Studio E

Download includes a t-shirt transfer and two surprises.

$19.95

Cover by Sheila Maclachlan

ISBN 1-58755-024-5

Princess Illat is faced with an unthinkable dilemma when her father, the mighty Kal of Ata'Landa, would assign to her a sacred duty in a time of grave national crisis.

By means of an ancient ritual that involves assimilation with the immortal Daughter of the Moon, the guardian spirit of her kind, Illat is required to sacrifice her personal identity, something she is unwilling to do.

The choices this rebellious free spirit makes impact not only her, but, for good or ill, the fascinating characters whose lives she touches, including her two great loves.

The fantasy genre beguiles us with the mysterious, the magical, the more imaginative faces of good and evil. But what holds the reader's interest, as in any good storytelling, is real people meeting extraordinary challenges. Against a richly drawn world of her own creation, the author weaves a tale of the princess' journey of self-discovery. In trying to outwit her fate, Illat becomes, in fact, the very instrument of her destiny.

S. C. Viola

Click here for an interview with S. C. Viola

Born into a gene pool rooted in the performing, graphic and literary arts, I was at an early age exposed to the gifts of expression and imagination that these disciplines inspire. My concert pianist grandmother taught me and my two sisters and three girl cousins piano, and in school I took violin. Starting at a tender age, I worked hard to master ballet, training for years with the San Francisco Ballet Company.

But it was on those foggy, cozy San Francisco evenings when we girls would gather around an adult whose turn it was to read to us that I was magically transported.

This was before the over-extended/jaded senses we all suffer today as a result of media overload. We did have radio, and that wonderful Saturday matinee movie experience loomed large in our lives. But enjoying a good book was by far the most satisfying way of being entertained and enriched.

I made up my mind early on that at some point in my life writing would be my calling.

A health concern nipped my promising dance career in the bud. I married a wise, successful businessman, since gone on to his reward, to whom I'm indebted for getting me well grounded in matters practical -- opposites attract.

I became very much involved in the family business. I had two sons.

I did some writing during those years, chiefly fantasy, but most of it I stuffed unfinished in bottom drawers in an old chest behind clothes at the back of my closet.

I have not been able to ignore Princess Illat of Ata'Landa, though. She has persistently nagged at me for the respect due her. The result is "Daughter of the Moon".

Trivia: My sign is Leo. I live in Cupertino, CA in a house on a lovely little creek where every day I am privileged to commune with the wildlife. I read the dictionary for the simple pleasure of learning new words and their origins. I am still able to perform certain ballet exercises, if not quite as nimbly as before. I was gently reared but I am a hopeless football freak. I can never get enough chocolate.

Visit S. C. Viola at her website at: www.scviola.com.

Sheila Maclachlan is an alumna of the prestigious San Francisco based Academy of Art University (formerly College), and she has enjoyed many years as a successful commercial artist.

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