Little Lantern, Deep Darkness: Book I: The Light of Dead Fires

Sacrificing her son may be the only way to keep him alive …

Nina is a penniless, traumatised widow, who goes mad from time to time, particularly at any mention of her dead husband. Extreme poverty has forced her son, Smast, to grow up submissive and wistful. But something immense is coiled up in his soul without his being aware of it. The steel in his spirit comes to the fore when he learns a secret that is simultaneously devastating and uplifting.

Smast’s newfound, suicidal courage pits him against the wealthy, enigmatic woman — Nina’s sister-in-law — who destroyed Smast’s parents mercilessly before his birth. Smast literally becomes her prisoner, but the way she treats him is the most baffling thing he has ever experienced. Smast’s perception of reality bends out of shape when this destroyer goes to unimaginable lengths in order to protect and nurture him.

As a greed for luxury grows in his heart and the prospect of a dream journey makes him thrum with excitement, Smast must choose between an enriching illusion and a lethal reality.

About the Little Lantern Trilogy: Just as sprawling trees come from tiny seeds, Smast’s apparently harmless trip (after the events of Book I) will birth an epic journey spanning several years and hundreds of miles. From being almost lynched for a soul-scarring horror to forging an unlikely bond with a guilt-wracked princess, from being abducted by a devilish dwarf to being accused of a monstrous policeman’s murder, Smast will have enough mind-bending adventures to last many lifetimes, but everything is just a prelude to the ancient magic awaiting him in a faraway, breathtaking Himalayan valley…