Synopsis
Shard of the Heart
by Kimberly Ann Young
© Copyright 2001 Kimberly Ann Young
US Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: TXu 896-585
Shard of the Heart is a novel I wrote between 1996 and 1998, during one of the darkest periods of my life. It is set within a world I have long imagined, and will one day be the third in a series of four novels. Some of the background of the first two novels is presented within these pages. The rest is still in my head. From 1999 through 2000 I edited, rewrote, re-edited, and edited again, until it was as clean and perfect as I could make it. I now present it to you, and hope that you find among these pages the laughter, sorrow, pain and joy from which I molded the characters and the story. This book is dedicated to my beloved cat Harry (March 1979 -February 5,2001), who was my truest and often my only friend during the period in which I wrote it. Harry now dwells at Rainbow Bridge. Kimberly Ann Young
August 31, 2001 Here is a small taste of the novel:
The Ealothian Family, a people gifted with a wide variety of psychic powers, has been scattered throughout the galaxy for generations. The Ealothian's powers come from recessive genes that surface randomly in the children of human families in every star system. As the Family has slowly drawn together their influence and power has increased dramatically, but so has the numbers of those who fear and hate them for their psychic skills. Seeking refuge from the increasingly violent persecution of their detractors the heads of the Family, psychics whose powers are so great they are called wizards by the rest of the Family and all who know them, decide to form an alliance with the Avoyelles Empire. Avoyelles, an empire on the edge of known space encompassing more than ten star systems, offers the Family what no other place in the galaxy can: a home free from the hatred of those who fear their powers. The Empire boasts a larger percentage of children born with psychic powers than any other sector of human-held space. The Avoyelle Empire, however, has enemies of its own: the Cassasians, a reptilian race who for centuries have been raiding the edges of the Empire and are now ready for an all-out assault. Avoyelles needs a fleet capable of defeating their old enemies. The Family has ties to such a fleet—the most feared and respected fleet of mercenary merchanters the galaxy has ever known. The deal is struck and sealed with a marriage between Anna, King Boyer of Avoyelles only daughter, and Jessup, the crown prince of the Ealothian Family. Although Anna and Jessup are at first less than enthusiastic about what is to be a simple state marriage, they quickly fall deeply in love. But not all is not as it seems in Avoyelle. Jessup and Anna's wedding reception is disrupted by a terrorist from one of the more radical hate groups who have, apparently unknown by King Boyer, been infiltrating the Empire. As the Family struggles to deal with the terrorist threat, Jessup leads their fleet into war with the Cassasians, a war which has devastating effects on himself personally and The Family as a whole. Meanwhile Anna, little more than a child, struggles to become the queen her people need and deserve. As these two young people grow into their roles, they find within themselves the strength and power to put their love, their dreams, and in the end their very lives on the line for the people whom they are honor-bound to love and protect. About the Author:
Kimberly Ann Young Kimberly Ann Young is a certified webaholic who tried nearly every free server on the Web before settling into her own domain, http://www.arielelf.com. Among the most popular features of her eclectic website is the Cat Chats, a weekly column written by her cats Emily, Atom, and Dinky and her pet dragon Chester; and a large Memorial section including memorials to her mother, her dear friend Katje, her cat Harry; plus a webring and award. Other features include reviews of Star Trek DS9, Star Trek Voyager, The X-Files, and Buffy The Vampire Slayer, as well as sections devoted to free graphics, MIDIs, and WAVs. When not working on her website Kimberly works with two help organizations, Area52 and PetVille, handing out awards to great websites, overseeing webrings, and creating a variety of contests. In Real Life Kimberly lives with her life-long companion and their three cats in the mountains of western North Carolina. She teaches acoustic guitar, and runs an online used book business at http://www.amazon.com/shops/arielelfsong2. Kimberly loves music, movies, and books (when she has time to read). She has written numerous articles for the former Fandom: Star Trek Central and has been published the print magazines Star Trek Fandom, Back Home, and What's Happening, as well as having a large number of her poems published by The International Library Of Poetry and The Ridge Writer. Shard Of The Heart has just become available in print form at http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0%2D595%2D23493%2D3 and will soon be available at Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com, and other online and brick and mortar bookstores. Autographed copies are available upon request. View a Sample of This Work | Order This Work | 
