The Witches of Crannock Dale by Thomas M. Kane



The Witches of Crannock Dale
Mara of the League Book 1
by Thomas M. Kane
Genre: Fantasy 

When an enemy army threatens eleven-year old Mara’s home, she makes up her mind to save her family, one way or another. But when the knights protecting her village arrest her favorite aunt for witchcraft, she discovers that the difference between friend and foe may not be as obvious as she once thought.
This is a story of war and espionage, set in a low fantasy world. It is also about a child getting to know her mother and father in a new way.

I planted my feet on the worn cobblestones. “Let me go!”
“Shut up.” Mr. Vance dragged me forward.
“Help!” I turned my head to look at the dyer’s apprentice. His ginger hair was cropped almost to fuzz and sweat had soaked through his shirt.
Mr. Vance smiled at the dyer’s apprentice, or maybe it was a snarl. “Hallo, Gus.”
“Help me—”
“I said shut up.” Mr. Vance’s grip tightened on my shoulder until I gasped. His thumb was inside my collar, and I could feel the sandpaper roughness of his skin. “She’s a bit excited. Lucky I found her, or Bel knows what she might have got into. Dangerous for a kid to be about on her own, am I right?”
“Righty-ho, sir.”
“Righty-ho.” Mr. Vance grinned again. “Oh, and tell your master I said hallo. Tell‘m I owe him a pint.”
Gus hefted the handles on his cart and continued down the street. He looked paler than he had looked before, and he kept his eyes fixed on the cobblestones ahead of him. The cartwheels clattered as he passed us by.
Mr. Vance grabbed my other shoulder and shook me. Then he hustled me forward, continuing down the street. He leaned to talk in my ear, and I could feel the heat of his breath. “Who put you up to it? You know I can make you tell me.”
I stamped on Mr. Vance’s foot as hard as I could.



Thomas M. Kane is a fantasy author living high on a wooded hilltop. He taught international relations at a British university for close to twenty years and brings his insights concerning real-life war and politics into his fiction. He takes a character-based approach to writing, paying attention to his protagonists' personal relationships and inner lives.




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Comments

  1. This sounds very interesting. The cover is quite nice.

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    1. Thank you! I'm honored by your interest, and I am thrilled with the cover myself. Artist Robin Birrell did the painting. Designer Tallulah van der Made turned it into a book.

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  2. Replies
    1. So happy to hear it! I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Robin and Tallulah on this book.

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  3. Stories about witches are always welcome here. The synopsis was a bit vague, but I am assuming there are rival powers battling it out. Best wishes on the new release.

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    1. I deeply appreciate your good wishes . . . and I'm glad you like witch stories. :) If you have questions about the synopsis, I would be delighted to answer them! You are correct about the rival powers. About five hundred years before this novel takes place,nomadic warriors called the Pure Men of Waan conquered most of the continent. About a hundred years before the novel takes place, the people of Mara's land drove the Waanlings out and founded an independent federation of countries known as the League of Caerlande. Ever since then, the people of the League have been concerned that the Waanlings will try to re-conquer them.

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  4. I love that cover *-* and stories about witches? I'm in! :D

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    1. So happy to hear it! Hope you enjoy it. Eager to hear you responses after you've seen the book -- I'm active on Facebook and Twitter.

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  5. Intriguing premise. Sounds like a good read

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    1. I really appreciate your kind words! Delighted to share!

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  7. Thank you! I flatter myself by thinking I've written a half-way original story. I am honored by your comment!

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  8. I like the art work on the cover. Sounds like a great read one that i would enjoy.

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  9. Thank you very much for hosting me on the Witches of Crannock Dale blog tour!

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