Prince Deron fights a battle on two fronts: one against the Saxons storming the border, the other against a dragon shifter stealing his heart.
By DENISE LAJUAN PETERS
Oracles of the Vinedresser: The Four Seasons – a novella
A Tanninim Tale
Saxon incursions prove invasion looms for Deron, prince of the Britons. He reluctantly accepts counsel from a mysterious enslaved vinedresser, the center of a web of dark rumors.
Despite the pervasive superstitions, Deron welcomes her intelligence. But he uncovers her shocking secret. And her dire situation.
Obeying the oracles of the vinedresser may steer him to a costly victory. But her curse could drag him to a bitter end.
Denise LaJuan Peters’s books transport readers to spaces where history and fantasy collide. Her character driven tales will pull you into communities in which the overlooked soul has the opportunity to save souls or destroy them. To redeem self, or throw a life away.
Psalm 148:7
General Book Information
- ISBN 979-8-9866130-7-9
- ASIN B0DCGG5BYF
- Published in 2023
- Tanninim Publishing, Mineral, Virginia
- Printed in the United States of America
- Fiction/Fantasy/Dragons & Mythical Creatures
- Fiction/Fantasy/Historical
- Fiction/Fantasy/General
- New Adult and College Readers
Tropes
- Shapeshifters
- Secret History
- Secret Identity
- Trial by Fire
- Binding Oath
- Mysterious Background
- Nobility of Sacrifice
FOR MY READERS
SAMPLE: SCENES ONE-THREE
ORACLES GLOSSARY
ORACLES OF THE VINEDRESSER: PICTURE IT!
Today, vineyards surpass the vinedresser’s in number of plants. But modern vintners keep the branches pruned hard to produce fewer clusters but with larger berries. Aelia’s individual vines would have the freedom to cover much larger structures.
This Roman gate guarded the road to Cardiff Fort where Oracles of the Vinedresser takes place. The north gate linked the fort with other fortifications in Wales. Photographer Colin Smith made this image available under the Creative Commons Copyright Law. For more information, follow the provided link.
Romans constructed Portchester Fort around the time they built Cardiff. Historians believe the fort at Cardiff would have looked similar to this one.
Little remains of Cardiff Fort since a new wave of conquerors built a castle on top of it. These spring daffodils brighten the ruins surrounding the Norman keep constructed in the 11th century.
Small wolf packs used to roam the Welsh countryside. Prince Deron hears one as he hurries back to the fort. But historians believe the last of the British wolves died during the Medieval period. The pictured wolf is of the same species, but it lives on the European continent.
Roman soldiers welcomed native Welsh cats like this wild one into their forts in Wales.
With a little help, Prince Deron’s men fend off the invaders from the east. These Germanic warriors employed the seax as their weapn of choice. A word that means knife. But the inhabitants of the British isles so associated this people group with the weapon, that they named the tribes after it. Hence we have the Saxons.
Although I place the invaders as coming from south of Cardiff, I learned recently that the Saxons more likely would have rowed their ships up this waterway, the River Taff.
Watch the 3-minute long YouTube video above to see the recreated Saxon ship found buried at Sutton Hoo. For the last minute of the video, rowers try the ship out on the waters.
BOOK CLUBS
Oracles of the Vinedresser: The Four Seasons has 12,000 words, a read shorter than 90 minutes. As a result, it makes for a great choice for your next book club meeting. Sacrificing the one for the many embodies virtue. But what if you are that lamb? The vinedresser’s dilemma will stimulate great discussions in your group.
Oracles' Discussion
Guide
TEACHERS
Use Oracles of the Vinedresser: The Four Seasons with your high schoolers. The novella provides an excellent opportunity to examine the differences and consequences of selfish versus selfless decisions.
Oracles
Lesson Plans