Fourteen Stones by Kris Faatz

Blurb:

Fourteen Stones is a richly layered, character-driven fantasy. The tribal people called the Pala Vaia, “First and Lost Ones,” have lived in Lassar since ancient times and coexisted with the Lasska people, but they have always been wanderers, seemingly out of place wherever they are. Now Lassar’s fanatical new ruler, Impera Shurik, wants to destroy the tribes.

Sixteen-year-old Khari is a Vaia Lamp-Carrier. Her dreams provide guidance for her tribe, if she can interpret the messages they send. Now she must use all her skill, and trust instincts she has only begun to have, in order to save her people from extermination. Her dreams lead her and a small group of Vaia out of their native country and into neighboring Namora, where they must find allies, in particular a Namoran priest with an extraordinary mental gift of his own. The Vaia’s search for a safe homeland will change the lives of all the people it touches, as well as the futures of two nations.

Bio:

Kris Faatz (rhymes with skates) is a pianist, writer, and teacher. Her short fiction has appeared in journals including Los Angeles Review, Typehouse Magazine, and Streetlight Magazine, and most recently received NELLE journal’s 2022 Three Sisters Award. Her first novel, To Love A Stranger (Blue Moon Publishers, 2017), was a finalist for the Schaffner Press Music in Literature Award. Kris teaches classes on creative writing, music, and both together. When she’s not at work, she loves gardening, cooking, and hiking and exploring the outdoors. She lives in Maryland with her husband, jazz saxophonist and composer Paul Faatz, and feline contingent Alafair, Templeton, and Fergus.