Exposed: A Story from the World of Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Earlier this year, an awesome debut book called SWORD AND VERSE came out. I was lucky enough to get a very early ARC, and WOW! I was completely blown away by Kathy's amazing world and characters. Sublime. So I JUMPED at the chance to host this extra! If you have not read this yet, I would not read any further as spoilers ahoy! But if you want to know what the book is about, read on for the summary.
Summary: Raisa was only a child when she was kidnapped and enslaved in Qilara. Forced to serve in the palace of the King, she’s endured hunger, abuse, and the harrowing fear of discovery. Everyone knows that Raisa is Arnath, but not that she is a Learned One, a part of an Arnath group educated in higher order symbols. In Qilara, this language is so fiercely protected that only the King, the Prince, and Tutors are allowed to know it. So when the current Tutor-in-training is executed for sharing the guarded language with slaves and Raisa is chosen to replace her, Raisa knows that, although she may have a privileged position among slaves, any slipup could mean death.
That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the Resistance could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved, an honorable man she knows wants to help the slaves.
Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.
And Raisa is the one holding the key.
That would be challenging enough, but training alongside Prince Mati could be her real undoing. And when a romance blossoms between them, she’s suddenly filled with a dangerous hope for something she never before thought possible: more. Then she’s approached by the Resistance—an underground army of slaves—to help liberate the Arnath people. Joining the Resistance could mean freeing her people…but she’d also be aiding in the war against her beloved, an honorable man she knows wants to help the slaves.
Working against the one she loves—and a palace full of deadly political renegades—has some heady consequences. As Raisa struggles with what’s right, she unwittingly uncovers a secret that the Qilarites have long since buried…one that, unlocked, could bring the current world order to its knees.
And Raisa is the one holding the key.
Before we dive into the tortured Mati goodness, a note from Kathy:
When I am working on a book, I always end up writing lots of extra scenes from other characters’ points of view. Sometimes it’s just for fun, and sometimes it’s a necessary writing exercise; if I am stuck in a scene in the main story, then writing something from a different point of view almost always gets me unstuck.
This is the first of several extras and deleted scenes I will be releasing for Sword and Verse, and I am excited to be unveiling here on Queen of the Bookshelves! Thank you to Nicola for being such a supporter of Sword and Verse and for agreeing to host this extra!
I’ll be revealing more extras and deleted scenes over the coming months. To make sure you don’t miss any, follow my blog at www.kathymacmillan.com or follow me on Twitter at @kathys_quill. Want early access to the next extra? Enter here: https://twitter.com/kathys_quill
And without further ado, here is
Exposed: A Story from the World of Sword and Verse by Kathy MacMillan
Raisa had a pretty rotten morning the day after she and Mati broke up. But Mati’s morning was even worse…
Click here to read Exposed.
SWORD AND VERSE very easily got a five star rating from me. It ticked every box I had when it came to fantasy. The book made me laugh. The book made me cry. And Mati and Raisa are the cutest darn couple ever. I need more of them. Asap. Kathy will be releasing other deleted scenes and extras, this being the first, so definitely don't miss out!
Read my review HERE.
ABOUT KATHY: Kathy MacMillan is a writer, American Sign Language interpreter, consultant, librarian and signing storyteller. She holds National Interpreter Certification from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. Her diverse career includes working as a children’s librarian at public libraries, working a school librarian at the Maryland School for the Deaf, leading the Eldersburg Library Bookcart Drill Team, and performing as Scooby-Doo, Velma, and a host of other characters at a theme park. Kathy presents American Sign Language storytelling programs through her business, Stories By Hand, and also runs the storytime resource website Storytime Stuff. She is a volunteer director and board president of Deaf Camps, Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides camps for deaf children. Kathy holds a Master of Library Science from the University of Maryland, a Bachelor of English from the Catholic University of America, and a Certificate of American Sign Language Interpreting from the Community College of Baltimore County. She lives in Owings Mills, MD with her husband, son, and a cat named Pancake.
