“Come away with me,” he said. She was silent a long while. “To where?” “To anywhere. We can go to Cresthan province, find my mother’s kin. Elalantar, sail to the islands. Somewhere far from everything.” The sky was darker when she finally spoke again. “How far will we need to go to escape the war that begins when we disappear?” CLEARWATER DAWN — Book One of THE EXILE’S BLADE For nearly fifteen hundred years, the ancient conflicts of the peoples of the Ilmar were held in check by the power of the empire that ruled them. But now the empire has fallen, and old hatreds have begun to rekindle in the courts of civilization’s princes and in the outposts of the forest war-clans, all of whose leaders have sworn to cleanse the Ilmar with their enemies’ blood. Seemingly far from any place of importance in the politics of his homeland, Chriani is an apprentice guard in the royal household of Brandishear — a capable young warrior held back from attaining his full potential by a lifetime of dark anger. Lauresa is a princess about to be set aside as heir and married off for the sake of treaty — and the only woman Chriani has ever loved. When his mentor is murdered preventing an assassination attempt within the palace, Chriani is forced to become Lauresa’s protector, the two reconciling a forbidden passion. But as they do, they find themselves caught up in a maelstrom of political intrigue, ancient racial hatred, a society living in mortal fear of sorcery, and a decades-old plot to plunge five nations into genocidal war. "In the tradition of George R. R. Martin and Guy Gavriel Kay, 'Clearwater Dawn' is a character-driven literary fantasy whose story is anchored in the all-too-human struggle for meaning, survival, and hope." EXCERPT The princess faltered. Chriani saw the flick of her eyes, the gleam of blue catching the light as he twisted to follow her gaze. He'd left the dark door open behind him. In the faint light of the corridor, his eyes caught the ripple of shadow that meant movement in the distance. Footsteps, almost silent. "You fool," she whispered. Chriani wasn't listening, sheathing his sword with effort as he turned for the door, made to call out to whoever was racing toward them. No idea what he was supposed to say, but he was fairly certain that begging for mercy would be a large part of it. Then the princess was moving behind him, one hand across his mouth even as the other brought the dagger up, close to his throat as she dragged him back. Chriani was startled, as much at being grabbed at all as he was at the strength in her arm. As he stumbled back, though, he felt instinct override any uncertainty. Her blade was a hand's-width from him, more than enough space to go for her wrist. No room to get a decent strike in with the other hand, but her flank was vulnerable and in easy reach, or the soft muscle of her thigh, one sharp blow that would drop her. But even through the instinct, through all the memory of all the hand-to-hand training he'd done at Barien's side, he knew he couldn't do it. No idea what any of this was about, but he couldn't hurt her. Not anymore. He went for the dagger, though. No point in having his throat slit, by accident or otherwise. But even as his hand clamped around her wrist, Lauresa sang... (Download the free preview for more.) ABOUT THE AUTHOR Scott Fitzgerald Gray is a specially constructed biogenetic simulacrum built around an array of experimental consciousness-sharing techniques — a product of the finest minds of Canadian science until the grant money ran out. Accidentally set loose during an unauthorized midnight rave at the lab, the S.F. Gray entity is currently at large amongst an unsuspecting populace, where his work as an author, screenwriter, editor, RPG designer, and story editor for feature film keeps him off the streets. More info on Scott and his work (some of it even occasionally truthful) can be found by reading between the lines at insaneangel.com.