Excerpt of a new MG Fantasy by Dorothy A. Winsor: The Wysman

The Wysman by Dorothy A. Winsor
Publisher:  Inspired Quill
Format:  Paperback & ebook
Publishing:  June 2020

"The Grabber is just a fright tale."

Former street kid Jarka was born with a crooked 
foot and uses a crutch, but that no longer matters now that he’s an apprentice Wysman, training to advise the king. When poor kids start to go missing from the city’s streets, though, Jarka suspects that whatever’s causing the disappearances comes from the castle.

Now he needs to watch his step or risk losing the

position he fought so hard to win… but when
someone close to him becomes the latest victim, Jarka knows he’s running out of time.  His search takes him from diving into ancient history, to standing up to those who want to beat or bleed the magic out of him. 

Will Jarka succeed in uncovering an evil long-hidden, or will he see friends and family vanish into the darkness."

Excerpt from Chapter 1 The Wysman

As soon as I stepped out into the empty castle courtyard, I felt it. The wind puffed through my clothes and walked a chill finger down my back. It wanted me, and it wanted me now. It had things to tell me then. My heart sped up. I hitched across the courtyard, amid signs of the castle household just beginning to stir. Smoke rose from the kitchen chimney. A boy was just vanishing into the stables carrying a bucket of whatever horses need in the morning. Other than the boy, the wind and I were the only ones around.

I hobbled through the gate from the main courtyard into the keep around the old tower. Damp shadows pooled inside the keep's mossy walls. In the dawn quiet, my crutch thudded even more loudly than usual as I crossed the flagstones toward the stairs leading to the top of the castle wall.

"Stop right there, boy."

I jumped, then caged my teeth around a curse. Absorbed in the feel of the wind, I hadn't even noticed the baby-faced guard looking down at me from the walkway. If I'd been that dozy when I lived on the streets, I'd be shivering in just my skin while some thief sold my clothes--fleas and all--on the other side of town.

"Stop? Why?"

"You're not allowed up here." The guard rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. I'd not seen him before, so he was new and nervous as a fresh gang recruit guarding his territory. His accent said he was from somewhere deep in the farm country of Longrass.

I hesitated. The castle was still new territory for me too. How hard could I push? "Horse spit. Prince Beran himself picked me to be his Wysman someday because I can read the wind. I do it up there every morning."

"When I'm on duty, you don't." A smudge of struggling moustache quivered on the guard's upper lip. "As a matter of fact, I'm banning you from the keep while I'm guarding it. That stuff you fool with is dangerous." He shuddered. "Sorcery."

                                                               About the Author:  

Dorothy A. Winsor writes young adult and middle-grade fantasy. Her novels include Finders Keepers (Zharmae, 2015), Deep as a Tomb (Loose Leave Publishing, 2016), The Wind Reader (Inspired Quill, 2018), and The Wysman (June, 2020). At one time, Winsor taught technical writing at Iowa State University and GMI Engineering & Management Institute (now Kettering). She then discovered that writing fiction is much more fun and has never looked back. She lives in Chicagoland. 

* Facebook  *   Twitter  *  Author's blog 

Order your copy of The Wysman at:  

 *   Amazon *   Inspired Quill *