This week sees the release of The Flame Before Us in Kindle and softcover versions – preorder is available now and delivery will be shortly after.

I have already posted various snippets from the story, so today I thought I would bring these together into the four strands which make up the whole.

1. Refugees from Ikaret – Anilat and her husband Tadugari, their three children, and two members of their household remain in a group together after the defeat and sack of their home city of Ikaret (Ugarit). Anilat’s nephew and niece, Yasib and Dantiy, leave with them but soon separate to pursue a different route.
2. Newcomers in the land – Nikleos and Kastiandra and their two children are Sherden migrants, working their way south through the land. Their clan is distantly related to the Sea Peoples’ groups which sacked Ikaret, but they themselves took no part in the attack.
3. The Egyptian occupying force – Hekanefer is a military scribe, attached to an army contingent based in Gedjet (Gaza), and subsequently dispatched north to defend against the incursion.
4. Inhabitants of the land – Labayu is a native of the town of Kephrath, currently living in a town near the Sea of Kinreth (Galilee) to help protect the people and their homes.

These four groups start with very little reason to know of or feel empathy for one another. The changing situation throws these groups into contact with each other several times as they all head south to the city of Shalem (Jerusalem). There, the city governor arranges an encounter which will decide all of their futures.

Not long to wait now…