Patchworkpress Stories

The second book in THE NEVER VEIL SERIES begins immediately after the first book, NOBODY'S GODDESS, ends. As such, there are HUGE SPOILERS in this first chapter. Choose to read with caution if you haven't yet read the first book. For the first time in a thousand years, the men in Noll's village possess the freedom to love whom they will. In order to give each man the chance to fully explore his feelings, the lord of the village decrees all marriages null and void until both spouses declare their love for one another and their desire to wed again. What many women think will be a simple matter becomes a source of village-wide tension as most men decide to leave their families and responsibilities behind. Rejected by the lord and ashamed of her part in the village's history, Noll withdraws from her family and lives life as an independent woodcarver. This changes when her sister accuses her of hiding her former husband Jurij from her-and when Jurij eventually does ask to move in. Determined not to make the same mistakes, Noll decides to support her male friends through their new emotional experiences, but she's soon caught up in a darker plot than she ever dared imagine possible from the men she thought she knew so well. And the lord for whom she still has feelings may be hiding the most frightening truth of them all. Nobody's Lady, Book Two in The Never Veil Series, had its second edition released in September 2016 from Patchwork Press. Enjoy a free sample on Wattpad! Praise for Nobody's Goddess, Book One: "There are many terrestrial qualities to this 16th-century village, such as mountains, meadows, forests, and lakes. But there are also hints of magic throughout . . . the story is fun and engaging, featuring a female protagonist who will resonate with young teens." -School Library Journal

Terror. Callousness. Denial. Rebellion. How the four teenage children of leaders in the duchy and the neighboring empire of Hanaobi choose to adapt to their nefarious parents' whims is a matter of survival. Rohesia, daughter of the duke, spends her days hunting "outsiders," fugitives who've snuck onto her father's island duchy. That she lives when even children who resemble her are subject to death hardens her heart to tackle the task. Fastello is the son of the "king" of the raiders who steal from the rich and share with the poor. When aristocrats die in the raids, Fastello questions what his peoples' increasingly wicked methods of survival have cost them. An orphan raised by a convent of mothers, Cateline can think of no higher aim in life than to serve her religion, even if it means turning a blind eye to the suffering of other orphans under the mothers' care. Kojiro, new heir to the Hanaobi empire, must avenge his people against the "barbarians" who live in the duchy, terrified the empress, his own mother, might rather see him die than succeed. When the paths of these four young adults cross, they must rely on one another for survival--but the love of even a malevolent guardian is hard to leave behind. FALL FAR FROM THE TREE is now available in paperback and e-book from Patchwork Press: https://books2read.com/fallfarfromthetree

The sequel to Fall Far from the Tree! (Spoilers in the blurb and content.) Impassive. Devious. Besieged. Naive. In the ashes of their parents' cruel sovereignty, four teenagers are left holding the reins with no idea how to lead their peoples to peace and prosperity. Rohesia, told she is the true heir to Hanaobi, must choose between ruling the duchy in her father's place and returning with her cousin to seek the throne that is more rightfully hers. Without her father figure, she has little interest in either, but there is no escape from the infamous legacy of her parents on both sides of the sea. Fastello, left to lead both his father's people and to seek the rule of the entire duchy, has never had so much responsibility in his life. Grappling with heartbreak the likes of which he's never experienced, he doesn't know if he has it in him to try to fill the hole so many people so desperately want him to fill. Kojiro, adrift in a strange land and emboldened by the actions of the people he met there, is determined to find his courage and free his people from the tyranny of his mother's reign. However, with her number one foe defeated, the empress of Hanaobi is more unstoppable than ever. Tomiko, the perfect daughter to the strict and controlling empress, is sheltered from the reality of the world but eager to discover the truth. Before the war is over, she must decide between fealty to her mother and loyalty to her brother, knowing full well that either way, her family will never be whole again. The goals of each of these four young adults are bound to clash-but there's no escaping their destinies, no matter the destruction left in their paths. Available widely: https://books2read.com/turntodustandashes

Read a special scene from the pages of Nobody's Goddess from the enigmatic lord's point of view! Nobody's Goddess (Never Veil #1, out now): In a village of masked men, each man is compelled to love only one woman and to follow the commands of his "goddess" without question. A woman may reject the only man who will love her if she pleases, but she will be alone forever. A man must stay masked until his goddess returns his love-and if she can't or won't, he remains masked forever. Seventeen-year-old Noll's childhood friends have paired off and her closest companion, Jurij, found his goddess in Noll's own sister. Desperate to find a way to break this ancient spell, Noll instead discovers why no man has ever chosen her. She is in fact the goddess of the mysterious lord of the village, a man who refuses to let Noll have her right as a woman to spurn him. Thus begins a dangerous game between the choice of woman versus the magic of man. The stakes are no less than freedom and happiness, life and death-and neither Noll nor the veiled lord is willing to lose.

The third and final book in THE NEVER VEIL SERIES begins immediately after the second book, NOBODY'S LADY, ends. As such, there are HUGE SPOILERS in this first chapter. Choose to read with caution if you haven't yet read the first and second books. Men can love, but they can also hate. Noll knows too well that the men in her village have adjusted poorly to the freedom of their hearts, but she hopes to bring peace back to her community. With the lord's return, Noll feels confident that together, they can work to settle down the villagers, but in his rebirth, he remembers only one thing about her: that she caused the curse that tortured him for a millennium in the first place. Determined to start anew, Noll must accept that, romantically, she and the lord are better without one another, but she'll need his help to uncover what's really behind all of the suffering in her village. Escorted to a land beyond the mountains, Noll uncovers the truth about her village and the strange occurrences in which she's had a hand. When someone who loves her discovers the same things and betrays her, Noll feels powerless to stop her village's fate. By learning to forgive and seek forgiveness, Noll finally understands true love of a free heart-along with true sacrifice. Nobody's Pawn, Book Three in The Never Veil Series, releases October 25th, 2016 from Patchwork Press. Enjoy a free sample on Wattpad! Praise for Nobody's Goddess, Book One: "There are many terrestrial qualities to this 16th-century village, such as mountains, meadows, forests, and lakes. But there are also hints of magic throughout . . . the story is fun and engaging, featuring a female protagonist who will resonate with young teens." -School Library Journal

In a village of masked men, each man is compelled to love only one woman and to follow the commands of his "goddess" without question. A woman may reject the only man who will love her if she pleases, but she will be alone forever. A man must stay masked until his goddess returns his love-and if she can't or won't, he remains masked forever. Seventeen-year-old Noll's childhood friends have paired off and her closest companion, Jurij, found his goddess in Noll's own sister. Desperate to find a way to break this ancient spell, Noll instead discovers why no man has ever chosen her. She is in fact the goddess of the mysterious lord of the village, a man who refuses to let Noll have her right as a woman to spurn him. Thus begins a dangerous game between the choice of woman and the magic of man. The stakes are no less than freedom and happiness, life and death-and neither Noll nor the veiled lord is willing to lose. Nobody's Goddess, Book One in The Never Veil Series, had its second edition released in September 2016 from Patchwork Press. Enjoy a free sample on Wattpad! "There are many terrestrial qualities to this 16th-century village, such as mountains, meadows, forests, and lakes. But there are also hints of magic throughout . . . the story is fun and engaging, featuring a female protagonist who will resonate with young teens." -School Library Journal "I can't tell you how many times my jaw dropped while reading this, as Amy surprised me again and again with unexpected plot twists. If you're a fan of fantasy novels looking for something different, make sure you pick this one up!" -Melissa Giorgio, author of The Silver Moon Saga and Smoke & Mirrors "I loved Nobody's Goddess by Amy McNulty so much that I stayed up until midnight to finish it, and then couldn't fall asleep until 1 a.m. because I was awake thinking about how wonderful it was." -Jennifer Bardsley, author of Genesis Girl

As her fingers move across the strings of her family's heirloom harp, sixteen-year-old Clarion can forget. She doesn't dwell on the recent passing of her beloved father or the fact that her mother has just sold everything they owned, including that very same instrument that gives Clarion life. She doesn't think about how her friends treat her like a feeble, brittle thing to be protected. She doesn't worry about how to tell the elegant Elena, her best friend and first love, that she doesn't want to be her sweetheart anymore. She becomes the melody and loses herself in the song. When Mack, a lord's dashing young son, rides into town so his father and Elena's can arrange a marriage between the two youth, Clarion finds herself falling in love with a boy for the first time. Drawn to Clarion's music, Mack puts Clarion and Elena's relationship to the test, but he soon vanishes by climbing up a giant beanstalk that only Clarion has seen. When even the town witch won't help, Clarion is determined to rescue Mack herself and prove once and for all that she doesn't need protecting. But while she fancied herself a savior, she couldn't have imagined the enormous world of danger that awaits her in the kingdom of the clouds. A prequel to the fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk that reveals the true story behind the magical singing harp. Available widely: https://books2read.com/balladofthebeanstalk