​I've been talking about "Warriors of Aralan #7" for a while now, and so I'm really excited to reveal three important things about it with this post: 
1.) It has a name: Healing Scars.
2.) The cover! (That book-shaped image just to the left of this text).
3.) And a little tidbit of of the story itself in the form of an excerpt.
I'm hoping to release Healing Scars to Amazon later this month, but until then, here's the excerpt. Enjoy!

Update: Healing Scars is published, and can be downloaded off Amazon.
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  Though Mercy was perplexing, a lazy day at her special fishing hole turned out to be a pleasant experience.  Each of the three children caught several fish, and Ben kept two of his biggest to bring home.  About midway through the afternoon, Benjamin suggested swimming.
   Impulsive as Mercy was, she eyed the choppy water doubtfully.  “I don’t know if it’s safe.”
   “Can’t you swim?” Ben asked, a challenge in his voice.
   Mercy stood up indignantly.  “Of course I can!  It’s just that daddy said to never swim near waterfalls because they can push you under.”
   Had Kenan been quicker to speak, no one might have gotten wet that day.  As it was, Ben found his tongue long before his friend.  “That’s not a very big waterfall,” he said scornfully, gesturing at it.  It was true—but it wasn’t a very small one either.  And then, without further ado, Ben flung himself into the water.
   Mercy dithered on the bank for a moment, setting her fishing pole and line straight, and then she followed with a much smaller and less enthusiastic jump.
   Benjamin broke the surface again, flinging his wet hair out of the way with a roguish grin.  “Come on Kenan, the water feels good.”
   Kenan sat down slowly and dangled his legs in the water, shaking his head.  “I think I’m all right here.”  It wasn’t that he couldn’t swim—he and Ben had spent many summer afternoons doing just that—it was that, like Mercy, he wasn’t entirely sure swimming there was a good idea.
   Just then Mercy came up gasping for air, and Ben burst out laughing.  Her dark brown hair usually formed a perfect frizz all the way around her head, mirroring the spunk of the girl it belonged to, but when wet it went completely flat, draping, soaked, around her head and neck.  “What?” she asked, frowning.
   Benjamin splashed her.  “You look like a drowned rat!” he exclaimed, laughing so hard he went under.
   When he came up again, it was to a skillful jet of water in his face.  “I do not!” Mercy retorted crossly.
   “Do too!”
   “Do not!”
   “Do too!”
   Soon Mercy was pursuing Ben around the foaming pool, and both hurled insults freely.  Though perhaps Benjamin’s motives hadn’t been entirely pure when he called Mercy a drowned rat, their insult war became a light-hearted competition.
   Kenan stood up and watched their progress anxiously.  “Aren’t you getting a little close to the waterf—oh!”

During the last month, I've had the pleasure of joining in a couple of writing-centered hashtag games on Twitter. The first, called #authorconfession, is hosted by @_JM_Sullivan, and the second, called #WIPjoy, by @simmeringmind.  Every day participants in either #authorconfession or #WIPjoy are provided with a new question about their work-in-progress or themselves, and they're a lot of fun, besides having really helped me think about my characters in new ways.

Most of the above-mentioned answers come from Warriors of Aralan #7, and therefore offer a sneak peek into the lives of Allister and his son Ben before they hit Amazon later this year.  But be warned!  Spoilers are contained in the following answers. 

Day Sixteen
#authorconfession Question: Where would your main character find an Easter Egg?
Answer: Right when he [Ben] opened his eyes in the morning. Allister would leave it there, and leave several more hidden elsewhere.
#WIPjoy Question: How would you best describe your setting?
Answer: Fantasy, leaning towards a more historically accurate Dark Ages, in a made-up country of my own invention. ;)

Day Seventeen
#authorconfession Question: What's your main character's "deadly sin"?
Answer: Ben's “deadly sin” would be greed. It's what drives him to lie and steal—he's greedy for the thrill, not just stuff.
#WIPjoy Question: What was the first thing you knew about your story's world/setting?
Answer: Oh wow. *reaches five years back in the brain archives* Probably something boring like the fact that Aralan is forested.

Day Eighteen
#authorconfession Question: A book isn't complete without...
Answer: A book isn't complete without three-dimensional characters. I want to see their struggles—not just their reactions.
#WIPjoy Question: Story location you'd most like to visit?
Answer: Aralan's castle... because, I mean... it's a castle! 'Nuff said.

Day Nineteen
#authorconfession Question: What's your main character's favorite song?
Answer: I don't think Ben has a favorite song. He hasn't heard enough music to know, living in Aralan.
#WIPjoy Question: Share a line that displays your world.
Answer: A description of the field that holds the famous archery range of Linfort, in summertime: Heat waves shimmered and danced across the field, and the whine of summertime insects never stopped.

Day Twenty
#authorconfession Question: Find a GIF to describe your work-in-progress.
Answer: You'll have to click here to see the GIF.
#WIPjoy Question: Three unique elements of your world.
Answer: That's hard, because I'm not sure anyone can write an idea that hasn't been thought of by someone else before. But here goes...
1.) The chief weapon of one of my main characters (Allister), is throwing knives.
2.) Warriors of Aralan #7 centers around a single father (single due to his wife's untimely death), raising a son, not a daughter.
3.) Aralan is home to the famed "Tournament of Warriors," which is much like the Olympics, except with only four disciplines: one for Aralan's archers, one for Aralan's sword-wielders, one for Aralan's spear-carriers, and one for Aralan's axe-bearers.