Wow. This was an exciting round with the competitors getting votes and passing the lead back and forth right up until the very end! When voting closed only one point separated the two equines!
The winner of the first round of the semifinals, and moving on to the finals is:
Story Title: Riders in the Sky
Author: V. F. LeSann
Equine Combatant’s Name): Peregrine
Species: Damned soul
Every person who votes has their name tossed into a virtual hat for a chance to win their choice of any of these unclaimed books. This week’s winner is Sylvie Stulic. Sylvie, please contact me to claim your prize 🙂
(More details and a larger version of this picture are available at http://rhondaparrish.com/archive/incentive/ )
Starting tomorrow our combatants will be:
The War Unicorns from “Rue the Day”
vs
The kelpie from “The Boys From Witless Bay”
Excerpt from “A Mother Unicorn’s Advice for her Daughter” by J.J. Roth:
Hide in plain sight. Let the dappled light through the forest canopy color your whiteness with camouflaging shadow. Let stillness be your friend when the hunter’s horn or adventurer’s voice carries through the vegetal quiet.
Breathe without sound. Depend on secrecy and stealth.
Once you are sighted, the hunt begins. Once the hunt begins, you are vulnerable.
Be generous, but circumspect, with your gifts. Dip your horn in struggling streams when no one is looking. Draw its healing point along the withered bodies of sick ferrets and ailing fawns. Lay its curative spiral against the breasts of lost, unconscious humans, but stay out of their healthy fellows’ sight.
Cover your tracks as you leave. If caught, you’re more likely to be destroyed than loved.
This constant hiding may make you feel unreal.
This is normal.
If you like what you’re reading, you are going to love Equus. And good news — you can reserve your copy now to make sure you’re among the very first to get it when it’s released on July 18th!
Pre-order Equus now:
Ahhhhh, exciting!!!! Thanks, lovely voters!! And well-fought, Mother Unicorn… I’m stoked to read the full piece this summer. ¤ï¸