As an Australian farm kid I learned the true value of water. As an adult living in the Asian tropics I learned that plentiful water resources can be easily squandered. Both those things inspired me to write a book sizzling with heat, grimy with dust, peopled by folk prepared to fight and die for water rights.
But that’s just the background. The tale is the thing! Take two young people with abilities to manipulate water, but unaware of the value of their ability. Add two adults told they must sacrifice their freedom for the sake of their land. Insert a greedy ruler, a merciless tribal leader, a manipulative grandfather, a conniving noblewoman, all with nefarious agendas. Throw into the mix: the politics of water, hierarchical cities, floods, religious bigotry, racial tensions, degrading poverty.
Flavour it with a stormlord’s magic, for without a stormlord this would be a waterless world. Season it with a rainlord’s ability to murder by water, and a waterpainter’s ability to determine the future. And to spice up the tale still further, give the marauding warriors a terrifying weapon: ziggers. They are alive.
Stir the mixture and what do you get? Adventure and mayhem, water thefts and thirst, murder, kidnapping, slaughter and war. And yet, somewhere in all the murk, there are people striving to build a better world. Their weapons are heroism and honour, sacrifice and bravery – and love. Unfortunately, if they survive, there will be a price to pay.
Read The Last Stormlord and enjoy the taste.
To buy a copy of The Last Stormlord and to read an extract, visit the Orbit website.
This advertorial was written by Glenda Larke, in support of paid advertisement on this website.
