Recently Released!

Eena, The Curse of Wanyaka Cave has been released!
This is the 3rd book in the Harrowbethian Saga for those waiting to continue the adventures of young Queen Eena.

Let me do a little victory dance here for my personal writing accomplishment... Woo-hoo!

Okay, so you can find this great fantasy-romance-adventure in e-book and paperback form on Amazon.com and other online bookstores. After you finish living the adventure, remember to leave kind reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, etc. Thanks a bunch for supporting this American author!

Eena, The Curse of Wanyaka Cave

in PAPERBACK or E-BOOK

KINDLE   NOOK   KOBO   iTUNES

Summary: Captain Derian and his crew have successfully returned the young Queen Eena to her home in Harrowbeth. Gemdorin, their enemy of over a decade, has been defeated. The world awaits healing as peace once again settles over the land. Unfortunately for those closest to Eena, this much-deserved rest proves short-lived.

Deep within Lacsar Forest inside the black walls of Wanyaka Cave, a childhood ghost story has become reality. A more powerful and enduring enemy lures the young queen to where two immortal sisters await in confines, having been imprisoned there for generations. These evil sisters and their brother, along with a dragon forced to do their bidding, combine efforts to manipulate Eena into helping them accrue a means of escape. Though she tries to refuse her assistance, every move she makes only seems to worsen her predicament. She fears losing Derian's trust, Ian's friendship, and possibly someone's life.

Secrets of a Noble Keykeeper

Looking for a fun and unique story for any age?  

Well, you've found it!

Secrets of a Noble Keykeeper 

by Richelle E. Goodrich

     Meet a curious, young man whose calling it is to guard the gates of his homeland.
     As keykeeper of Dreamland, Gavin comes across many outsiders referred to by his people as dreamers. Through a variety of bizarre and creative antics, Gavin steers these roaming trespassers away from the borders of his magical world—a world where ogres bowl for their dinner, and pirates sail the clouds to plunder diamonds from the night's sky, and bubbleberries make a person burp out loud. It is a place where anything imaginable is commonplace. All the while, the young keykeeper finds himself increasingly intrigued by stories of the outside world. Snooping about, he is captivated by a dreamer who piques his interest in the ordinary.

     Here's what some have had to say about the book:

"This book brought me right back to my childhood. It's a good old fashioned fairy tale, with big bad wolves, pirates and swashbuckling, bears, and little girls running around the forest with red riding hoods." ~ G. Downs

"Secrets of a Nobel Keykeeper is an extremely beautiful read. This is most certainly a children's classic. If this does not become a classic, I will be very disappointed. I recommend this to everyone, no matter their age bracket." ~ J. Cozart

"WOW!! I have to say that I was very surprised as Orphan Moon was; it was not what I expected, it was way way better. I didn't finish it in one sitting but I have to say that it was hard to put down and a joy to pick back up." ~ J. Ricker

Buy the book at PAPERBACK or E-BOOK   KINDLE   NOOK   KOBO   iTUNES

Same Great Story―Second Release!

Prepare to return to the beginning...

Re-read the adventures of Queen Eena in this newly-released, second edition of 

Eena, The Dawn and Rescue

By

Richelle E. Goodrich

The second version has been revised and enhanced with new dialogue not included in the first!  See the cover upgrade below!

Experience adventure, peril, mystery, fun, new races, old legends and  budding romance in the first volume of The Harrowbethian Saga.  Read the introductory chapters here!  

Synopsis:

Sevenah Williams lives a quiet farm life with her parents and best friend, Ian. Life is good and predictable until the unexpected yanks her from the only reality she remembers. Forced from home, her tragic and forgotten past is pieced together revealing that Sevenah is in fact heir to the throne of Harrowbeth; she is the last living of royal blood able to don a peculiar heirloom necklace. Given the new name, Eena, she and Ian set off for a new home, dodging nightmarish enemies in the process. All the while great powers granted by the enchanted necklace slowly emerge and develop.

Eena is assisted by militia sent to retrieve their queen, commanded by the bossy and intimidating Captain Derian. Though Ian and Derian endeavor to protect her, Eena is abducted by a charming, silver-tongued man. She finds herself forced to choose sides in a civil war she hardly understands. Which rival has the power to convince her of his nobleness and gain her ultimate support?

“You can capture this body of mine, take away my freedom and enslave me. 

You may even have the power to capture my soul and sentence me to the realm of eternal darkness. 

But my dreams you cannot touch. They are my will―the very essence of who I am. 

In them I laugh.
In them I cry.
In them I love.
And in them…….I live.
My dreams are untouchable and unceasing.” 

― Richelle E. Goodrich

How Many Books?

I have been asked the same question a number of times since the publication of my first book, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue.  Once readers discover that this is just the beginning of Eena's extraordinary adventure, they want to know...

"How many books are in the saga?"

Well, the truth is...

Eena's tale, which I refer to as the Harrowbethian Saga, was originally the Harrowbethian Trilogy.  When I took on the challenge of creating a new fantasy /science fiction /romance /adventure story, I was only interested in compiling three books.  Quite frankly, that's about my personal attention span for any series.  Not that I haven't read the four, five, six, seven, plus volumes of many excellent strings of amazing works of fiction, but I tend to grumble about it.  So, to satisfy my own preference, Eena started out as a trilogy.

It was a three-book package that I handed out to dozens of my friends for pre-reading.
Book One - Eena, The Return of a Queen
Book Two - Eena, The Two Sisters
Book Three - Eena, The Companionship of the Dragon's Soul

Personally, I still prefer the story in this trilogy bundle.  I think it is perfect.  However, as is often the case in life, others disagreed with me.  The fact is, these original books comprised 700+ pages each.  A little lengthy, maybe, but well worth the read.  Who is not frustrated when an entertaining tale ends too soon?  At first, I ignored the few who suggested I consider dividing the novels into shorter-length narratives. 

"Ha!  Are you kidding me?  It's a trilogy, people!  Would you tolerate cutting The Lord of the Rings in half?  Or slashing the Eragon Saga into eight parts?  Yeah...I didn't think so!"

But there were arguments to consider.  Young adult literature is more likely to sell if the page count isn't overwhelming.  The majority of book buyers shy away from thick books, preferring something they can tackle on a flight, there and back.  It's more cost-effective to publish a smaller book. 

"Yadda, yadda, jibberish, nonsense, yawn... whatever."

Then the miraculous day came when I was actually on the phone speaking to an interested publisher.  Unbelievable!  Not an easy occurrence to come by, I'll tell you.  Oh my gosh, if within the first five minutes she wasn't recommending I divide each book in two, persuading me with the same previously brushed-off arguments!  Wisely I said, "Of course I'll consider it."

Then I hung up the phone and groaned.  "Ugh!  My beautiful trilogy!  My poor, perfectly-wonderful-as-it-is trilogy!  They want to tear you apart and destroy you!"

So, a bit on the unwilling and disgruntled side, I complained to my husband.

"Three books is the perfect number, the perfect length for a saga. More than that and you lose the interest of readers!  And then tell me this, how am I supposed to find a coherent midpoint at which to slice each book in half?  What if I can't?  How do you end one half of a book and start it up again in another, making it believably two books when obviously it's meant to be one?  That's insane!  It's impossible!  And then.....oh yes....and then I would need to come up with THREE MORE TITLES for THREE MORE BOOKS!  I might as well just call it part one and part two of what ought to be one solid book!  Criminy!"

My husband heard me out and said little.  "If your goal is to get published, Richelle, you should do what the publisher asks."

"Grumble, grumble, traitor... whatever."

So, I went to work butchering the first of my books.  Dreadful, anguishing chore!

Honestly... shockingly... it turned out to be easier than expected severing the book in two.  The story's action naturally came to a nice shift in settings and plot near the midpoint. 

Huh.  Interesting. 

Okay... alright... so maybe that wasn't so hard.  But there was still the chore of having to write a new ending to this first-half of the book, making it believably a stand-alone book of its own.  A grievous task... if even possible. 

It took me two added pages.  Hmmmm. 

But... there remained a need for another title!  A catching caption to slap on the cover of what had now been transformed into two books instead of one. 

Okay, so in this first book the heroine discovers her true identity and is rescued from dire circumstances.  How about... Eena, The Dawn and Rescue? 

(Dang, that was easy.)

You get the picture.  Each book of the original trilogy was divided into two halves creating a six-book epic saga.  The new titles (around 350 page count each) are as follows:

Book One - Eena, The Dawn and Rescue
Book Two - Eena, The Return of a Queen
Book Three - Eena, The Curse of Wanyaka Cave
Book Four - Eena, The Two Sisters
Book Five - Eena, The Tempter's Snare
Book Six - Eena, The Companionship of the Dragon's Soul

Now, as the twisted irony of fate would have it, the publisher who showed such promising initial interest in my books backed out, leaving me with transformed written works and a bucket of pitiful tears.  Yes, I cried a bit.  But after a little lamenting, I picked myself up, whispered a prayer, and resolvedly quoted myself, Don't ever give up!

I decided to invest in a self-publishing venture, and on April 26th, 2012 a box was delivered to my doorstep.  Inside the cardboard package, in paperback form, was the first novel I had ever written, Eena, The Dawn and Rescue.  I am grateful now for the events that encouraged Eena's story to be sectioned into smaller books, enabling me a better opportunity to find success in this self-publishing world. My short-term goal is to publish the remaining books.

My long-term goal?  To eventually find success enough as a novelist to have Eena's story published in the trilogy form in which it was originally meant to exist.  At that day, it shall sit on my bookshelf next to the great J.R.R. Tolkein's masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. 

Don't laugh.  A girl can dream.