War is coming to Ytir. Mal Petroc kidnaps Branwen, a child who is going to be used as a weapon. He's a traitor - but the truth is more complicated than that, as his daughter Arian realises as she chooses where her loyalties lie. Ytir will descend into chaos, and Branwen must learn to use her powers to keep the people she loves safe, and to find a way home. More
In the land of Ytir, the Ard Ri, ruler of all the Great Families, is preparing for war. To invade the Duchies across the great river, he needs the services of a powerful yspridwch - but the young girl he was going to use has been kidnapped by one of his own Harpers. Traitor to his own people, Malcolm Petroc is hiding out in a parallel world, working as a bookseller in Hay-on-Wye, and Branwen is growing up without any interest in the world she came from. Now Mal's ex-wife has tracked them down, and sends Arian, their daughter, to bring them back. Convinced of the rightness of the Ard Ri's cause at first, Arian discovers the truth is more complicated than she thought, and she has to choose where her loyalties lie. Ytir will descend into chaos because of the Ard Ri's obsession - and Branwen needs to learn how to use her magical powers fast, to keep the people she loves safe, and to find a way to get home.
I work in a bookshop in Hay-on-Wye, the Town of secondhand Books, but I was trained as an archaeologist, and worked mainly in medieval archaeology. More recently, I've become interested in the world of Steampunk.
A trilogy (so far). In the fantasy world of Ytir, a Tanwch is a person with power over the element of Fire. Mal Petroc has this power, but he is in hiding on present day Earth, as a bookseller in Hay-on-Wye, the town of second hand books, with the child Branwen who he kidnapped to save her from being made into a weapon. The trilogy follows Mal, Branwen and Mal's daughter Arian, another Tanwch, as they try to survive plots and magic that keep dragging them back to Ytir.