Launch spotlight: The Chronicles of Marsh

The Ninja Librarian is delighted to announce the release of a new addition to the Princelings series!

 The Chronicles of Marsh, by Jemima Pett (#9 in the Princelings Series) was released Nov. 14!

Genre: fantasy/history/memoir/MG/crossover (yes, it really is all of these things!)
Length: 59,000 words
Triggers: one sad death scene
Recommended: for children over 10 with advanced reading skills

Publisher's Blurb:
The Princelings of the East are now King Fred and Prince Engineer George.  Gone are the years of innocence when they travelled for adventure and uncovered time tunnels and pirate plots.

Now Fred, assisted by his queen, Kira, has the responsibility for his people, his lands, and for persuading the lords and kings of the Realms to act together for the common good.

George just has to work on his inventions, always thinking of a final goal: to fulfil the promises made to Lord Mariusz so long ago.

Neither has an easy task.

Fred decides to write this history of his reign. He starts with the joy of his inheritance, but quickly shows us that developments in the Realms are not leading towards a settled and happy future.

Review:
Ordinarily, in this kind of post, I'd insert my review here. In this case, that doesn't seem quite right, as I was a beta reader/editor on this one and might not be wholly objective. So I'll just say that it is a must-read for anyone following the series, though not the place to start the series. I love the Princelings, and encourage anyone who likes Erin Hunter's Warriors, Brian Jacques, or Narnia to take a look at the series. This one fills in a lot of important bits and breaks your heart a little.

Excerpt:

Chapter One
Spring came subtly to the marsh. The reeds stood at odd angles, however the snow and winds had thrown them, beige against the black of the water and green of the new grass. The stubby willow bushes showed fluffy silver buds cracking out of chestnut-brown casings. On the more open wetlands, the peeping of wading birds made an incessant whistle against the wayward breeze.

The banners on the castle towers fluttered, halfway up the flagpoles. The castle stood proudly on a rock, surrounded by miles of reedbeds. To the east ran a line of dunes, then the sea. To the west, a thinly wooded meadow area gave way to dense forest. To north and south, reeds continued as far as the eye could see. 

In the castle, the entire population had gathered round a wooden box, set on a trestle in the middle of the upper square.

Fred watched as six members of the 25th Rifle Brigade, smartly dressed in their dark green jackets, hoisted the coffin onto their shoulders. They followed their captain, a huge person named Haggis, towards a gateway that led to the castle’s crypt. Fred felt the warmth of his wife next to him, warding off the chill in his heart. It was not just the death of his uncle. He wasn’t ready to be a king.

Yesterday, Princess Kira had been showing the children of the castle how to make a sound like a bittern by blowing across the neck of a jar. Today, Queen Kira was giving Fred moral support as he addressed his people.

“So, as we send our beloved King Vladimir on his way,” Fred said to his audience, “I ask each and every one of you to support me as your new king, to help me uphold the best traditions of our castle, and to help me serve you in the best interest of our community.” He paused for a couple of seconds, then added, “ I believe we have refreshments ready in the lower square.”

“Long live the King!” cried FGP, the castle’s long-serving steward. He’d never had any other name, and nobody knew what the initials stood for.

“Long live the King!” the people responded. Then they hurried off to the corner of the upper square and down the stairs. A feast was laid out for all at the tables set out in front of the tavern.

Chronicles of Marsh, Ch 1  © J M Pett 2019

Buying Links

iTunes, B&N, Kobo, Smashwords Amazon   (universal link)
Paperback: ISBN 9780464454038 – coming soon to your favourite store.

About the Author

Jemima wrote her first book when she was eight years old. She was heavily into world-building, drawing maps, building railway timetables, and dreaming of being a champion show-jumper, until schoolwork got in the way. Then she went down the science path, reading all the scifi in her local library, writing papers, manuals and reports, as well as editing the newsletters for her sports clubs. She changed career aged 42, to a new and exciting cross-cutting science called environmental technology, and worked in energy efficiency and climate change. A few years on, she was writing stories based on the personalities of her first pets, guinea pigs named Fred and George, after the Weasley twins. Then her other guinea pigs demanded starring roles….

Jemima Pett lives in Norfolk, UK, and first started writing fantasy adventures for young teens over ten years ago.

Connect with Jemima Pett:  Blog ** Amazon ** Goodreads ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Pinterest ** Smashwords

Now enter the Giveaway

~ one $20 or £20 or €20 gift card~

Runners up prizes:
~free ebooks of Chronicles of Marsh~
~1 UK winner gets a Princelings Notebook worth £16~

Note that only 3 entries are permitted per day to avoid spam. You may return to use other ways to enter at any time during the period of the giveaway.

Giveaway ends at 23.59 on December 6th, UK time. Open worldwide. You can come back to complete all the entries at other times but only three entries are available to you each day. Just visit Jemima Pett's page and make your entry! 

And just because I love the series and love the covers, here are all the rest!