Onto day two and this one is for my young adult fans.
As I've mentioned on here before, this series is quite possibly my favourite shifter series.
I am also honoured to count the author as a friend, thanks to the internet, so without further ado let me introduce you to The Shalean Moon series by
J. Lilley.
The Shalean Story...
In the mists of time, when Scotland was its own land, and clans loved and fought, depending on the season, the harvest, and their laws, the goddess Shalea took her place amongst them.
No ordinary ruler, but one with exceptional talents, to have and hold her own clan together, to form and change those who had talents unknown to the Clans. She drew these people together, and thus was formed The Shalean Sept.
For centuries they lived peacefully and prospered, until their peace and harmony was threatened by those who understood nothing of their ways. Dion, a young boy of the countryside took a vow to protect Shalea, to ensure the goddess lived and with her, her ideals, even though he knew nothing of her world. His ideal was justice. To seek peace and prosperity for his land. To do so he risked his life for hers, and thus Shalea was saved.
In appreciation, Shalea gifted him with powerful abilities, enabling him to sense other people's fears and emotions deep inside himself, and to speak to those chosen with no words passing his lips. This they called sensing or projecting. To shift. To change from human to leopard. And to pass these gifts to those he felt worthy.
In time Dion met and married a young follower of Shalea, and passed his gifts to his family. In such manner was the Sept's success ensured. Peace and harmony. Until now.
***
They had been called together, all young, all knowing they were different, none knowing how.
"Why are we here?" Leira Parde spoke to no one in particular. "I want to be at home, under the duvet with chocolate and a good book. Not in this draughty old school, on a Saturday morning wondering if I've been caught with my phone in school or eating gum on the school bus or something, and this is the punishment."
Her brother Brios laughed. He'd had much the same reaction a year or so earlier.
"You'll find out soon enough, here's dad, oops Patriarch now."
Marok Parde, dad or Patriarch depending who you were and where you where, entered the room, his wife and Matriarch close behind.
The old school was tiny, just one room, high windows with a view to the sky and above. With them all inside, there was little room to look up at the vista, but to know it was there was comforting.
"Our gods and us. " The greeting was as commonplace to each and every person in the room as 'hi'. They repeated it, and waited.
"Each of you know a little of our past; today it is time to learn of your future. To rejoice in your Shalean selves, to learn soon, you will all progress to the next level of your lives. To sense and shift.
"As you grow and become adult, you will become true Shaleans, to sense and project your thoughts, to shift and become your other self. To be Shalean, to be Leopard. To learn your role in life, in the Sept, and how to develop that role for the good of all.
The room was filled with a silver haze.
"Listen with your hearts, and hear all I say."
'This is our protection, our Shimmer Zone. For as we shift and reform our bodies, we need to give thanks. For these gifts.' The voice was in each and everyone of them, soft and loud commanding and reassuring.
The mists dissolved and instead of the man stood the cat.
"Watch and learn, and remember, you use your gifts wisely, for the good of Shalea." The leopard left the room silently, his fur rippling his rosettes proud.
"Wow." Leira said eventually. "So that's the next step eh? So when will it happen?"
"To each person, when the gods decree." Brios answered. "When thus you accept and agree our creed.
***
And so it was.
On the night of The Shalean Moon, they were called and accepted their fate. Shifted and ran with the Sept to celebrate their Shalean selves.
One boy, not yet a man, but on the cusp, accepted his gifts with a smirk. To him they meant power. His power. To him, Struan Scott, they were a means to an end. The end of Shalea as they all knew it.
Hopefully you're getting the hang of it already - have you remembered to re-tweet yesterday's giveaway too to gain more entries? - so today, one of lucky reader will win a book from The Shalean Moon series, in your choice of digital format.
How to enter...
To enter, just select '
Yes please, I'd like to enter' in Rafflecopter below and hit the green button - simple as that - however, you can also gain additional entries by leaving a blog comment, following the links to 'like' or follow' on Facebook and Twitter.
And here's a tip... you gain a double entry bonus for tweeting about the giveaway
(ignore the bit where it tells you to past the URL - I'll know if you've tweeted the link) and you can do this
every day, potentially giving you fourteen additional entries and boosting your chances of winning.
This contest is open for seven days, closing October 26th at 12:01am EST, and the winner will be announced on October 31st.
If you are having any technical difficulties when trying to enter, please
email me.
Good luck!
