Sand of Bone

Syrina – descendent of the gods, one of the Velshaan who rule the deserts and deltas, cast out by her bloodkin for daring to reject their intrigues.

They thought exile to the desolation of Salt Hold – surrounded outcast Blades who despise her – would end her defiance. But Salt is safer than the grand alcazar of home when she uncovers the secrets of commanding sand, fire, water, wind – the power mixed with ambition that nearly destroyed her bloodkin in generations past.

Pyrius was the desert's most respected Blade Commander until the bloodkin sentenced him into Salt. But he finds a way to keep his Blade vows while still exacting revenge: serve the exiled Velshaan Syrina. When her bloodkin's threats become actions, Pyrius sets a plan in motion that will either prevent the looming civil war simmering in the desert's heat or see them all fed to the sands for sedition.

Because Syrina's ability to touch the desert's deepest elements is still unpredictable and raw – too weak to defeat her bloodkin, strong enough her bloodkin want her stopped before she learns more. The gods demand a soul in trade, and the fate of the living rests upon the redemption of the dead.

Blair lives in rural Indiana with her one son and two goofy dogs--all of whom can often be found at 4H Dog Shows. Most of her evenings are spent teaching and training karate at her local dojo. She also teaches wellness and classroom management workshops and speaks to groups on resilience, failure, and choice. In between all that, Blair hikes and camps, grows organic produce, crochets too many afghans, and indulges in the occasional ziplining excursion. She loves traveling to places both wild and domesticated.

Her short fiction has appeared in Cicada Magazine and Writers of the Future. She is a graduate of Viable Paradise.