A brief introduction

Hi, my name is Brandi (Hello, Brandi), and I'm a writer.

Or at least, I try to be.

I have currently completed one novel, Fury, which is going through about its fifth stage of editing. This is a story about a shapeshifter named Fury (hence the title) who is scarred from head to toe. She does not know how it happened or where she came from. She was raised by a seer, Lethandi, who has all the answers, but refuses to share them. 

The villain is the Devourer, Yalei. She is the one responsible for Fury's scars and now desires to finish what she started. But in order to do so, she must first find the key to unlock Fury's invulnerability (due to a very rare combination of races -- shapeshifter and Fae'len). So Yalei enslaves Caden, a knight who has a tendency to see the world in black-and-white and desires nothing but a way to save his true love, Kaymarla. Yalei promises that their desires coincide with the destruction of the shapeshifter--Yalei will get revenge and the shapeshifter's blood will heal the curse upon Kaymarla. Or so the Devourer says.

But there is another player in this game. Elmendor. A Fae'len with the ability to walk the dreamscapes, he plays behind the scenes, setting things in motion and irrevocably changing the course of fate. He's trying to earn forgiveness for past transgressions, but fears his meddling could cause more harm than good.

Caden meets Fury and it gets off to a rocky start. Fury's self-esteem prevents her from accepting Caden's friendship, taking his overtures as mockery and cruelty, but she can't help but be drawn to him. She wants to love him, but sees it as hopeless. And she's not naive, she knows that an ulterior motive lurks behind his pleasant smile.

Caden is having his own struggles. He feels the taint of the Devourer in his soul. And the urgency to return to Yalei with Fury in tow is underscored by the evil that is slowly eating away at the little slice of purity within him. And as he gets to know Fury and discovers her secrets, he finds himself questioning not only his mission, but his feelings for Kaymarla. But how could he love a disfigured shapeshifter?

On the surface, it is a complicated love story taking place in a fantastical setting. But looking deeper, it explores themes that are ingrained in the modern world. A woman's struggle for self-acceptance. Vanity. Forgiveness. Greed. Delusions. And truth.

Writing that makes me feel a little better about it, but right now I'm taking a break from it. I believe that I have been "over-editing" the past few days, so I'm not going to look at it again until this weekend. 

(Note: The picture above is Copyrighted Brandi Guthrie 2009)