Blog Tour: A FABLE OF WOOD AND STRING by L.T. Getty

 

A FABLE OF WOOD AND STRING

L.T. Getty

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GENRE:  Young Adult High Fantasy

 

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BLURB:

 

Would it hurt you to just do as you're told?

 

The O'Connell siblings live in the shadow of their parent's past, held back by obligation to keep the people of Stagmil safe when their father has to lead the non-hunters of their village to drive off a wyvern.

 

Lily doesn't trust the stranger who calls herself Madeline when she staggers into the pastoral lands. The puppeteer seems to take an interest in Lily's talent with the family mandoline, and she teaches Lily new music. Lily's had songs stuck in her head before, but nothing like this.

 

Twins Seth and Tiffany however can't wait for their father to return so they can get on with the shearing. Seth should at least be helping hunt the wyvern, and Tiffany wants to take her best friend Molly and head to the nearest city and see the world.

 

The twins and several other villagers are lured by song into the woods and transformed into marionettes: Seth breaking free before he can be strung, and Lily tainted in a way she doesn't understand. They have the skills to track the woman down, but to restore Seth to his body, and rescue Tiffany and the others?

 

Tracking the woman takes them far from the familiar woodlands they know, across the sea to an enchanted castle, where in an effort to rescue their sister they'll learn something much more sinister than turning folk into puppets is going on. They'll get help, of course, but not from who they expected.

 

After all, last Seth checked, foxes are only supposed to have the one tail.

 

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Excerpt Two:

 

“Got any more kitsunes or other surprises?” Caleb asked, squatting down without spilling his buckets. “I’d like to hear the story you were trying to tell me in the castle a little later. Right now it seems like you need help. I’ll take my sword back.”

 

Lily unbelted it, but Boscoe out of nowhere nabbed it from Lily, ran towards the lake, and pitched it in. Then he sat down, never breaking the squire’s gaze, and scratched behind his ears.

 

“Why did you do that?” Caleb demanded. “That was my father’s!” He tried to take his boots off, the lacing slowed him down.

 

“You’re cold, let me do it,” Lily said, sliding off her overdress. She shot Boscoe a sour look, who simply beamed at her. Caleb on the other hand turned around and shielded his eyes.

 

“Could you not?” he asked.

 

“I know you can see me, stop pretending like you can’t or I’m indecent.” Her chemise and trousers were dark, chosen for adventuring thank you very much; she’d learned what to wear to repel after a wayward ewe long ago. She hung her overdress on a low branch and waded into the cold water.

 

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to get these on?” Caleb asked the kitsune, who went, Yip yip! “Fine. To your left,” he offered. Part of her spitefully wanted to disobey him, but figured his father’s sword was important. “How’s the water?”

 

“Refreshing,” she called back, but paused when she got to about her navel. She didn’t think it was that deep. “Tell me this lake doesn’t have an overabundance of leeches.”

 

“I’ll help you pick them off,” Caleb offered.

 

“You’re very kind,” she told him. The water was murky and dark, she couldn’t see his sword so she felt around with her feet and finding it, resigned herself to the dive. Thankfully, she got the sword on her first attempt, and she brought it backup tip first.

 

Caleb had waded out anyway, but really had only gotten to his knees. He also looked at her with wide eyes, kind of like an idiot for a half-second. “What?” she asked, wading towards him, offering him the sword. “Go on, take it—make sure I didn’t find someone else’s sword.”

 

Caleb hesitated, but upon grasping the handle unsheathed it, then cast a glare back at the kitsune, who put a paw to his nose and stuck out his tongue. “You’re not a kitsune or a mermaid, are you?” he asked eventually.

 

Lily couldn’t stifle a guffaw. “You see a tail or scales?” she asked, brushing her hair behind her ears.

 

“Sounds like something a lake monster would say,” he said with just a hint of teasing.

 

She flicked water at him, but the way the way the water and sunlight reflected off the blade, she noticed engraving. “It’s got an inscription?”

 

He held it so she could read it. “Old language. Means ‘Do not unsheathe me without reason, do not wield me without valour.’ Hey, you got a little leech, right—” Caleb gestured to his own neck.

 

“Waaah!” Lily panicked and fell backwards, and upon getting up, seeing him chuckling and realizing it was a ruse, reached for the sword. “Give me that! Boscoe didn’t get it in far enough.” He had longer strides so she had to settle for splashing him.

 

 

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 GUEST POST

Please describe one of your favorite scenes in this book and why it's important.

 (Excerpt #2)

“Got any more kitsunes or other surprises?” Caleb asked, squatting down without spilling his buckets. “I’d like to hear the story you were trying to tell me in the castle a little later. Right now it seems like you need help. I’ll take my sword back.”

Lily unbelted it, but Boscoe out of nowhere nabbed it from Lily, ran towards the lake, and pitched it in. Then he sat down, never breaking the squire’s gaze, and scratched behind his ears.

“Why did you do that?” Caleb demanded. “That was my father’s!” He tried to take his boots off, the lacing slowed him down.

“You’re cold, let me do it,” Lily said, sliding off her overdress. She shot Boscoe a sour look, who simply beamed at her. Caleb on the other hand turned around and shielded his eyes.

“Could you not?” he asked.

“I know you can see me, stop pretending like you can’t or I’m indecent.” Her chemise and trousers were dark, chosen for adventuring thank you very much; she’d learned what to wear to repel after a wayward ewe long ago. She hung her overdress on a low branch and waded into the cold water.

“Do you have any idea how long it took me to get these on?” Caleb asked the kitsune, who went, Yip yip! “Fine. To your left,” he offered. Part of her spitefully wanted to disobey him, but figured his father’s sword was important. “How’s the water?”

“Refreshing,” she called back, but paused when she got to about her navel. She didn’t think it was that deep. “Tell me this lake doesn’t have an overabundance of leeches.”

“I’ll help you pick them off,” Caleb offered.

“You’re very kind,” she told him. The water was murky and dark, she couldn’t see his sword so she felt around with her feet and finding it, resigned herself to the dive. Thankfully, she got the sword on her first attempt, and she brought it backup tip first.

Caleb had waded out anyway, but really had only gotten to his knees. He also looked at her with wide eyes, kind of like an idiot for a half-second. “What?” she asked, wading towards him, offering him the sword. “Go on, take it—make sure I didn’t find someone else’s sword.”

Caleb hesitated, but upon grasping the handle unsheathed it, then cast a glare back at the kitsune, who put a paw to his nose and stuck out his tongue. “You’re not a kitsune or a mermaid, are you?” he asked eventually.

Lily couldn’t stifle a guffaw. “You see a tail or scales?” she asked, brushing her hair behind her ears.

“Sounds like something a lake monster would say,” he said with just a hint of teasing.

She flicked water at him, but the way the way the water and sunlight reflected off the blade, she noticed engraving. “It’s got an inscription?”

He held it so she could read it. “Old language. Means ‘Do not unsheathe me without reason, do not wield me without valour.’ Hey, you got a little leech, right—” Caleb gestured to his own neck.

“Waaah!” Lily panicked and fell backwards, and upon getting up, seeing him chuckling and realizing it was a ruse, reached for the sword. “Give me that! Boscoe didn’t get it in far enough.” He had longer strides so she had to settle for splashing him.

TL:DR?  Caleb just woke up human roughly an hour prior to this – he hasn’t been in a while. Unlike Seth and Lily from overseas, he’s a from the area, a squire among the captives in Mirador. He was among the first transformed into a marionette but given relative freedom inside the false world, acting as a knight but really working against the puppeteers in the limited capacity he has. 

He’s since allied with Seth and Lily to help rescue Tiffany, but the plan was never for him to escape personally – Lily didn’t know that at the time, there was a real possibility that he was still poisoned upon becoming human again, so the plan was to rescue several others first, but as always things go sideways.  

He’s human and outside, like he’s wanted but feels like a stranger in his own body. His rescuers aren’t who he epected, and he has no plan. 

But, he’s going to make the best of it. Caleb’s no slouch, he can improvise. 

Up until this part of the story, Lily and him have bonded and form a friendship that’s a little flirtatious but while they were in the castle it’s safe and going nowhere: they’re puppets, not a boy and a girl but two people in an enchanted form working towards a similar goal. The situation is serious and they both have people they want to rescue, so even if they could look into each other’s real eyes this isn’t the time for that. Lily has no idea what he’s been through and all of a sudden the squire is a real boy. Well, one who looks like he’s been training to use that sword his whole life.

They go from circumstantial friends to being awkward around one another – stiffly formal. They still have a major problem and there are lives at stake. This isn’t the time to flirt or goof around.

A sneaky two-tailed kitsune is having none of this, so he throws Caleb’s father’s sword into the moat. Caleb thinks he’s being messed around with (he is), so Lily descends to get the sword, Caleb insisting he can do it but she’s faster – she pops out of the water like the lady of the lake anointing a hero of legend, even though they’re relatively low in status in their respective walks of life and the only witness is the furry schemer who chucked the sword in the first place. It ends with them splashing each other and being friendly again – for a minute forgetting about the seriousness of the situation and being able to breathe and be human.

I’ve seen reviews comparing this book to The Pied Piper and Pinocchio, for me this cements was the first one where we’re getting the image of the Knight and the Lady, even though it’s the squire and the shepherdess, the exchange between the two is tender but at the same time playful – it’s meant to cement the relationship, but also make them realize that the grand and magical doesn’t have to come from a cursed castle but the ordinary and every day.

And yes, he almost kissed her with the leech comment.  

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

L.T. Getty is a Manitoba Paramedic. She received her degree in English in 2006 from the University of Winnipeg, and has gone on to write several novels. Her latest title, Titan’s Ascent, is a sword and sorcery forthcoming from Champagne Books for 2025.

 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6479207.L_T_Getty

Twitter/X: http://www.twitter.com/getty_lt

Blog: http://www.ltgetty.ca

Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/leiagetty

 

Buy Links:

Amazon (US): https://www.amazon.com/Fable-Wood-String-Getty-ebook/dp/B0DDDQZ2LF?ref_=ast_author_dp

Amazon (Canada): https://www.amazon.ca/Fable-Wood-String-L-Getty/dp/1777698073

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/it/it/ebook/a-fable-of-wood-and-string

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-fable-of-wood-and-string-l-t-getty/1145983492

 

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GIVEAWAY 

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