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.
Although Bertha Maude Anderson has ridden the plow horse all her life and thinks she's a good rider, she finds it's not the same when she gets on the back of Cecil, the elephant. When she reaches what she thinks is a good point in her training, the circus owner, Shandor, seems unimpressed.
Shandor takes for granted the experience and expertise of the performers in the troupe and has no time to mollycoddle a newcomer. He attends to business as usual and rather than complimenting the new girl on learning the ropes he barks orders to the crew.
Shandor has just bestowed a performer's name of Inzared on Bertha Maude and her pride is deflated as she heeds his comment "Don't get too cocky." She stands by silently while he gives instructions to those around him.
Book Excerpt
INZARED, Queen of the Elephant Riders
Shandor grunted. “I thought you’d be a natural. But don’t get too cocky. You’ve got a long way to go. I want you to do minimal tricks at our next show.” He speared a slab of bread with his knife. “Nothing spectacular yet. I don’t want any accidents. Just a good show for the spectators. You can get fancy later, after you learn to ride better. Udo, get a new sign made that saysInzared, Queen of the Elephant Riders to attach to Cecil’s blanket for the parade. Put one of the roustabouts on that first thing in the morning. It won’t be but a week and we’ll leave for the next town. We need to be ready for our new star.”
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