Killdeer: a star-set sonata

by Anne B. Walsh

She was looking for music. She found a mystery... Elspeth Kolesar only meant to search the computer banks of her brother Anton's starship for new songs to relieve her boredom. What she finds instead are video recordings of a race called the Aelur, who, despite their feline faces, sing and laugh and speak just like her. Reaching out in friendship to Nightsinger, a young man of the Aelur, Elspeth learns from him that Anton has kidnapped his clan of Fire Valley, taking them to a strange planet to study them. Worse, he means to do the same to their allied clan of Free Sky if he is not stopped. Though she is Anton's ward, as much within his power as the Aelur, Elspeth vows to help, finding allies of her own in the clever queen of Free Sky, Duskdance, and her outworld husband, Suncrest. But when the time comes, Elspeth will have to face her brother alone. Will the clash between Elspeth's two worlds destroy her, and strand all those she hopes to save? Or can she learn to balance herself between the future and the past, and fly free among the stars without forgetting the lessons she learned from a little bird called Killdeer?

200 pages, Paperback

First published November 28, 2013

About the author

Anne B. Walsh has been telling stories from the time she could talk, but it took her twenty years to realize she could make a living at it. She left her office job on a leap of faith two months before seeing a PBS special which changed her life. The resulting four-book series of historical fantasy romances is known collectively as the Chronicles of Glenscar (or will be, when it involves more than one book!).

Anne lives east of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her roommate Krystal. They are owned by a pair of needy, and kneady, cats named Poppy and Sesame. Her parents and siblings live two hours north, otherwise known as just far enough away.

She has been writing Harry Potter fan fiction for almost eight years and is known best in that genre as the creator of the "Dangerverse" alternate universe. Beyond writing fiction, Anne's preoccupations include reading fiction; singing anywhere that will have her, including her church and local galas; theatre, especially musicals; all forms of cooking; and her family and friends.

Within writing fiction, her preoccupations are much the same, meaning most of her stories involve loving families, delicious food, and good music. Consider yourself warned.

A number of projects are awaiting Anne's attention now that she has completed her first original novel. Among these are the final novel-length work in the Dangerverse, "Surpassing Danger", and her first personal anthology, "Cat Tales", a collection of short fiction featuring cats and cat-like beings, including a short prequel to "A Widow in Waiting" and a story from her original Trycanta universe.

Reviews

[Brie Donning · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ohh, beautiful.

The way the plot of this worked out, I love it. And the characters and everything.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely story of finding family and your place in the world. Interesting worldbuilding of the alien culture, loved hearing the stories and seeing how they influenced culture. Things move a little overly fast-paced with some of the relationship development. The story definitely uplifts women and values traditionally feminine tasks and attitudes, though the culture is very gender binary. A good character-driven story that still has a compelling plot. I keep coming back to reread it and can't wait to read the other stories in this universe.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved it! A fresh voice in science-fiction, with likeable, believable characters, a plot that captured me from the get-go, and all wrapped up in an ending makes me want a second and third and... well, more books set in this world!