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Marlene Wynn is a Utah native - fondly referred to as "Utonian" by a friend.
She transplanted herself in 1992 from the majestic Rocky Mountains to the beachy
shores of sunny Virginia Beach, Virginia and has been there ever since. Though
she has worked in the benefits field for several years, she finally worked up
the courage to chase her dream as an author.
Find Marlene and her books
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Chandrea: The Return of the Avatar Queen
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Chandrea Averill thinks
she’s just like any other normal young woman. But, on the day of her
23rd birthday, her life changes forever.
Surrounded by magical
creatures, dangerous sorcery, and insidious political intrigue, Chandrea
desperately wants to return to Earth and the only life she’s ever
known. But, the longer she stays, the more she realizes that she may be
the only one with the power – both magical and political – to save the
people of Lyrunia. Will she find the courage to remain and fight for her
home world?
Book trailer http://youtu.be/lzJpY3nai34
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Excerpt:
Looking anxiously to her right, she saw that, despite her brief run, the
clouds had come much closer, and that the clashing lightning and thunder were
almost on top of her. Flutters of fear crawled down her spine and made a home in
her belly. This was not good. Chandrea looked around for some place to find
protection. Though the grasses seemed to be thinning out and she was seeing
small scrubby bushes here and there, there still weren’t any signs of
civilization, so she continued to walk tiredly east.
The brisk wind turned into powerful gusts, and she had to lean to avoid being
thrown off her feet. Dust and debris were torn from the ground and swirled all
around her, and she was forced to raise her hands to shield her eyes. Lightning
struck nearby, followed by a powerful blast of thunder that shook the ground.
Chandrea cringed and screamed in raw fear.
She felt the first few warm splashes of water on her skin, and looking up,
saw that the bulk of the sky had turned a deep heavy looking grey. She began to
run again, the flight instinct now in full control of her.
The heavens opened up and rain came sheeting down. The drops were huge at
first, but quickly became small and piercing as they pelted her skin. Her
clothing soon became saturated, weighing her down.
Lightning flashed all around her, dazzling bursts of light followed closely
by violent claps of thunder. The strikes blew chunks of dirt and debris into the
wind. The world was shaken by the repeated crack of thunder and her eardrums
throbbed in painful harmony from the overwhelming sounds.
Animal instinct took over. Throwing herself to her knees, she clawed at the
dirt. Her breath came in terrified, ragged gasps, but she was all but oblivious
to it as she dug and tore at the stubborn soil. Every time lightning struck near
her, she screamed and ducked, covering her head with her arms in an unconscious
effort to protect herself, and then continued digging.
She tore at the web of roots, desperate to dig a hole she could take shelter
in, but to no avail. The old grasses had been in the dry plains for a long time,
and had grown their roots long and wide to find any available ground water.
Without a shovel or a pick, she could make no headway, and only managed to tear
her hands to the point of bleeding in the effort.
Gasping, she stopped and looked around with wild, frightened eyes. The world
around her had gone mad. Lightning struck rapidly now, all around her, for miles
in all directions, and the sharp booming thunder was close on its heels.
A small, sane portion of her mind recognized that she should hunker down and
try to make the smallest target of herself possible, but that was akin to taking
your eyes off the hungry lion crouched nearby and hoping it wouldn’t notice you.
Instead, she knelt and watched with horrified fascination as the prairie took a
beating from mother nature. Her entire body shook from the fear that washed
through her, and she knew that at any moment lightning would strike and kill
her.
Without conscious thought or effort, her magic bloomed to life. She gasped at
the suddenness of it, yet welcomed it with a desperate hope. She felt it growing
and expanding inside her, filling her completely with an eerie, tingling
sensation. What was happening? What would her magic do this time?
Her skin began to glow a soft ethereal white. She held her hands out in front
of her, and, despite the dangers surrounding her, wonder filled her at the
sight. She’d seen her skin glow before, but never so clearly. The glow rapidly
enveloped her until she was encased by a soft white ball of energy that extended
a few feet out from her on all sides. The wind and rain no longer affected her,
apparently unable to penetrate her protective sphere.
Curious, she poked a finger at the ball. It rippled like water when she
touched it. She became bolder and stuck her whole arm out. Once again, the wind,
rain, and nearby grass stalks pelted her tender skin. She pulled her arm and
hand back inside and the sensations ceased.
She looked around with a newfound sense of security. The storm raged on
around her, but in her sheltering bubble, it seemed that none of the elements
could touch her. She gasped as a bolt of lightning struck nearby. She could only
hope that the bubble would protect her against the lightning strikes as well.
With a frightening intensity, suddenly a new roaring sound filled her senses,
causing her to gasp and duck involuntarily. It was followed immediately by
anther, and another, each successfully competing in volume and depth with the
crashing thunder. But, these new sounds weren’t caused by mother nature.
It was almost as if a whole
pride of hungry lions were surrounding
her, and roaring in excitement of the hunt and the kill to come.
But, it couldn’t be lions, for, like the thunder, these sounds came from the
sky itself.
Some had a deep, throbbing quality to them. Others were shrill and almost
metallic. All of them were terrifying.
Chandrea tried to determine what was up there in the deep dark grey of the
clouds. It was difficult to see through the soft glow of her bubble. When
several lightning bolts struck, causing a strobe effect, she sucked in her
breath in disbelieving terror at what she saw.
Silhouetted in brief, white-clad glory, were dozens upon dozens of dragons of
various shapes and sizes. Each time the lightning flashed, it would cause a
still-life effect of the great beasts circling in the sky with an almost playful
air about them. With huge, earth- shaking roars, some shot massive flames from
their mouths, causing the heavens and the ground far below to be lit by the
intense yellow-red flare.
