The Boatwright

Dalat was Prince Regent. But he didn't think about it because it was too far in the future. He thought about the game, beating his opponents. And not simply winning, but crushing them, completely humiliating them.

But then disaster struck. His father's entire empire collapsed. Enemies took every city. Judgement came. The kingdom was proclaimed ended by some being that seemed to be a sort of Lord, even though it was only a bird. His father was struck dumb and deaf, motionless, empty, but not dead.

Well, someone had to take charge. And he, Dalat, was supposed to be the one. He determined to be king, no matter who stood between him and the crown. No matter that he knew nothing about being king. No matter that no greater crisis had ever faced the kingdom.

So he grasped the crown and put it on himself. But the crown took him to another world, another life, a multitude of other lives, each one more difficult than the last. They were designed to train him, to prepare him to be the king he ought to be. But would he learn? And could it make a difference to his people?

Over a period of twenty-five years, Dr. Saunders lived in four countries in Europe--working in more than three dozen countries both before and after the end of communist rule--with the purpose of describing and purveying grace. Overcoming cultural differences and ways of communicating gave him insight both into what divides people and into what unites them. It also helped him understand elements in various cultures, baggage some call it, that keep people from hearing one another. Writing fantasy gave him a way to minimize the baggage and show truths to people they might otherwise be unable to see.

Anna Coleman is a freelance illustrator living in Deltona, Florida. She received formal training in Fine Art at Flagler College where she earned her BFA in 2011. Her style is versatile, ranging from detailed traditional paintings to whimsical digital illustrations. Anna's favorite things are animals, vintage aesthetics and the outdoors, which make them reoccurring themes in her work. She shares her home with her husband, her dog, and a growing collection of house plants.