Black Ruins Forest by Karen DuBose
Black Ruins Forest
Fate must’ve been bored. They’ve decided my lifecycle needs to be shaken up a bit. It’s bad enough waiting and wondering which of the four shifter animals I’m going to turn into. To top it all off I have these weird and crazy daydreams that come and go whenever they want. Leaving me disoriented. They’ve gotten me into trouble more than I like to admit. Then came to find out the Elders want to kill me or use me for some unforeseen reason. So, here I am on the run just to survive. With my best friend Kira, my mom and a bunch of dragon shifter I barely know. Oh, and the crush of my lifecycle Kiernan.
I’m really missing my old boring lifecycle right about now. If I can ever get back to it. I’m not taking it for granted again.
Will the Black Ruins Forest hold the answers we are all seeking, or will it just make things worse? There’s only one way to find out and pray to the source we all survive long enough to get those answers.
“Her fate will either kill her or empower her.”
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Karen grew up outside of Chicago with her mom, dad and two older brothers.
She traveled a lot and has finally settled down in a small town in East Tennessee in the mountains. Something about the mountains called to her and still does.
She loves to make her own swag and other gifts. She also loves anything to do with the outdoors.
Her favorite snack is gummy worms and bears. Her favorite drink is a white monster. She says she is a monster before she has one.
Her family is everything to her and they support her 100% with her dream to become a well-known author. She is taking it one step at a time and one book at a time.
What inspired you to write your book?
I love Dragons and romance. I actually had a dream about my story. After that the characters took over and wrote the book themselves.
Here is a short sample from the book:
PROLOGUE
The last cycle of school is finally here. The young, like me, have been waiting for this cycle to come. You see, we are human until we turn nineteen. Once most of us turn nineteen, we turn into our shifter animal. There are also non-shifters, like the elves, fae, witches, and occasionally Seers, they are born that way. The rest of us become shifters. We can shift between our human and animal form at will. I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to shift. I just wish I knew what I’m turning into. Yeah, there is a catch to all of this. We don’t know what our shifter animal will be until we change. Surprise! It doesn’t matter who your parents are. The Source is the one who gives us our animal. We don’t have to stick to our own kind, either. We can mate with anyone we want. We just follow our hearts. Take my mom and dad for instance: My mom is a bear, and my dad was a lion. I might be any of the four animals, or I could have been one of the non-shifters.
If you are wondering what shifters we have in our little world of Zilo, I will tell you. There are bears, lions, owls, and⸻the most awesome of all⸻dragons. We all have a part to play in running our world.
Our shifter will tell us where we will go after school ends. Dragons are the protectors, Bears are best with communications, Lions are best hunting, Owls are the messengers, Elves build things from houses to weapons, Witches keep us all healthy with their herbs and spells and the Fae make this world beautiful with their nature ways.
The most scary and important are the Elders. Asher Coy, Nico Eber, Arlo Hollis, Eucca Kale, Jair Loy, and Mateo Percival. They are our judges, jurors, and executioners. They are known for their ruthlessness and cold heartedness. You definitely do not want to come across them or be in their presence if you can’t help it. If you do, you’ll never come back.
The best part about our species is we get to live very long lives. I think the eldest of us is over four hundred cycles old. Our world is very different. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.
I have heard about other worlds. The dragons even visit them and bring stuff back, like technology, movies, clothes, or anything they think will help us advance. I think it’s pretty cool. Maybe one day I will be able to visit other worlds, but right now I’m happy where I am.
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