Lioness of Kell by Paul E. Horsman Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Lioness of Kell by Paul E. Horsman
Release Date: January 30th 2015
Red Rune Books

Summary from Goodreads:

Secure in his position as the mighty Prince-warlock’s son, eighteen-year-old Basil is content with his solitary life of study and magic. He has a comfortable set of rooms in his father’s tower, he has his books and scrolls, and he is perfectly happy. Until the Warlockry Council summons him, and their demands sets his whole, safe existence tottering. Scared and unsure, he decides to run, and takes the first ship out of town. On board he meets Yarwan, the handsome midshipman, who awakens feelings he never knew existed.
Maud of the M'Brannoe, at nineteen already a mighty Kell warrioress, is about to graduate as a Lioness, a special duty officer answering to her Queen and no one else. The Prince-warlock asks her to fetch a certain boy from a pirate town, who could be double for his son. On their way back, someone sabotages their airship and the two find themselves marooned in an ill-reputed forest. Together, the young lioness and Jurgis the lookalike run for the coast and a ship home, while finding solace in each other’s arms.
Then the four young people meet, and Basil learns of a spell that might help him. Only the spell’s creator, the infamous Black Warlock, disappeared nearly a century ago. When the four young people decide to go looking for him, they start on a path leading to an old war and unsolved mysteries that will change the world. Or kill them.
A spirited fantasy story of high adventure, sparkling humor and romantic love in an alternate earth setting of tropical islands, pirates, steamships and wyrms, where both magic and early modern technology flourish.

Excerpt from CHAPTER 11 - COUNSELS 

When  they  returned  to  the Daisee,  Yarwan  met  them  at  the  gangway.  He’d  taken  off  his  neat jacket and shirt, and his wiry torso shone with sweat as any sailor’s would. ‘The ship is ready,’ he said. ‘I found a load of moldering sail cloth and all the dead are sewn up for burial. I used rusted cannon  balls as weights; most of them should  be replaced anyhow. I’ve made  notes  for the new captain.’ The  look he gave Darquine was devoid of expression. ‘Which one will it be? Assuming Uncle Naching promoted one of his own officers and doesn’t leave it to the Overcaptain?’Darquine  didn’t  answer.  She  stared  through  narrowed  eyes  at  the  clean  deck  and  the  neatly furled sails, and Yarwan’s face tautened as if he expected another rejection.  Maud  gave  an  exasperated  sigh. ‘Don’t  torture  the  guy,  Darquine.  Yarwan,  we  didn’t  want Naching’s toadies or any of the Overcaptain’s darlings either. You helped capture this ship. Your uncle  says  you’re  qualified  to  handle  her.  That’s  enough  for  us.  So  if  you  want  the  command, you’re in.’It was as if a lamp lighted up on Yarwan’s face, showing his unexpected joy. ‘I do want it! Oh, I do.’Maud  gripped  his  hand. ‘Then  you’re  now  the  commander  of  the  Chorwaynie  cutter Daisee. Congratulations, Captain Yarwan.’‘Thank  you,’  the  young  man  said,  and  he  shone  with  pride. ‘I had  a  word  with  the  Jentakans, and they helped get the ship back in order. I couldn’t promise anything, of course. But now we’ll have the best crew in the world.’‘Those Chorwaynies served that creep Felrich,’ Jurgis asked. ‘Can they be trusted?’‘To the death,’ Yarwan said, while he faced him squarely. ‘Only don’t call them Chorwaynies. They are Jentakans from Maiwar, one of the inland tribes. Most of our crews are Jentakans; they’re  the  best  sailors  in  the  world.  They  serve  the  ship  through  a  personal  oath  between  crew  and captain, what we call shipbound. Hiton, their wandin, told me how they came to the Daisee. Their original captain was a drunkard and let their ship run on a reef here close by. They all survived, but the ship was lost and the crew’s honor with her. It made them shipless, and they had to cut off their  pigtails.  Then  they  hanged  their  captain  and  his  officers,  and  waited  for  a  ship  to  rescue them.’‘They hanged them?’ Maud said, surprised. Yarwan  nodded. ‘In  being  drunk  and  losing  the  ship,  the  officers  broke  their  part  of  the  oath. That’s a mortal offense and hanging them for it is a lawful punishment. Never betray your crew. Had the captain, drunk or not, done his utmost yet failed, it would’ve been different, but he was insensible  throughout  and  so  were  the  other  two.’  He  gave  the  others  a  grim  smile. ‘The  same rule goes for me; it’s part of being captain.’ For a moment, he was silent. ‘The next ship to come for water and wood was Felrich, who took them on without the oath, paying them a pittance. So they did what they were paid for, but never served him.’‘Wasn’t  that  lucky  for  us?’  Jurgis  said. ‘I  suppose  they  would’ve  fought  if  they  had  sworn loyalty?’Yarwan nodded. ‘They would.’Darquine  sighed.  Then  she  poked  Yarwan  in  the  shoulder. ‘Don’t  mind  me.  I  arranged  your captaincy  with  Naching,  and  now  it’s  done,  I  find  myself  jealous.  I  would  so  love  to  command this ship myself. But it won’t do. So best of luck to you, Captain Yarwan.

About the Author

Paul E. Horsman (1952) is a Dutch and International Fantasy Author. Born in the sleepy garden village of Bussum, The Netherlands, he now lives in Roosendaal, a town on the Dutch border with Belgium.
He has been a soldier, salesman, scoutmaster and from 1995 teacher of Dutch as a Second Language to refugees from all over the globe.
Since 2012, he is a full-time writer of epic light fantasy adventures for Y.A. and older. His works have been both trade published in The Netherlands, and self-published internationally.

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