Leslee Sheu's Blog
June 1, 2023
New Book Release!
I am excited to announce that Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat launched this week! This fourth installment in the Kumasagi series is available in paperback and Kindle editions, and will be available on Kindle Unlimited until August 26, 2023.
Asta travels to Sindhupat Island, hoping to meet a spiritual master who will help her overcome her difficulties with the mystic arts. The island, however, reveals a deeper purpose when Asta begins to have disturbing visions from Najat's childhood there.
Warned by Najat’s memories, Asta learns that the island’s most famous denizen, Delan Gampoban, is not the man that songs and stories of legend would have him seem. With the island’s sacred grotto in ruins, Asta follows the clues to how the grotto might be restored—putting her on a collision course with the man who tormented Najat for years.
In Shakti Lake City, Najat still holds a portion of Asta’s kana, which may be the key to reviving the island’s grotto and bringing forth new life from the destin cove. Najat and Asta's connection allows them to work together across the distance ... but soon they may be forced to give up their bond forever.
---------
Kumasagi is a mystical fantasy saga that takes place on a world far from ours. The story features a semi-aquatic society, deep telepathic bonds, extradimensional beings, giant murder birds, and a touch of fade-to-black romance. The first four books are available now:
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat
Asta travels to Sindhupat Island, hoping to meet a spiritual master who will help her overcome her difficulties with the mystic arts. The island, however, reveals a deeper purpose when Asta begins to have disturbing visions from Najat's childhood there.
Warned by Najat’s memories, Asta learns that the island’s most famous denizen, Delan Gampoban, is not the man that songs and stories of legend would have him seem. With the island’s sacred grotto in ruins, Asta follows the clues to how the grotto might be restored—putting her on a collision course with the man who tormented Najat for years.
In Shakti Lake City, Najat still holds a portion of Asta’s kana, which may be the key to reviving the island’s grotto and bringing forth new life from the destin cove. Najat and Asta's connection allows them to work together across the distance ... but soon they may be forced to give up their bond forever.
---------
Kumasagi is a mystical fantasy saga that takes place on a world far from ours. The story features a semi-aquatic society, deep telepathic bonds, extradimensional beings, giant murder birds, and a touch of fade-to-black romance. The first four books are available now:
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat
March 29, 2023
Coming Soon! Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat
I am happy to share that the manuscript for Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat is complete. Next is editing and production work. I am hoping to release this fourth book in the Kumasagi series soon!
In this part of the story, Asta travels to Sindhupat Island, where Najat and Jayan were born. The island's holy sites, including the Nakshidra Grotto, were destroyed by an earthquake fifteen years before—or so it seems. Because of her accidental bond with Najat, Asta experiences visions of his troubled childhood. These memories provide Asta with clues to what really destroyed the island's sacred grotto.
Kumasagi is a mystical fantasy saga that takes place on a world far from ours. The story features a semi-aquatic society, deep telepathic bonds, extradimensional beings, giant murder birds, and a touch of fade-to-black romance. The first three books are available now:
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
In this part of the story, Asta travels to Sindhupat Island, where Najat and Jayan were born. The island's holy sites, including the Nakshidra Grotto, were destroyed by an earthquake fifteen years before—or so it seems. Because of her accidental bond with Najat, Asta experiences visions of his troubled childhood. These memories provide Asta with clues to what really destroyed the island's sacred grotto.
Kumasagi is a mystical fantasy saga that takes place on a world far from ours. The story features a semi-aquatic society, deep telepathic bonds, extradimensional beings, giant murder birds, and a touch of fade-to-black romance. The first three books are available now:
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
September 10, 2022
Author Chat on The Alchemy Lab
I had the great pleasure of being invited for an author chat on the Tavern series at The Alchemy Lab on YouTube.
I am a big fan of the novel The Eye of the Universe by host Matt Waterhouse, so it was fun to talk with him about that and also hear his thoughts on my books. We also talked a little about D&D.
You can listen to our chat here:
https://youtu.be/ort5SuHPOUk
If you're a fan of sci-fi and/or space horror, please check out The Eye of the Universe. It was my favorite indie read last year. There is a surprising amount of emotional depth and humor in this harrowing story.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CBGQY8D
I am a big fan of the novel The Eye of the Universe by host Matt Waterhouse, so it was fun to talk with him about that and also hear his thoughts on my books. We also talked a little about D&D.
You can listen to our chat here:
https://youtu.be/ort5SuHPOUk
If you're a fan of sci-fi and/or space horror, please check out The Eye of the Universe. It was my favorite indie read last year. There is a surprising amount of emotional depth and humor in this harrowing story.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08CBGQY8D
April 24, 2022
Excerpt - Kumasagi Part 3: Wife
Please enjoy this excerpt from Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife, available at Amazon.
“Ta’lak!” the other divers called his name. They tried to join him but he waved them back up the slope, already dragging their Amala by the arm away from the lake.
“Let go! Let go!” She slid and struggled against him.
A rumbling came to their ears, even louder than the roar of the bore on the river. Ta’lak saw the sea coming over the dunes at the end of the canyon. The water swelled through the Tines, crumbling one and sweeping the debris of it over huts and fields in the valley.
Ceasing to struggle, the Amala climbed up the slope with the divers. They came to the temple, half of it already ruined by the primary wave of the quake. She sat trembling next to Ta’lak as they watched the ocean roll into the lower valley. It pushed everything with it—people, buildings, bricks, and boards, smashed canoes and broken trees, crushed boulders and churning mud.
As the debris sank into Ayunath Lake, the Amala stood up to her feet. The diluted water of the lake rose, submerging the pods completely from view before flooding over the shore. Ta’lak pulled on the Amala again. She finally joined the divers in scrambling over fallen bricks to even higher ground as the lake and ocean waters swirled together, bubbling up the slope to the very steps of the temple.
Finally the ocean wave exhausted itself, spreading and thinning as it reached for the back end of the valley. The Amala untied the shoulders of her muddy dress and wriggled out of it until she wore only her short underslip.
“Amala!” Ta’lak said. “It’s not swimmable!”
“Bring a boat,” she said to the divers. She stepped carefully back down to the edge of the floodwaters.
“The boats are all destroyed,” said one diver.
“Find something!” Ta’lak told them. He hurried to follow their Amala. “Don’t dive in,” he begged her under his breath.
She dove in, and came back up bloody.
He cursed her, then waded in to follow. She set out with strong strokes toward the lake, never noticing the blood or the pain. Ta’lak struggled to catch up to her, earning his own scrapes from floating and sunken debris.
--------------------------
The Kumasagi Fantasy Saga
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
“Ta’lak!” the other divers called his name. They tried to join him but he waved them back up the slope, already dragging their Amala by the arm away from the lake.
“Let go! Let go!” She slid and struggled against him.
A rumbling came to their ears, even louder than the roar of the bore on the river. Ta’lak saw the sea coming over the dunes at the end of the canyon. The water swelled through the Tines, crumbling one and sweeping the debris of it over huts and fields in the valley.
Ceasing to struggle, the Amala climbed up the slope with the divers. They came to the temple, half of it already ruined by the primary wave of the quake. She sat trembling next to Ta’lak as they watched the ocean roll into the lower valley. It pushed everything with it—people, buildings, bricks, and boards, smashed canoes and broken trees, crushed boulders and churning mud.
As the debris sank into Ayunath Lake, the Amala stood up to her feet. The diluted water of the lake rose, submerging the pods completely from view before flooding over the shore. Ta’lak pulled on the Amala again. She finally joined the divers in scrambling over fallen bricks to even higher ground as the lake and ocean waters swirled together, bubbling up the slope to the very steps of the temple.
Finally the ocean wave exhausted itself, spreading and thinning as it reached for the back end of the valley. The Amala untied the shoulders of her muddy dress and wriggled out of it until she wore only her short underslip.
“Amala!” Ta’lak said. “It’s not swimmable!”
“Bring a boat,” she said to the divers. She stepped carefully back down to the edge of the floodwaters.
“The boats are all destroyed,” said one diver.
“Find something!” Ta’lak told them. He hurried to follow their Amala. “Don’t dive in,” he begged her under his breath.
She dove in, and came back up bloody.
He cursed her, then waded in to follow. She set out with strong strokes toward the lake, never noticing the blood or the pain. Ta’lak struggled to catch up to her, earning his own scrapes from floating and sunken debris.
--------------------------
The Kumasagi Fantasy Saga
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
April 23, 2022
Excerpt - Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Please enjoy this excerpt from Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri, available at Amazon.
In Solgaran’s house, Padir sat with crossed legs while Bal applied extra tari oil to his scarred shoulders and back. Sopan was eager to help, so they let him rub the oil over his father’s arm.
“I want to bring Sopan down there this time,” Padir said.
“No,” Bal said gruffly behind him.
“I want him to see the first flight.”
“I want to go!” Sopan said.
“He can see the second flight, and many more of ‘em after,” Bal said to Padir.
“Let’s make sure you survive the first one, right?”
“What does ‘survive’ mean?” Sopan said.
Bal grumbled to himself for letting that slip.
Padir patted Sopan’s head. “It means I’m going to fly hundreds of times, and you’ll get to see it hundreds of times. And someday you’ll get to fly, too.”
--------------------------
The Kumasagi Fantasy Saga
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
In Solgaran’s house, Padir sat with crossed legs while Bal applied extra tari oil to his scarred shoulders and back. Sopan was eager to help, so they let him rub the oil over his father’s arm.
“I want to bring Sopan down there this time,” Padir said.
“No,” Bal said gruffly behind him.
“I want him to see the first flight.”
“I want to go!” Sopan said.
“He can see the second flight, and many more of ‘em after,” Bal said to Padir.
“Let’s make sure you survive the first one, right?”
“What does ‘survive’ mean?” Sopan said.
Bal grumbled to himself for letting that slip.
Padir patted Sopan’s head. “It means I’m going to fly hundreds of times, and you’ll get to see it hundreds of times. And someday you’ll get to fly, too.”
--------------------------
The Kumasagi Fantasy Saga
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
April 22, 2022
Excerpt - Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Please enjoy this excerpt from Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin, available at Amazon.
Without a thought, Jayan jumped over the wall and ran into the orchard. Najat’s slow, contemplative steps followed a path in the opposite direction. “Ai, Najat!” Jayan yelled, but then he caught sight of the Mahasagi off to one side, flanked by Dechen and Rajung. Even at that distance Jayan could see the hint of alarm on their faces as they tracked his sudden appearance. Rajung moved immediately, starting toward him through the trees.
Jayan did not stop, but his sprint skidded down to a hesitant jog when he looked back at his brother. Najat had turned to stare at him. An inexplicable, scale-raising shiver of awe tripped Jayan down further to a walk. Najat stood wrapped and draped in the pale blue robes of a renunciate. It was not normal dress for the Kumasagi—he only wore the robes during sessions of intense mental and spiritual training. Jayan swallowed hard, acutely reminded that his younger brother was an old mystic, older than even their present lifetime.
He continued forward, ignoring Rajung’s footsteps and braving Najat’s cold posture. But then Najat moved a hand to shade the sun from his eyes, and suddenly his blank expression transformed to surprised recognition. Jayan broke into a run again as Najat’s trembling hands reached toward him.
“Jay-la!” Najat’s voice trembled a bit as well. He caught his brother’s hands between his own palms and bowed to rest his forehead against Jayan’s. The ancient gesture caused the scales at Jayan’s wrists to flare again, goose bumps following up his arms. It was another reminder…Najat could sense the pulse of Jayan’s spirit. Jayan could only sense the pulse of a vein in Najat’s brow.
Najat pulled back and smiled, but his eyes looked tired. Jayan noticed sharpened angles from cheekbone to ear and jaw to clavicle. “Are you alright?” he asked Najat for the second time in their lives.
--------------------------
The Kumasagi Fantasy Saga
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
Without a thought, Jayan jumped over the wall and ran into the orchard. Najat’s slow, contemplative steps followed a path in the opposite direction. “Ai, Najat!” Jayan yelled, but then he caught sight of the Mahasagi off to one side, flanked by Dechen and Rajung. Even at that distance Jayan could see the hint of alarm on their faces as they tracked his sudden appearance. Rajung moved immediately, starting toward him through the trees.
Jayan did not stop, but his sprint skidded down to a hesitant jog when he looked back at his brother. Najat had turned to stare at him. An inexplicable, scale-raising shiver of awe tripped Jayan down further to a walk. Najat stood wrapped and draped in the pale blue robes of a renunciate. It was not normal dress for the Kumasagi—he only wore the robes during sessions of intense mental and spiritual training. Jayan swallowed hard, acutely reminded that his younger brother was an old mystic, older than even their present lifetime.
He continued forward, ignoring Rajung’s footsteps and braving Najat’s cold posture. But then Najat moved a hand to shade the sun from his eyes, and suddenly his blank expression transformed to surprised recognition. Jayan broke into a run again as Najat’s trembling hands reached toward him.
“Jay-la!” Najat’s voice trembled a bit as well. He caught his brother’s hands between his own palms and bowed to rest his forehead against Jayan’s. The ancient gesture caused the scales at Jayan’s wrists to flare again, goose bumps following up his arms. It was another reminder…Najat could sense the pulse of Jayan’s spirit. Jayan could only sense the pulse of a vein in Najat’s brow.
Najat pulled back and smiled, but his eyes looked tired. Jayan noticed sharpened angles from cheekbone to ear and jaw to clavicle. “Are you alright?” he asked Najat for the second time in their lives.
--------------------------
The Kumasagi Fantasy Saga
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
November 9, 2021
Cover Reveal - Kumasagi Part 4: Sindhupat
Today I am happy to reveal the eBook cover for Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat. The cover artist is Joshua Esmeralda.
This is the first cover in the series to feature the character of Asta. In this part of the story, she travels to Sindhupat Island, where Najat and Jayan were born.
The island's holy sites, including the Nakshidra Grotto, were destroyed by an earthquake fifteen years before—or so it seems. Because of her accidental bond with Najat (see Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin), Asta experiences visions of his troubled childhood. These stolen memories provide Asta with clues to what really destroyed the island's grotto.
Kumasagi is a serialized fantasy saga with three books published so far:
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
If all goes well, Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat will be released in early 2022.
This is the first cover in the series to feature the character of Asta. In this part of the story, she travels to Sindhupat Island, where Najat and Jayan were born.
The island's holy sites, including the Nakshidra Grotto, were destroyed by an earthquake fifteen years before—or so it seems. Because of her accidental bond with Najat (see Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin), Asta experiences visions of his troubled childhood. These stolen memories provide Asta with clues to what really destroyed the island's grotto.
Kumasagi is a serialized fantasy saga with three books published so far:
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
If all goes well, Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat will be released in early 2022.
September 15, 2021
Sneak Peek - Kumasagi Part 4: Sindhupat
I am pleased to share that the cover art for Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat was finalized this week. Here is a sneak peek!
Cover artist: Joshua Esmeralda
The full cover will be revealed later this year. Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat will be published in early 2022.
The first three books in the Kumasagi fantasy series are available now! Visit LesleeSheu.com for more info about the series, maps, a character guide, and glossary.
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
Cover artist: Joshua Esmeralda
The full cover will be revealed later this year. Kumasagi, Part 4: Sindhupat will be published in early 2022.
The first three books in the Kumasagi fantasy series are available now! Visit LesleeSheu.com for more info about the series, maps, a character guide, and glossary.
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
July 18, 2021
New Cover for Part 3
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife has a new cover! The artist is Joshua Esmeralda.
The man on the right is a 500-year-old ghost trapped in the mental anguish of his past life. Kumasagi Najat (on the left) and Amala Tebbe (in the middle) are trying to help him return to the afterlife.
This installment in the Kumasagi series is titled "Wife" as a nod to the current stage in life of another important character, Asta. She is featured prominently in Kumasagi Part 3, but won't make her first cover appearance until Part 4.
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
The man on the right is a 500-year-old ghost trapped in the mental anguish of his past life. Kumasagi Najat (on the left) and Amala Tebbe (in the middle) are trying to help him return to the afterlife.
This installment in the Kumasagi series is titled "Wife" as a nod to the current stage in life of another important character, Asta. She is featured prominently in Kumasagi Part 3, but won't make her first cover appearance until Part 4.
Kumasagi, Part 3: Wife
July 9, 2021
New Book Covers
I am pleased to reveal brand new covers for the first two Kumasagi books. The third book will have a new cover soon!
Cover artist: Joshua Esmeralda
Kumasagi, Part 1: Destin
Kumasagi, Part 2: Kandargiri
Kindle edition book covers:
Paperback book covers (back, spine, and front):
