Doorway to the Sunset

Feather Down 
Book 2
Clemency Crow
 
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Adventure
Publisher: Crowvus
Date of Publication: 4th July 2025
ISBN: 978-1-913182-20-5 
ASIN: B0DTQ1LXCS
Number of pages: 290 
Word Count: Approx 68 000
Cover Artist: German Creative
 
Tagline: One girl. Two warring tribes. A deadly predator.
 
Book Description:
 
Freya thought life would go back to normal after she forged a fragile peace between the warring bird tribes. But when a terrifying supernatural creature targets her, Freya is pulled back into the hidden world of ancient rivalries and dangerous secrets.
 
Forced to take refuge among her enemies, she must navigate the icy politics of the owl king’s court and uncover the truth about her mother’s mysterious ties to the tribes. Teaming up with old friends and unexpected allies, Freya embarks on a daring journey to unravel the mystery behind the predator stalking her and stop the forces threatening to destroy everything she holds dear.
 
Time is running out, the peace is crumbling, and Freya must find the courage to stand tall. Can she unite the tribes—or will she become the next victim of an ancient curse?
 

Amazon     Amazon UK

Excerpt:

As the creature growled, she was sure its lips curled up into a grin.
Freya managed to find the strength in her feet and dragged herself backwards a step, never taking her eyes from the animal.

When she moved, however, the creature leapt the small fence and landed on the other side. Her side of the fence. There was nothing between Freya and it, and it crouched down and crept towards her, as though it was tracking rats.

Freya was sure that, if she turned to run, it would be faster. Her mind was whizzing through every possibility but, in her fear, she couldn’t make out any sensible thought. Walking slowly backwards, Freya hoped that steady movements would show she was not a threat but, as the creature walked at the same speed towards her, she realised it wasn’t going to attack her because she was a threat. It was going to attack her because it wanted to. There was a light in the narrowing of its eyes as it advanced on her that showed the pleasure it felt in the fear Freya knew she was showing.

Realising she couldn’t escape the animal, she cupped her hand in front of her and a blue flame ignited in her palm. She had learned this from the crows, and had been practising in the last four months, in any idle moment when she was safe at home.

The flame warmed her, but didn’t burn her, and it was enough to stop the creature approaching. It kept watching her, seeing if she would make a mistake with the blue light or trip up. The light glinted in the unblinking eyes and Freya found that she couldn’t take her own eyes off them.

Freya’s heart was thumping in her chest so loud that it made her head pound. One careless step could be the end of this staring contest, and she was sure of the outcome of losing.

In her time with the crows, she had never seen a creature like this before, but she felt certain that it used the same magic she was holding in her hand. It certainly wasn’t natural. She was sure she would remember seeing pictures of a creature like the one before her. The closest think in her memory were drawings of sabre-toothed tigers but, while they had been frightening, there was something about this being that spoke of something more than natural. Something, she was sure, that was supernatural. Something that shouldn’t be prowling towards her right now.

 

About the Author:

 

Clemency is a primary teacher in the tip-top north of Scotland, who enjoys reading middle grade adventures as much as she loves writing them.
 
Growing up in North Lincolnshire, in an old, haunted farmhouse, she developed her imagination from a young age. The garden provided not only plenty of opportunities for play and den building, but a chance to observe the wildlife, which gave rise to her series Feather Down.
 
When she moved to Caithness at the age of 16, she took her love of birds, nature and writing with her, beginning to develop her abilities as an author.
 
Clemency began a degree in Astronomy several years ago which she is slowly completing part-time. She has used the knowledge gained from her studies to write books such as “Tour of the Solar System: Not just the 8 planets” and plans to publish many more science books for children.
 
When Clemency is not writing, she is either gardening, playing with her two energetic spaniels, or looking after her quail and chickens, the latter of which has discovered a new hobby: escape from the coop and raid the orchard Viking-style.
 
Her upcoming book, Doorway to the Sunset, is the sequel to Taking Wing, and is due to be published by Crowvus on the 4th July 2025.
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway