It's Midsummer in Early Renaissance Scotland. Amid black crags and ocean spray, a troubled clan chief weighs a decision that will determine the course of war in the Highlands. Torn between his kin and his king, he summons a secret courier called Silk to carry a message and bring back a response that will help him choose. Silk is a woman skilled at many clandestine arts, but mostly that of remaining unseen, unnoticed, silent. During the long midsummer days, she journeys in solitude when she can and blends unremarkably into a crowd when she must. She spends the dark nights alone and in hiding-until she hears graceful music within the woods. Drawn from hiding to listen more closely, she spies handsome musician Velvet Hugh MacToro. The grandson of a shipwrecked Spanish troubadour, Velvet Hugh practices upon his father's vihuela every midnight as he travels to compete for acceptance into the Guild and a possible position at court. His songs evoke a range of emotions Silk has rarely experienced in her life of stealth: yearning, melancholy, playfulness, passion. She finds herself lingering, silent in the shadows. Inexplicably, the man notices her. Sensitive to the desires of his audience, he improvises a new melody to entice her closer... But enemies move closer also. Horse thieves invade Velvet's camp. Velvet defends himself well, but he is outnumbered. Silk suspects these ruffians' connection with her chieftain's rivals, who seek to intercept her message and ensure that the Highlands rise up against the king. Risking discovery, she creeps behind with her garrote, overcomes one and then another. Velvet drives off the attackers, then joins Silk in adopting the disguise of a pair of festival-goers riding together to Edinburgh. In this way they hope to mislead her pursuers-and hope, even more, for another night of musical intimacy. Clouds gather as darkness falls. Winds grow wild. Love is near as Velvet plays, but enemies are near as well. The storm that strikes at midnight may end the lovers' chances, their romance, even their lives-yet Silk holds secrets still...
About the Author: M.C. Chambers' journey toward authorship gained momentum when she received her first computer in 1990, a Commodore 64 handed down from her father who had upgraded. Its word-processing feature was the key to her productivity, for she loves to revise. Her first published piece was a science fiction story submitted to the National Space Society's fiction contest in 2008. The story, "Visual Silence", won grand prize and was included in the anthology Return to Luna by Hadley Rille Books. Chambers has since had three other works published by Hadley Rille Books, including a novel, Shapers' Veil, originally started way back when on the Commodore 64. Today she is working on a second fantasy novel and several shorter works. She has been a member of the NobleFusion writers' critique group since 1998. She is a frequent participant at ConQuesT KC, the Longview Community College Literary Festival, and Inklings' Wordstock Festival. She is also a flutist performing with the Kansas City Flute Choir and a mother of five.