Rain Lashed

As I mentioned yesterday, Lynn Viehl has posted a freebie e-book, Rain Lashed in conjunction with the release of Kyndred 2 Dreamveil.

Rain Lashed is about Angela Witt, Jessa Bellamy's technical supervisor and fellow Kyndred, and takes place just before Jessa's disappearance - read Shadowlight to find out what happens - and involves Caleb Douglas, another senior staff member at Phoenix Inc., a staff consultancy firm.

The two have a 'formal' relationship that hides their true feelings as they individually believe the other is not for them: Angela because of her talent and deep insecurities that Caleb wouldn't look twice at her; Caleb because he can't give Angela everything he thinks she deserves. So they keep to the formal, circling each other, tempting each other and resisting each other.

Then Caleb attempts to force an answer to a work question and Angela's answer is very personal...

The novella begins with the death of Angela's mother and Ruth Witt's shocking betrayal of her daughter - there's an especially hot place for Ruth - and Angela's odd meeting with Jessa.

This is a clever addition to the Kyndred series, from a non-Kyndred view. Caleb and Angela have suspicions about Jessa's nature and I'll be interested to see if the pair have future involvement in the series. No spoilers about what Angela thinks of her strange... ness.

Fans of Lynn Viehl won't be disappointed. This is a story which expands on the personal issue of abandonment of the Kyndred as small children and the effect it has on one woman who knows nothing of her origins.

And it's free. For those who haven't read Shadowlight, this is an excellent introduction into a world that parallels Darkyn, but has it's own conflicts.