The Duality of Nature
C.E. Clayton
(The Monster of Selkirk, #1)
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Monsters come in many forms, and not everyone knows a monster when they see one. After three hundred years of monstrous, feral elves plaguing the island nation of Selkirk, everyone believes they know what a monster is. Humans have learned to live with their savage neighbors, enacting a Clearing every four years to push the elves back from their borders. The system has worked for centuries, until after one such purge, a babe was found in the forest.
As Tallis grows, she discovers she isn’t like everyone else. There is something a little different that makes people leery in her presence, and she only ever makes a handful of friends.
But when the elves gather their forces and emerge from the forests literally hissing Tallis’s name like a battle mantra, making friends is the least of her troubles. Tallis and her companions find themselves on an unwilling journey to not only clear her name, but to stop the elves from ravaging her homeland.
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The Heart of the Forest
C.E. Clayton
(The Monster of Selkirk, #2)
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Tallis is learning how to deal with loss and violence as she and her friends traverse the forests of Selkirk trying to find the reason behind the elven uprising. Not to mention why they keep hissing her name. But the further into the forests they go, Tallis is finding that the elves’ depravity can still surprise her, and thoroughly test the bonds of friendship, family, and love.
Tallis’s journey eventually leads to answers they’re not prepared for. Now Tallis begins to wonder just who she really is, and if she’s the evil that will end up destroying Selkirk. But she cannot stop to process these revelations, as an unforeseen betrayal lands those she loves at the feet of the very monster responsible for all the hurt, and heartbreak.
Coming face to face with her foe, Tallis discovers all too late she has no idea how to deal with this level of pain, and death. One way or another, the monster’s path ends here, and all Tallis can hope to do is bring those she loves safely out of the heart of the forest.
Excerpt #5:
(book 2)
Tallis dropped her head and stared down at her muddy boots. With all her heart, she did not want to help the elves. She did not want to save them. But she knew it was what her mother would have wanted. It was what Donovan would have encouraged, despite the fact he had been on more than one Clearing during his time as a knight. And with the way Tomas was watching her now, she knew he would disapprove if she allowed the elves to now wither and die.
She could almost hear them telling her it was wrong to condemn a whole race for one mistake. She could hear her cousin tell her if there was a demon responsible, that it changed everything he believed about the elves. The memory was not an old one, he had said as much when they had first reached Lake Mithrim, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Tallis knew her family would ask her to try and forgive the elves. That it was the right thing to do.
She sighed and shut her eyes, forcing the tears, caused by her memories and shame for wanting to let all the elves die, roll down her cheeks. After another moment, she whispered, “Very well, tell me where this demon’s gate is.”
The yew tree did not speak; instead, it implanted a type of map into Tallis’s mind. She was being shown the path to take that would lead her back into the Guldar Forest and just across the murky green water of the Osse River. There, in the center of a circle much like the one the yew tree was in, was the tree that was the demon’s gate.
Tallis dropped her head and stared down at her muddy boots. With all her heart, she did not want to help the elves. She did not want to save them. But she knew it was what her mother would have wanted. It was what Donovan would have encouraged, despite the fact he had been on more than one Clearing during his time as a knight. And with the way Tomas was watching her now, she knew he would disapprove if she allowed the elves to now wither and die.
She could almost hear them telling her it was wrong to condemn a whole race for one mistake. She could hear her cousin tell her if there was a demon responsible, that it changed everything he believed about the elves. The memory was not an old one, he had said as much when they had first reached Lake Mithrim, but it felt like a lifetime ago. Tallis knew her family would ask her to try and forgive the elves. That it was the right thing to do.
She sighed and shut her eyes, forcing the tears, caused by her memories and shame for wanting to let all the elves die, roll down her cheeks. After another moment, she whispered, “Very well, tell me where this demon’s gate is.”
The yew tree did not speak; instead, it implanted a type of map into Tallis’s mind. She was being shown the path to take that would lead her back into the Guldar Forest and just across the murky green water of the Osse River. There, in the center of a circle much like the one the yew tree was in, was the tree that was the demon’s gate.
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C. E. Clayton was born and raised in the greater Los Angeles area, where she attended the University of Southern California (Fight On!) for both her Bachelors and Masters, and then worked in the advertising industry for several years on accounts ranging from fast food, to cars, and video games (her personal favorite). After going the traditional career route and becoming restless, she went back to her first love–writing–and hasn’t stopped. She is now the author of “The Monster of Selkirk” series and her horror short stories have appeared in anthologies across the country. When she’s not writing you can find her treating her fur-babies like humans, constantly drinking tea, and trying to convince her husband to go to more concerts. And reading. She does read quite a bit. More about C.E. Clayton, including her blog, book reviews, social media presence, and newsletter, can be found on her website: https://www.ceclayton.com/Find C.E. Clayton and her books
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