BOOK ONE IN THE TAPESTRY OF SWORD AND FLAME
The first book in The Tapestry of Sword and Flame, The Defender’s Throne, is available in ebook, Kindle unlimited, and paperback from your favorite provider.
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Set in the late Bronze Age, in the time of the great heroes — and heroines — of lore, The Defender’s Throne follows the story of ha-mazaan (Amazon) warrior Cyra, niece of the Sister-Queens of Themiscyra. When Cyra and a small band of ha-mazaans are taken as prisoners of war, only to be shipwrecked in a hostile land far from home, Cyra finds herself directly on track to fulfill the prophecy given on her first moon-blood—a prophecy that foretold how she would betray the sacred Ways of her sisterhood.
While fate appears to be steering Cyra towards an inevitable destiny she never wanted, there are other daughters of Themiscyra who have oracular prophecies of their own to fulfill, and they will see their destinies fulfilled no matter the cost. When strange and dangerous men are added to the mix, Cyra is torn between protecting the ways of the sisterhood, fulfilling her purpose as the Defending Queen of the ha-mazaans, and ensuring that neither her friends, nor her heart, fall victim to the greatest threat any of them have ever faced — losing their freedoms as Priestesses and Warriors of the Great Mother, and being lost to the winds of history forever.
Will Cyra follow her heart, or will she stay true to the tragic destiny that was laid out for her? And what if those two paths begin to collide? The fate of the ha-mazaans, the most famous and revered women warriors of all time, hangs in the balance.
The Defender’s Throne is based on events recorded by the historian Herodotus regarding the origin of the egalitarian Scythian/Sarmatian culture of the late Bronze Age. It re-imagines what historical records may have looked like if seen through the eyes of the other half creating it – the women. Using historical, archaeological, and matriarchal spirituality as a foundation for a historical fantasy, action-adventure, magical realism love story, The Defender’s Throne is a page-turner that delights the savvy reader with its twists and turns.
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Alessandra Woodward is a Writer, Author, Intuitive Coach, and Creatrix—aka a Renaissance Woman. She currently lives and writes from the traditional and unceded territory of the Syilx peoples in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, with a rescue horse named Piglet, a fierce Chihuahua named Zoë, a Maremma shieldbeast named Stormcloud, and various other well-loved rescue critters. She collects swords and other historical tidbits. Sign up for her newsletter to get the inside scoop and updates about new releases.
Alessandra Woodward 