Bertha Maude Anderson has no inkling of how famous she will become. She lives in the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina in the year 1843. Her world changes forever when she is enticed to join The Romanoff Brothers Circus and her name is changed to INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders. Inzared discovers her true calling while learning to live with the nomadic Gypsies. From the hatred shown by some of the performers to the love she finds along the way, Inzared finds herself immersed in the rich folklore and customs of the misunderstood people who call the circus their home. Her one constant is Cecil, the elephant, and together they form a bond that no one can break as Inzared finds herself lured into the world of the Gypsies. Will Inzared cling to her own roots or try to break free of the chains that keep her from her destiny?
L.Leander is an e-book author, freelancer and songwriter. She writes for Yahoo! Content and does guest posts on author blogs and groups. As a child L.Leander dreamed of running away to join the circus. Instead, she grew up to write about it, bringing the magic alive for all who read her work.
Ms. Leander currently resides between Wisconsin and Mexico. INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders is the first book in a series about a Gypsy wagon circus in pre-Civil War America.
Boldo is in the ring with Udo, his trainer. The lion seems to be fine at the beginning of the set but something goes terribly wrong. The massive animal grabs Udo by the arm and won't let go. The audience at first thinks it's part of the act until they see the blood and the lion shaking his trainer back and forth.
Paytre reacts before the crowd even realizes what's going on. He knows something is terribly wrong, just by the animal's growl, and he runs for the cage in center ring, where he tries to help the unfortunate Udo.
Book Excerpt
INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders
He growled ferociously and pawed the air when Udo spoke to him. The trainer walked over to the cat and shook his huge paw. I let out a gasp as Udo turned and the growling lion snatched his arm in a toothy embrace, causing the audience to scream in terror. Udo turned and tapped the lion on the nose commanding Boldo to release his grip. I felt a prickle of dread as Boldo roared, an ear splitting sound that caused everyone to cringe. “Something’s wrong,” I heard Paytre scream and he threw Cecil’s lead to me as he ran toward the ring. Boldo had seized Udo’s arm again, refusing to let go, and blood stained the trainer’s costume as the lion shook him back and forth, like a limp rag doll.
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