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Before the Blade: Prologue to the Lady Blade Series
Born amidst a pirate battle,
Raised in Italy’s most illustrious fencing school,
Francesca might have been destined for the blade,
But those first steps were painful.
From her birth aboard a ship bombarded by cannons, to stealing her first blade; from outsmarting her governess, to running away from home; Before the Blade is a collection of short stories of a little girl who knows what she wants and never backs down.
Join Francesca DiCesare and her family amid the Tuscan hills as they deal with her mischievous and adventurous nature as she grows up to be Lady Blade.
Before the Blade is a collection of touching and funny stories as a prologue to The Lady Blade Series.
Raised in Italy’s most illustrious fencing school,
Francesca might have been destined for the blade,
But those first steps were painful.
From her birth aboard a ship bombarded by cannons, to stealing her first blade; from outsmarting her governess, to running away from home; Before the Blade is a collection of short stories of a little girl who knows what she wants and never backs down.
Join Francesca DiCesare and her family amid the Tuscan hills as they deal with her mischievous and adventurous nature as she grows up to be Lady Blade.
Before the Blade is a collection of touching and funny stories as a prologue to The Lady Blade Series.
77 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 4, 2025
2 people want to read
About the author
Catherine Thrush
43 books7 followersCatherine Thrush wrote and illustrated her first tween novel QUEST OF THE FAES (Pearl-Win Publishing 1985) at the age of eighteen. When QUEST was released she was majoring in Studio Art at the College of St. Benedict in Minnesota – which meant she was lucky enough to spend summers at speaking engagements and book signings instead of flipping burgers at Mickey D's.
After graduating she moved to California and started her own glass art business, which she ran for nearly twenty years.
Catherine also took up fencing and fenced competitively for over a decade. The father of the main character in her current historical fiction novel, Maestro Thurio DiCesare is based on her own fencing maestro, John DeCesare.
In the aftermath of the tragic events of 911 Catherine’s glass business dried up and she turned once again to writing. Her experiences as a woman fencer became a basis for her ongoing project, Lady Blade.
Lady Blade began life as an action/adventure screenplay. The screenplay won the 2004 Monterey County Film Commission's “Emerging Talent Award” and a consultation with Hollywood Script Consultant Linda Seger. Linda called it “an exciting story with very good action... a compelling character, a good theme to explore, and the opportunity for exotic and fascinating locations." Lady Blade placed highly in numerous screenwriting competitions and has been optioned twice.
The novel version was a finalist in the San Francisco Writer’s Conference Contest and a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. Catherine is currently working on the prequel to Lady Blade.
Catherine and her husband Thomas are also co-owners of Urban Realms, a fantasy and RPG gaming supply business. Catherine draws and sells LotR style maps of real world places as well as designing gaming journals and supplies.
The couple lives, works, and games in San Jose, California along with their very naughty cat.
After graduating she moved to California and started her own glass art business, which she ran for nearly twenty years.
Catherine also took up fencing and fenced competitively for over a decade. The father of the main character in her current historical fiction novel, Maestro Thurio DiCesare is based on her own fencing maestro, John DeCesare.
In the aftermath of the tragic events of 911 Catherine’s glass business dried up and she turned once again to writing. Her experiences as a woman fencer became a basis for her ongoing project, Lady Blade.
Lady Blade began life as an action/adventure screenplay. The screenplay won the 2004 Monterey County Film Commission's “Emerging Talent Award” and a consultation with Hollywood Script Consultant Linda Seger. Linda called it “an exciting story with very good action... a compelling character, a good theme to explore, and the opportunity for exotic and fascinating locations." Lady Blade placed highly in numerous screenwriting competitions and has been optioned twice.
The novel version was a finalist in the San Francisco Writer’s Conference Contest and a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. Catherine is currently working on the prequel to Lady Blade.
Catherine and her husband Thomas are also co-owners of Urban Realms, a fantasy and RPG gaming supply business. Catherine draws and sells LotR style maps of real world places as well as designing gaming journals and supplies.
The couple lives, works, and games in San Jose, California along with their very naughty cat.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 5, 2025
Meet young Francesca. These charming adventures give you a little more time to spend with the young girl who will become the Lady Blade. There's nothing in here that is earth-shattering or will reveal hidden secrets. It's just a little extra time with a character that you will come to love - and young Francesca is very lovable, very sympathetic, and trying very hard to be more grown-up than she needs to be. Before the Blade is a lovely introduction to Francesca for new readers, and a delightful reward for fans of the Lady Blade.
October 13, 2025
This is the first I've read of Catherine Thrush in preparation for the Lady Blade Series that I backed on Kickstarter. Overall, it was an effective starter for Francesca and her backstory. I gave this 4 stars for 2 reasons. 1, the shift in prose to Diary form in the 3rd act was pretty drastic, moving the story from 3rd person omnipotent to 1st person. While I enjoyed the back and forth with her new companion, I felt the overall suffered from this transition. Also, the bond with her companion seemed very abrupt after weeks of clashing personalities, one incident bonded them. While I get this is setting us up for the actual novel, I would have preferred more detail on how they bonded.
Other than that, it's a quick, enjoyable read.
Other than that, it's a quick, enjoyable read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews