Second Acts Of Weary Warrior Women

Now available!

After a warrior puts up her sword she can build a new life free of dragons, battles, and monsters—for a while

Dragons? Vampires? Spectres? Shifters? Fairies? All of the above. Explore five unique worlds, with unique magic–and unique problems.

Description

Have you ever wanted to remake your life from scratch?

A seer whose lover betrayed her to become king.
A dragonrider shackled to a vindictive dragon forcing her to relive her worst memory.
The village hero who wants nothing more than oblivion through a vampire’s bite.
A ghost whisperer who hides her powers lest they ruin what’s left of her life.
An alpha shifter married to a human who couldn’t possibly understand her.

They all think they’ve left their pasts behind them, but what happens when the skeletons they’ve left behind come knocking?

Second Acts of Weary Warrior Women is a collection of epic fantasy romance novellas: The King’s Pixie SeerTo Break a Dragon BondThe Swordswoman and the VampireA Pentagram Of Candles and Spectres, and Her Castle, Her Howl, Her Pack. Each story is also available as an individual ebook.

This collection contains five fantasy stories about women who change their direction.

When I had the idea for a vampire story where any vampire could be compelled to summon their sire, I didn't realize that it would blossom into an entire collection. As it turns out, the concept of a "second act" really resonated with me, allowing me to create all these women. Each one has trapped herself in a life that is unfulfilling, due to circumstance, fear, and avoidance. Each one breaks out of that life and smashes through the fear, ending up in a vibrant and cozy place that she would never have been able to reach otherwise.

It's not hard to draw a parallel to my life, considering my foray into a writing career was just beginning when I planned out this project. Moving from a safe job that pays the bills into a career in the arts where you're lucky if you break even is a risk, like the risks all these women take. Theirs pay off in the end, and the privilege of being able to share all these stories with you makes mine pay off as well.

The King's Pixie Seer was the last story in this collection to be written. It's about the struggle to bring one's whole self to a relationship, and the fear that weaknesses will be used against you. Too often, we shut our vulnerability away to protect ourselves, but in so doing we lose something of ourselves as well.

To Break A Dragon Bond ended up being a platonic romance between a woman and her dragon. Their friendship is shattered by their trauma, their communication breaks down, and it seems like their relationship can never be fixed. Raisa is driven to the very edge of her sanity until she realizes that Kalanthi isn't trying to torture her; Kalanthi loves her. It's their trauma that needs to be processed, not their relationship that needs to be destroyed. (If you were hoping for Raisa and Thane to bang it out before Raisa's impending execution, I'm planning an alternate scene where that happens. I thought it was a bit too dark for the way the story turned out, since it was much more about Raisa and Kalanthi in the end.)

The Swordswoman and the Vampire was the flash of inspiration that got this entire collection going. What if it was the human who wanted the vampire bite and the vampire who refused? What if there was a vampire who wanted his human to feel safe and in control? It's no revelation to depict a masc partner as a vampire and a femme as a helpless bite victim; it's not even all that uncommon to have them end up meeting as equal partners as they get to know each other. But Ama takes her addiction to the adrenalin rush of being bitten and transforms it into an empowering experience, where she is in control, with her frail(ish) human body unchanged. And of course, for Lazarus's part, he struggles with his sire the way many of my generation struggle with the previous generation, trying to do better for our children than our parents did for us.

A Pentagram of Candles and Spectres was a struggle for me to write. I think it shines through in the story that the circumstances the characters are working through are just a bit too real, just a little too close to the current real-life struggles of children to maintain their rights in schools, the struggles of care-takers and teachers who have to watch as activists' words are twisted and used against what they believe. (If you're disappointed that Pauline and Landon never made sweet ghost love, I'm working on a bonus scene so their desires can finally come to fruition. The scene didn't end up working in the story, since the story ended up being more focussed on Pauline herself rather than her relationship with Landon.)

And, finally, Her Castle, Her Howl, Her Pack is a twist on the current trends in the shifter genre where the shifter is most often the masc partner, the animal nature a parallel for masculine aggression, protectiveness, and violence. But what if a woman is protective? So many of us have a side that we are afraid to show, afraid of how others will perceive us if we do. But Faris shows that side; she embraces it, and when she does, those around her embrace it as well, beyond anything she could have imagined. Often, we won't stand up for ourselves but we refuse to allow our daughters to endure what we dismiss on our own behalf. Inevitably, in fighting for them, we end up finding the courage to fight for ourselves as well.

If Second Acts of Weary Warrior Women means something to you, as it does to me, that’s all I can hope for as a writer. I’m so glad we could share these pages together. <3

Looking forward to our next adventure,

Elizabeth F. Shearly

Elizabeth F. Shearly's autograph

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Paperback: 9781068934612; ebook: 9781068934605

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Five women

They're from different worlds, they'll never meet, but they are all determined to change their direction.

Worlds of magic

Dragons? Vampires? Spectres? Shifters? Fairies? All of the above. Explore five unique worlds, with unique magic--and unique problems.

Content warnings

Each story has its own specific content warnings on its individual page, but please be aware that this collection contains explicit sex scenes and some violence. Take care of yourself!