longer welcome.
Where does her future lie? The invasion is coming soon and Olivine doesn’t have much time to decide.
Enjoy an Excerpt
I let my mother know I’d be celebrating Noruz in K’ba. She said nothing; I think she expected it.
“I’ll be back after the holiday. Then I’ll probably be around here a lot more. I hope that’s okay.”
She smiled. “Problems with your young artist?”
“Something like that.” At least the lie sliding out of my mouth was partly true. “We’re going to take a bit of a break from each other after the holiday.”
“That’s so wise, dear. Make time to get out there and socialize. Consider those other options.” She reached out and took both of my hands in hers and looked into my eyes. “Remember. It’s just as easy to fall in love with a prince.”
The best I could manage was a slight nod as I disengaged my hands and walked outside.
I found my father in the barn and asked him if he had any objection to my conducting archery practices on the farm with a few boys from Gruen.
“Of course you can practice here. We’ve plenty of room.” He gave me a questioning look. “Are all you girls involved in this thing Ryalgar is doing?”
“Probably. I don’t know how the others see it, but I can’t imagine life without this farm, or without Vinx to always come home to.”
He turned away as I said the last part, but when he turned back to face me, I saw the tear in his eye.
“Neither can I. I’m proud of every one of you.” He said it fast, in a quiet tone, so I wasn’t sure I heard him right. I started to say something back, but he walked out of the barn before I could.
About the Author: 
Sherrie Cronin is the author of a collection of six speculative fiction novels known as 46. Ascending and is now in the process of publishing a historical fantasy series called The War Stories of the Seven Troublesome Sisters. A quick look at the synopses of her books makes it obvious she is fascinated by people achieving the astonishing by developing abilities they barely knew they had.
She’s made a lot of stops along the way to writing these novels. She’s lived in seven cities, visited forty-six countries, and worked as a waitress, technical writer, and geophysicist. Now she answers a hot-line. Along the way, she’s lost several cats but acquired a husband who still loves her and three kids who’ve grown up just fine, both despite how odd she is.
All her life she has wanted to either tell these kinds of stories or be Chief Science Officer on the Starship Enterprise. She now lives and writes in the mountains of Western North Carolina, where she admits to occasionally checking her phone for a message from Captain Picard, just in case.
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