by Raven J. Demers and Robin Wood
Seal Breaker, the sequel to The Grasp of Time, is now in the hands of editor Ellen Klowden. If all goes according to schedule, we’re aiming for a January publication.
Funds are tight, however, and we are seeking a new illustrator (or more than one) for the coloring pages; Ms. Fuller is currently attending university and is unable to accept commissions for the foreseeable future. We’re looking forward to her availability for future books when her schedule permits.
“Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality
of the whole will be revealed to you.”
–Ford Madox Ford
Whether you choose the Page 69 test, or the Page 99 test suggested by Ford above, you’re in luck! Not only is Chapter Zero available free, but here you’ll also be able to read Page 69 and Page 99 of The Grasp of Time.
If you like it, you can find it available for print, Kindle, and Nook.
Not sure if The Grasp of Time is the right book? You’re invited to read the first chapter.
As some readers may already know, Robin and I are queer. Both of us are pansexual, and I identify as genderfluid. Thus, our stories are filled with queer characters.
In The Grasp of Time, among our named characters, there are:
Many of our characters are gender non-conforming, yet still cisgender, however one character is genderfluid, another is non-binary. That’s six heterosexuals to twelve queer people. Because if we can’t put representation into our own stories, what’s the point?
In future books, there will be asexual characters, openly transgender characters, and people who don’t fit into neat categories in the least (Khraesch certainly doesn’t). As with everything, I have a spreadsheet for this.
When going through the final editorial pass before handing The Grasp of Time to our editor, I found myself brought to tears over WildFeather (a.k.a. Aeri). Not over some tragedy in her future, but of her in those early moments, when Eila meets her for the first time.
Since the whole series is mapped out to some extent (the first four books are in some stage of completion, and the last four have their basic structures in place), I know far more about her than I did when we first played out those introductory scenes. Seeing the whole situation from Aeri’s point of view in those moments broke my heart because her words carry so much more weight now than they did when we’d only begun to meet these characters ourselves.
She’s one of my favorites in this series. Always will be. And if you’ve read The Grasp of Time already and loved her, then I have good news. You’ll see her again in Seal Breaker, and several of the other books in the series.
On November 18th, the first chapter of Eila Corbin’s journey entered the world, resembling only the barest fragments of its original, oral tale shared between a wordsmith (Demers) and a tale spinner (Wood).
Eila Corbin, a modern-day university student, is pulled into a fantastical future where magic and technology are at odds, and mythical beings live among the mundane. While Eila avoids the deadly hands that brought her through time, she finds help from a dwarf, a dragon, and a love that cannot return with her.
The Grasp of Time is the first volume in the new-adult slipstream series, Amakai. This series is linked to coloring pages and invites readers to interact with the story.
The Grasp of Time is available for purchase in print on Amazon, and on Kindle and Nook. The book features eight coloring pages by Emily P. Fuller, cover illustration by Natasha Swan, and editing by Ellen Klowden.
If you enjoy a musical pairing with your reading, we’ve assembled a mix tape “soundtrack” (unofficial) to listen to while devouring The Grasp of Time.
