Livli's Gift

Livli struggles with a secret she keeps from everyone, even her closest friends, and she must solve the problem at its heart before she’s discovered.

She’s certain the answer lies in a fragment of folklore and magic half-remembered from her childhood. Almost certain.

She wouldn’t need forgotten magic if only the men and women of her secluded mountain culture dwelt together. But the women—and Livli—inhabit their sister-lodge atop its lofty bluff, while the men live apart in their brother-lodge several valleys away.

Unless she can force a change, Livli stands to lose everything . . . including the most precious thing in her life: her son.

A story of secrets, shibboleths, and deep-forged strength told with all the insight and engaging intimacy that J.M. Ney-Grimm brings to epic fantasy.

KAUNIS CLAN SAGA

The Hammarleeding people dwell in the high mountain valleys of J.M. Ney-Grimm’s North-lands. They wield a tribal magic born of dance and song and the flow of sacred waters.

Ritual and tradition hold a special place in Hammarleeding culture. Their rites are beautiful and uplifting, but they underpin a way of life that features many thou-shalt-nots.

In each story of the Kaunis Clan Saga, one woman – or one man – challenges the shibboleths that threaten her—or his—particular bright dream.

Sarvet’s Wanderyar (1)
Crossing the Naiad (2)
Livli’s Gift (3)
Winter Glory (4)

Each installment presents a unique protagonist from a fresh generation of the family. The stories stand alone and need not be read in order.

PRAISE FOR LIVLI'S GIFT

“…fascinating and insightful…” — P. Saternye

“I started reading and couldn’t put it down. I love the world and the characters...” — Diane Riggins

EXCERPT FROM LIVLI'S GIFT

Livli rerolled the scroll carefully, returned it to its pigeonhole, and sighed. The whisper of her breath sounded loud in the quiet space, as had the crackle of the brittle parchment and the faint click of the closing cabinet door.

The tale of The Princess and the Griffon did not have the reference she was looking for. Neither had The Lindworm's Eyrie nor Triton's Egg.

"Why am I bothering," she murmured. "It's a wild gos chase."

But she knew why she was bothering. She really, really wanted the information in whatever tale it was.

"I wish I could remember."

But she couldn't remember.

Of course, she could ask her birth-mother. Sarvet would undoubtedly reel off an entire list of the folktales she'd told her children at bedtime. But I don't want her to know . . . what I'm thinking about right now.

Livli sighed again.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.