Katherine Newcomer is hard at work on the second book in the Tatiana series
Tatiana and the Hidden Land: Metamorphosis is forthcoming in the spring of 2025!
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Tatiana and the Hidden Land is a series of at least three books. Book one is available here, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and more. Book two should be published in the spring.
Tatiana and the Hidden Land: Discovery is a fantasy novel set in the future. It follows Tatiana as she discovers her magical powers.
The Phoenix and the Falcon is a dark romance that is filled with action. A true page turner!
New Release! Tatiana and the Hidden Land: Discovery
$16.99
($4.75 shipping)
Tatiana and the Hidden Land: Discovery is the first in a fantasy series. It is post-apocalyptic and pits the strength of a young woman against the Dark Mage and his master, the Nameless One. The Dark Mage's magic was powerful, twisted, and forbidden. He created widespread death and destruction. He had taken the capital of Terra One within three years, and its citizens lived in abject fear. Still, pockets of resistance coalesced around Tatiana and her loved ones.
Though her magic had grown strong, is it enough to defeat the Dark Mage?
"Thanks to numerous, well-considered action scenes, the pacing is speedy even with all the requisite exposition, and the premise….is full of promise." (Kirkus Review)
Purchase The Phoenix and the Falcon directly from the author
The Phoenix and the Falcon
$20.00
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An autographed copy of my book, The Phoenix and the Falcon. I warn you though, it IS hard to put down!
About Us
The Phoenix and the Falcon was live streamed
During COVID, I live streamed The Phoenix and the Falcon. You can check it out on my YouTube channel (but please buy a copy to read along).
It was early days and a little scary. (41) Katherine Newcomer - YouTube
The Phoenix and the Falcon - Prologue
PROLOGUE from The Phoenix and the Falcon
415 A.D.
Framed by the square courtyard, the open sky was bright. Noise from the city of Constantinople intruded, but the house's thick, stone walls muffled the din. Water danced in the large alabaster fountain, filling the inner sanctum with sparkling sounds.
A young child, no more than six, played quietly, almost secretively in the shadows behind two tall pottery jars. Her dress was like a patch of indigo blue against the mosaic floor. Sunlight filtered through potted trees and glittered on the glazed urns. The jars, holding cooking oil, were decorated with painted birds, some on the threshold of flight, others already in air. It was as if they were alive in the brilliant light.
The child, Helena, felt safe in her nest, hidden from her current nurse, a woman who always found fault with her. She was happy, engrossed in a world of make believe. Fiery white toy horses pulled Alexander the Great's chariot. Her five soldiers, by the magic of pretend, had become at least thirty; the tall urns were enormous mountains, blocking Alexander's passage to Persia. Her grandfather, a gifted storyteller, had brought the ancient conqueror to life during her lessons, but referred to him only as Sikunder the Destroyer because of the devastation he had wrought in Persia.
The miniatures, once her father's, had many nicks and scratches, having seen much in the way of “military” action. Helena remembered little about him, except his deep voice and the way his laughter filled a room. Though he had forgotten all of her birthdays, she treasured the toys because they had been his.
Her grandfather said that her father would return for another visit someday, but Helena had stopped believing. The last letter from her father was well over two years old. Her mother was long dead, dying a few weeks after her birth. Soon after, her grieving father resumed his command in the Imperial Persian Army, leaving his infant daughter in his father's care. She would stare at the small portrait of him that hung in her grandfather’s study and wonder if he ever thought of them.
Despite her grandfather's careful explanations, Helena felt sad when she thought of her father - not really understanding why he went away. "Helena! Helena!" a woman's voice called. The nurse stood at the top of the central stone staircase; her middle-aged face was creased, her lips pursed. The child edged back into the shadows, scarcely breathing, clutching her toys.
“Go away!” she thought.
Helena stared at her talisman: a large mosaic phoenix in the floor near the marble fountain. She thought it magical, almost believing that if she looked at nothing else, it would make her invisible. Family tradition maintained that anyone who crossed its flaming wings with joy would have good fortune for a full day and night. Of course, now that the Empire had become Christian, such beliefs remained within the family.
"Nurse! Have you lost your charge again?" Helena's grandfather asked in his baritone voice.
Startled, the woman screeched. When Grandfather willed it, he could move with the stealth of a cat.
"She-she ran off, master. Not wanting her lessons!" The nurse said with a panicked stutter.
"And what had you planned to teach today?"
"The usual things. How to dress the hair; the art of pedicure, showing a maiden's feet with perfection in her thongs..."
Helena's grandfather cut into the cooing recital.
"Enough! I never gave orders for such instruction! You are to keep her clean, freshly clothed, and well nourished!"
Miriam clutched her hands to her chest. "I-I must have misunderstood!"
"Perhaps you'll do better tomorrow," he said more gently. "Now be off!"
The nurse hurried down the stairs, around the fountain, and across the phoenix. Helena stared with quiet exultation at her rapid departure.
"Come out now," her grandfather said, looking down from over the urns. "It's time for your lesson."
She had not even heard his steps! He was a magician, she just knew it.
"Oh, Grandfather!" she said, laughing, running toward his open arms.
The rhythmic beat of a solitary horse, galloping hard across the wind-swept steppes intruded upon her dream. Her grandfather’s face receded into shadow. Still half-asleep, Helena whispered, “No!"
Not breaking stride, the horse whinnied. It was deep, like a stallion’s.
She opened her eyes.
She was cold, far from the warmth of that summer day in Constantinople. The chill wind rushed through the cracks of the mud and thatch house into the darkness crowded with sleeping women and children. She shut her eyes quickly, trying to go back to sleep, to her dream and to her childhood, where the safety of home and Grandfather waited.
Tatiana and the Hidden Land is a series!
Book Two is of Tatiana and the Hidden Land: Metamorphosis is being edited now!
Autographed copies of my books and author visits for book clubs of Tatiana and the Hidden Land: Discovery will be available soon.
Katherine Newcomer loves writing stories that captivate her imagination
Katherine Gibson Newcomer has been called a "Renaissance" woman by others. She graduated from Drew University, Madison, New Jersey cum laude after spending her senior year abroad at Ripon Hall, Oxford, United Kingdom. She was a double major in both Religion and Music. She completed her academic studies at Rutgers Law School - Newark, New Jersey. An Arts person at heart, she continues to create by writing and working in the music field. Her first book is The Phoenix and the Falcon, a dark historical romance. She utilizes her legal background as a mediator to help people resolve their problems rather than litigate them. She also serves as an arbitrator in civil matters. She remains an avid horsewoman. She lives with her husband in Pottersville, New Jersey with their three Shetland Sheepdogs. They enjoy occasional visits from their two grown daughters and their grandson.
She is excited about her fantasy series, Tatiana and the Hidden Land. The first book, Discovery, will be published soon.
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Additional Information
From The Hidden Land Book Series:
Planet Aurora, 13,589 A.C.E.
Ten thousand years after the Exodus from Earth.
Their world, Aurora, had been settled by refugees from Ancient Earth close to 10,000 years ago. The survivors elected to live with minimal technology and chose a more pastoral life. Earth, unfortunately, only survived in antiquated stories and legends.
Unlike their native world, magic was intrinsic to the very nature of their new planet. It even sparked magical abilities in some individuals, primarily women. In one of the Seven Kingdoms, Terra One, they eventually developed a culture that supported a Sisterhood for those who wielded magic. Their world was relatively peaceful until the recent ascendancy of a powerful wizard called the Dark Mage, who acted on the behest of the Nameless One.
In the name of his master, a capricious but powerful god, he created widespread death and destruction with his force of evil priests. His magic was powerful, twisted, and forbidden. Within three years, the citizens of Terra One had lost their capital, Terraenium, to the Dark Mage. Still, there were pockets of resistance…
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Announcement
I'll be at an Authors' Event on May 13, 2023 at the Burnt Mills Cider Co. from 12 to 5:00 p.m.!