Brimstone

Brimstone was first published in 2010, in paperback and ebook, by the author under the imprint Sibling Press.The book has been well-received by both critics and readers, with the Herald on Sunday calling it "... perfect for the young adult audience for which it was written" and Evie Woolmore of Allonym Books and Awesome Indies writing that Brimstone is "A wonderfully well-imagined novel... a delightful read." Brimstone is fantasy only in the way all fiction is fantasy. It isn't a book about witches, wizards and warlocks; there are no elves, ogres or trolls; there is no magic, except the magic of storytelling and the magic of finding a main character who is intelligent, resilient, feisty and brave and who experiences for herself a more personal magic: the magic of discovering what she truly is. But Brimstone is, first and foremost, a great adventure and action story, with an array of memorable characters, both heroes and villains.If you have read this description, I hope you are interested enough to read Jenny's tale. And having done that, I hope you are sufficiently taken with her story to discuss it with me and the others in this reading community.Now, a short taste of what you'll find in Brimstone:At the age of 14, Jenny Swift is torn from her home deep in the forest to become apprenticed to the master alchemist Richard Antrobus. Jenny's mother was a healer from the East who has taught her well and from whom she inherits her exotic looks. But this difference means that she faces suspicion and distrust as she is drawn into a plot to throw the world into chaos. Not only does Jenny have to fight to stay alive amid the treachery and intrigue that surrounds the court of the Duke, but she finds her friendships and loyalties tested to the full. Forced to seek the key to the greatest secrets of the alchemists, Jenny discovers the power that lies within her - skills which could make her the greatest alchemist of any age.