Little Owl - Anna Cackler

Adult | Fantasy, Romance | Word count ~118k

Completed and Querying

The Sibylline Saga – Book One

Gwen is plagued by nightmares that may or may not be prophecies. In her visions, she uses her coercive abilities to spread brutality through villages she’s never seen. Unsettled by the bloodlust in her dreams, Gwen is grateful that the elderly scholar, Michael, raised her in isolation in the Sacred Wood.

When a band of brigands attacks in the night, Gwen’s quiet life in the Sacred Wood comes to an abrupt and violent end. Injured and afraid, she must depend on a group of emissaries traveling north to the capital city of Valheid, led by the enigmatic Johnny. When a thief threatens her new friends, Gwen’s vow to never use her abilities is put to its first test. What harm can one little coercion do, if it’s for the greater good?

Gwen’s choice triggers a cascading chain of events that can never be undone. She discovers that Johnny did not find her by accident in the Sacred Wood, and that Michael had been lying to her for years. But her quest for the truth brings more than just answers. It draws the eye of enemies hiding in plain sight.

Desperate to protect her newfound family in Valheid, Gwen must break her vow again and again. And one compromise at a time, she grows closer to becoming the monster she sees in her nightmares.

Meet the Characters

Gwen

Raised in solitude in the Sacred Wood, Gwen never knew she had a family. But when tragedy reunites them, she must learn to live and love among her people. And above all else, she must not hide who and what she is.

Lies beget Lies. No one should have Gwen’s power, a god among insects. So she must always be careful, always walk the line of fear. Because no one would ever be able to stop her.

Johnny

The only one who never feared her.

Johnny has always known what his future holds. He has lived with the prophecy all his life. But reality is never what one imagines.

When he finds Gwen in the woods, small, wild, and afraid, he must decide how to shape his own future, on his own terms.

Kerric

Lord of Derehan, Kerric has made it his life’s purpose to protect his people. But what can he do when the greatest danger comes from inside his own house?

Josephine

Jo loves her home and her people, but when she’s offered a chance at adventure and a new life, she can’t refuse.

But how can she bear to leave her family, only just reunited and still so fragile?

Theo

Beware, beware the Crone, who whispers in your ear.

Theo has long walked the earth, desperate to save gifted people like herself. And she’s willing to do anything to achieve her goals.

Explore the fantastic world of Little Owl

I have more bonus material for Little Owl than any other project, nearly 80 pages of world building, character sketches, and deleted scenes. Any post containing plot spoilers will have a bold warning at the beginning.

Trigger warning: I am very fond of swearing, and my notes documents were written for an audience of one: myself. Please proceed with this in mind.