About this project

My debut novel, CLEANSE FIRE, is complete! All that’s left to do is publish it – and that’s where I need your help. The release date is set for December 21, 2011!

Before I tell you about the story itself, I want to share with you the original idea of where this story came from. My Dad served in the US Army for twenty years. As a writer, I had the urge to write a story about him, telling the world about his dedication to this country. When I began writing the book however, I realized that I could never do justice to him, or any soldier for that matter.

So, I resorted to my passion – fantasy. Now, while the story as it exists now is completely fictional, the characters and story line are all in dedication to my Dad and all soldiers who have served, are serving, and will serve in the military. It is my hope that, even though in fantasy form, the story of a soldier’s sacrifice and dedication to their country still shines through.

With all that in mind, when the book is published, a portion of the sales will be given to the Wounded Warrior Project.

And now, let me tell you about CLEANSE FIRE, book one of the Kinir Elite Chronicles! Simply put, the Kinir Elite are like a special forces unit, such as Delta Force - but with elves! A few of my readers also told me they thought of the team like SWAT.

So imagine, the movies SWAT and The Lord of the Rings together!

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Let me elaborate a bit more about why I wrote this book and why I’m donating a portion of my sales to the Wounded Warrior Project.

As I said, my Dad served in the Army for twenty years. He was in Germany before the Berlin Wall came down, he served in Desert Storm; he’s been to Korea, Panama, England, and more places I either don’t remember or don’t know about.

One of my clearest – and scariest – memories as a child is when my Dad came back from the desert. I was about 7 or 8 years old and he sat in his recliner in the living room. For some reason he was still in his uniform. Normally, this isn’t unusual. Dad always took naps still in uniform after work. The part that scared me is that he stared at the TV for at least twenty minutes without blinking. The TV wasn’t even on.

My Dad told me years later when I asked him about what happened to make him do that. He said he had spent the better part of almost two years staring at the other side of his foxhole, just waiting for something to happen. Anything.

So, when he came home, he resorted to the same thing. Staring at the other side of the room. The Wounded Warrior Project wasn’t around back then, and I don’t know if there was an organization at the time to help him anyway. But, the Wounded Warrior Project helps soldiers, like my Dad, transition back into their lives and family.

As a proud Army Brat, this book, the donations that will come from it, is just my way to say thank you, to all soldiers who serve their country with bravery and dedication. I was lucky that my Dad was not killed from his service, and he still lives to this day. But there are so many that come home severely wounded, or even not at all. I want my book, even though it’s fantasy, to tell soldiers that their sacrifice means something, that we know how important it is, and that we are eternally grateful.

Your contribution gets me closer to my goal, to my dream of helping soldiers, thanking them, and caring for them. They took care of us and now we need to take care of them.
A giant thank you from the bottom of my heart.

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Here is a review from one of my readers about the book:

Anastasia writes the type of fantasy that even non-fantasy fans, like myself, would love to read. Her characters come to life from page one and the reader can’t help falling in love with them. Cleanse Fire is a fun, fast read full of adventure and romance, heartbreak and honor, danger and happily ever afters.

The reader is captured immediately in chapter one with the gruesome death of Captain Derac’s wife, then taken on a wild ride through all the adventures of Kinir Elite, who’s love and honor for their captain eventually mends Derac’s heart.

~~JD Brown, author of Dark Heirloom

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Complete the mission, no matter what…
Captain Derac Vidor has served Kinir for nearly twenty years. It’s his life, his blood, his soul. And then his Commander betrays everything Derac holds dear. Now he has to focus on his own life and his team instead of saving the citizens of Kinir.

Treason is only the beginning…
Fueled by rage, the team chases the source to their Commander’s betrayal – a powerful wizard bent on revenge. The wizard seeks to destroy the Kinir Elite, in both mind and body. No place is safe, even among their allies.

The past holds the key…
Derac’s tragic past may be the key to saving the team. But can he face the gruesome nightmare in time?