Queens

by Patrick Hodges

A cosmic game of chess is underway, and the planet Elystra is the board.

Earth pilot Maeve and her son Davin have joined the Ixtrayu, hoping to avert the destruction that their leader, Kelia, has foretold. But will Maeve's burgeoning Wielding powers be enough to thwart the machinations of Elzor and his lightning-wielding sister, Elzaria, before everything the Ixtrayu have ever known is destroyed in Elzor's quest for ultimate power?

Queens is the second book in the Wielders of Arantha trilogy. If you love science fiction or fantasy, then this series will thrill and enthrall you!

Paperback

About the author

I guess I am the classic "late bloomer." I had to sit in the front row of the class picture every year in elementary school; I didn't reach my present, permanent height until the year I got my driver's license. It took me a long time to "grow up" mentally, too; I was probably the least goal-oriented person you could ever meet.

I always enjoyed reading books, though I was convinced that I was not, and never would be, creative enough to come up with an original idea or story without cobbling it together from things I'd already seen.

And so, in my mid-forties, imagine my surprise when a story was born inside my head, and nine months later had grown so large that I couldn't hold it in any more. I'm sure many writers tell similar origin stories, but I sure wouldn't wish a three-decade gap between high school Creative Writing class and, you know, writing something actually creative.

Better a "late bloomer" than a "never bloomer," I guess.

What else? Oh, yeah, I live in Arizona with my amazing wife Vaneza, and our kids, June, Benji, and Sunshine (two are dogs and one is a cat, I'll let you figure out which is which).