Trials By Tides: A Zasra Press Anthology [Blitz w Excerpt]

A living weapon. An attack on the laws of reality. One chance to save the world.

Welcome to one of the many stops on the book blitz for Trials By Tides: A Zasra Press Anthology with XPresso Book Tours. Look for others participating in this blitz across social media and on your favourite bookish blogs April 28 – May 2, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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About the Book

Trials By Tides
by S.K. Sayari, A.M. Dilsaver, Aisling Wilder, R.L. Davennor, Ine Gausel, Kida Langås, Eleanor Owen, Barend Nieuwstraten III, Christiana Matthews

Published 26 April 2022
Zasra Press

Genre: Fantasy Anthology, Short Fiction
Page Count: 290
Add it to your Goodreads TBR!

The strangers hadn’t come for just any story. They’d come for her—the memory I’d clearly failed to bury. The one story I’d never tell… from “The Storyteller”

Somewhere down in the depths of the ocean, deeper than any light could reach, something awoke… from “Cost of the Crown”

I cannot shake the call of the ocean. It consumes me, fills my dreams, crowds my mind, and in that moment I know…I will do anything to become a mermaid… from “The Calling”

As gentle and sweet as the ocean’s lullaby can be, its waters are dark, dangerous, and full of mystery….

Dive in and explore ten original stories centered around the ocean. You’ll find something for everyone, from benevolent mermaids to powerful levjatans; stolen secrets and forbidden stories. Meet pirates and thieves, sea dragons and gods in these tales of action, grief, romance, and mystery!

The Song Thieves – Eleanor Owen

A girl who steals secrets from the sea searches for her missing sister, following clues found in the sea’s strange songs.

Manannan’s Daughter – Christiana Matthews

Mortals are all very well to use as playthings, but Cliohna’s decisions anger her father, with disastrous results.

Son of the Sea – Aisling Wilder

On an island in the West of Ireland, a lost soul rescues a dying man—or does the man rescue him?

The Delivery – Barend Nieuwstraten III

For a pair of hired hands, a simple task of escorting a coffin and its caretaker across the southern sea should make for a relaxing journey. However, as questionable things begin to happen, they find themselves more and more involved in the wild events to come.

The Storyteller – R. L. Davennor

An elderly storyteller is forced to recall the one tale she swore never to utter.

Cost of the Crown – Ine Gausel

Young prince Coral has always been told that the sea is a dark and dangerous place, but something he finds up on shore will change his life forever.

Heart of Amber – Kida Langås

After a storm brings two lost unlikely friends together after a decade apart, both of them have to make a choice: sneak away and rekindle their friendship, or risk losing each other a second time.

One More Time – A. M. Dilsaver

A young widower seeks solace from the ocean and its mysteries after his wife dies.

The Calling – A. M. Dilsaver

Torn between her true love and the ocean, Cordelia must make a choice that will change her life forever.

The Sparrow in the Ash Sea – S. K. Sayari

An unlikely hero must return the Goddess of the Sea to her temple before the ash sea overtakes all.

Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon UK

Excerpt

From: The Storyteller – R. L. Davennor

The tavern door swung open, stopping me mid-sentence as cold and snow scattered everywhere. The roaring fire to my left was enough to keep my old bones from feeling the sudden chill, but indignant muttering rose from the patrons seated near the back.

Several silhouettes emerged from the blackness outside. A few members of my audience raised their voices, demanding to know whether the newcomers had lost their minds; no one in their right one would dare brave a blizzard this harsh.

Unless they’d come to see me.

My fists clenched at my sides. Visitors were now a regular occurrence, disrupting the peace and constantly drawing attention. Despite my best efforts to quell them, rumors had spread far and wide by now: in the north resided not just any storyteller, but The Storyteller. Though I did have a name of my own, that was all anyone had called me for years, and I still hadn’t decided whether I liked it.

What I didn’t like were the rumors—because they weren’t rumors. They were true. I could recite any story, old or new, knew the mythos of the gods better than anyone, and adored being the vessel that kept their legends alive. I’d traveled the world and seen things that no other mortal had ever laid eyes on. But such a distinction attracted inevitable attention…and strangers.

I studied tonight’s lot. Four of them, led by a man so tall he had to duck to cross the threshold. They said nothing as they stripped themselves of their jackets and furs. Their teeth chattered and their hands shook, but strangely, they didn’t look too bedraggled, given what they’d just endured. I couldn’t even see any obvious signs of frostbite. Impressive, but I wouldn’t let it show. Raising an eyebrow, I waited until they’d crammed themselves into the only empty booth before continuing my story. Whatever the strangers had come for, they would soon leave empty-handed. I’d make certain of that.