Who inspires a muse?
Awen lost her love. Gave up her name. For over a century, Awen has sown peace in the burned soil of a shattered world. Now she longs for rest. For clarity. For figuring out the shadow that threatens everything she has fought so long to protect, nurture, and renew.
After a new menace arrives in the western Ireland village where Awen protects three powerful relics that no one must use, she discovers a far worse danger: Herself.
When a muse struggles to find inspiration, the world shudders. What will happen when a guardian takes forbidden power for her own?
Hard choices and a powerful, decisive woman. Intrigue and renewal. If you like stories set in Ireland, women heroes, and formula-free fantasy, then you are ready to take on “Awen’s Challenge.
“Awen’s Challenge,” “Rucksack and the Cave,” and “Wander Dreams of Fire” are three prequel short stories to the acclaimed Rucksack Universe novel WANDER.
The Rucksack Universe series combines alternate history, speculative fiction, myth, adventure, globetrotting, and intrigue—all with well-poured pints of beer. Library Journal says Anthony St. Clair’s storytelling has “universe building reminiscent of Terry Pratchett,” and readers say they love the Rucksack Universe’s unique combination of “quirk, wit, travel, and magic.”
