About the Story:
Bensin, a teenage slave and martial artist, is desperate to see his little sister freed. But only victory in the Krillonian Empire’s most prestigious tournament will allow him to secretly arrange for Ellie’s escape. Dangerous people are closing in on her, however, and Bensin is running out of time. With his one hope fading quickly away, how can Bensin save Ellie from a life of slavery and abuse?
What is the Collar for, and What is a Cavvarach?
The story is set in a world very much like our own, with just a few major differences. One is that slavery is legal there. Slaves must wear metal collars that lock around their neck, making their enslaved status obvious to everyone. Any slave attempting to escape faces the dilemma of how and where to illegally get their collar removed (a crime punishable by enslavement for the remover).
Another difference is the popularity of a martial art called cavvara shil. It is fought with a cavvarach (rhymes with “have a rack”), an unsharpened weapon similar to a sword but with a steel hook protruding from partway down its top edge. Competitors can strike at each other with their feet as well as with the blades. You win in one of two ways: disarming your opponent (hooking or knocking their cavvarach out of their hands) or pinning their shoulders to the mat for five seconds.
More About the Story
Set in a world alarmingly like our own, The Collar and the Cavvarach is the story of fourteen-year-old Bensin, a slave, whose status is made obvious to everyone by the steel collar locked around his neck. A martial artist who competes to win money for his owner, Bensin fights in tournaments with a cavvarach. But his greatest battle is the struggle to protect his little sister from the horrors of legalized slavery in a world where slaves have few rights. Desperate to keep her safe, Bensin struggles to find a means – legal or otherwise – to arrange for her freedom.
(For a fun introduction to the story’s setting and its culture, including an explanation of how cavvara shil works, click here.)
Sound Like a Book you Might Enjoy?
Click the play button below to listen to the first 15 minutes of the story as narrated by Joseph Baltz.
Click here to go to the audiobook on Audible.
Click here to go to the audiobook on Amazon.
(Either way, try listening to the free sample to see what you think!)
Like to Read Along While You Listen?
The Collar and the Cavvarach ebook is available for FREE from July 14-18. Grab your copy now!
About the Author
Annie Douglass Lima considers herself fortunate to have traveled in twenty different countries and lived in four of them. A fifth-grade teacher in her “other” life, she loves reading to her students and sparking their imaginations. Her books include science fiction, fantasy, YA action and adventure novels, a puppet script, anthologies of her students’ poetry, Bible verse coloring and activity books, and a fantasy-themed cookbook. When she isn’t teaching or writing, Annie can often be found sipping spiced chai or pomegranate green tea in exotic locations, some of which exist in this world.
Liberty
Icehaven
Prize #1: 1 Winner of the Ultimate Romantic Thriller Ebook Library
Rex Bright enjoys drawing in notebooks and dreaming. He’s thirteen, and his life is ordinary. Until he sees a face in a cloud which changes everything. Rex glimpses the girl from an airplane window while travelling to his aunt and uncle’s farm for the summer. Her features are so perfect, Rex can’t believe she’s only vapor. But Cloud Girl is real. A week later, Skyclyffe, a mysterious airship cloaked in a cumulus, abducts Rex and his family. The captors expect the Brights to live in their flying city forever. And, although he’s kidnapped, Rex loves the craft filled with robots, scientific discoveries, and silvery-white beings. Before long, Rex will be forced to decide whether to escape, or if Skyclyffe and its secret wonders are worth never stepping foot on Earth again. 
Author: M.L. Farb
Narrator: Neal Arango
Length: 8 hours and 59 minutes
Series: The King Trials, Book 1
Publisher: Maria Farb
Released: May 12, 2020
Genre: YA; Fantasy
In a land where stories of the Shadow Demon keep children shivering in bed and tales of the Yorel bring hope to the commoner, Yosyph is both the reason for their fear and their hope. By day, Yosyph appears nothing more than a mute tavern-hand. By night, he plans a revolution and slips through shadow, rescuing those marked for death by the xenophobic queen. When he learns that thousands of his people will be sent as slaves to the mines, he must choose — fight the royal army with an ill-prepared rebellion or journey to the land of his ancestors through the deadly King’s Trial. If he succeeds, he’ll win his kin’s loyalty and their help. His journey grows complicated when he rescues a maiden and enrages a prince, but if he doesn’t return with help in time, the people he’s loved and secretly served will be gone. Whitney Awards Nominee 2019
Ever since M. L. Farb climbed to the rafters of a barn at age four, she’s lived high adventure: scuba diving, rock climbing, and even riding a retired racehorse at full gallop–bareback. She loves the thrill and joy. She creates adventures, fantasy, and fairy tale retellings. “The writing style is smart and engaging. Brave young men, vivacious heroine. Vibrant world, exciting stakes… I’d recommend to fans of Blades of Acktar, The Queen’s Thief, and The Minstrel’s Song!” – H.S.J. Williams, author of Fairest Son “Her voice and storytelling were addicting.” – L.P. Masters A Whitney Awards Nominee 2019
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Neal Arango has always had a great passion for performing and making people smile from a young age. His first role was Sneezy in a performance of Snow White in the 3rd grade. Ever since then, he pursued acting wholeheartedly, getting roles in high school plays and majoring in theater in college, as well as doing community theater. Reading books has always been another great passion, especially of the sci-fi and fantasy genre and after learning about audiobooks and learning he could do both of those, it has been like a dream come true to be able to truly do what he loves.
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I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by M.L. Farb. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it. 
Yosyph:
Yosyph appears to be a mute tavern-hand by day, but by night he is the leader of a growing rebellion against the abuses of the crown. He is tall and lean, with swarthy skin and black hair. Whip marks scar his back. His green eyes stand out from his otherwise dark features. He prefers to speak with hand signs, but will use words when necessary. He’s a brilliant strategist, but also a loner. Most only know him by the title Yorel. And even those closest to him don’t really know him. If I were to cast him for a movie: A young version of Col. Brandon from Sense and Sensibility (Alan Rickman). Not because they look anything alike, but because the character has dry humor, is reserved and shy around people, confident in what is right, has a troubled past, and puts others’ needs above his own.
Halavant:
Prince Halavant is a “spoiled godling”. He is shorter and more muscular than Yosyph, with tanned skin and a face rounded by opulent living. He bleaches his blond hair and wears it in ringlets. Despite his dandy looks, he is adept at sword fighting and insults. His two main focuses in life are duels and his betrothed, Katrin. If I were to cast him for a movie: Young King Arthur from the TV series Merlin (I haven’t watched this series but several readers mentioned that Halavant reminded them of this Arthur). Another option could be Westley (Cary Elwes) from Princess Bride. And a bit of the temper of Capt. Boone (Cary Elwes) in the Jungle Book. Confident, cocky, and full of pomp.
Katrin:
Though short, with pale freckled skin and red hair reaching almost to her knees, Katrin isn’t small in personality. She goes through life with a fiery energy matching her hair. Her wit can lift or wound others. Don’t get in the way of her throwing knives. If I were to cast her for a movie: Eowyn from Lord of the Rings. Again not because of looks. She is courageous, opinionated, and impulsive. Doesn’t wait on someone else to tell her what to do.
Galliard:
An itinerant laborer, Galliard laughs his way through troubles and annoyances. He is sun-baked and topped with an untamed mop of sandy hair. His right hand is missing the pointer finger at the first knuckle. If I were to cast him for a movie: Miles Hendon (Errol Flynn) from the 1937 Prince and the Pauper. He’s an amused, kind, if disbelieving, protector. One reader compared him to Gandolf—wise and much more than he seems.
Farid: Bonus character glimpse
One reader compared him to a “dark Yoda” or a “dark Mr. Miyagi”. He’s wise but seems unpredictable. 
10 fun, random facts about M. L. Farb
- As a child, I couldn’t walk across a room. I danced, spun, skipped, ran, or otherwise moved, but I couldn’t just walk.
- I love climbing, rappelling, and horseback riding. But I hate roller coasters and bungee jumping.
- I lived in St Petersburg, Russia for half-a-year teaching English to kindergartners. I learned to wash my clothes in a bathtub, filter and boil my drinking water, and love my sweet, crayon-eating, kids.
- I have slight dyslexia. ‘b’ and ‘p’ sometimes flip flop on me. But it also means I can read a book upside-down.
- I love reading to my children. We’ve enjoyed books from Dr. Seuss to Les Misérables. Maniac Magee is one of our favorites.
- I’ve journaled almost every day since I turned seventeen. I capture conversations, descriptions, happenings, and quotes. I explore ideas. Through the years I’ve written well over a million words. It prepared me to become an author.
- Plumbing Repair is my nemesis. I’m grateful I don’t have to battle it very often. In the end, I always win, but I feel like I’ve fought an archvillain who pulled every dirty trick in the book, including Chinese water torture in claustrophobic conditions.
- I live with a vivid imagination. I dream in 3-D, technicolor, and occasionally with my eyes open. This is a bane when it comes to nightmares. I will not watch horror movies.
- The King’s Trial started as a bedtime tale I told my little sisters over twenty years ago.
- I have an accent. People often ask me where I’m from. Maybe it’s my reader’s accent. I’ve read out loud enough different books in character, that perhaps it stuck.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE FULL TOUR SCHEDULE!
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I’m excited to announce that my young adult action and adventure novel, The Collar and the Cavvarach, will soon be available as an audiobook! I have made arrangements with the talented Joseph Baltz to narrate the story, which is estimated to be a little over 13 hours long in its final form. It should be done and available for purchase by the end of summer.
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Set in a world alarmingly like our own, The Collar and the Cavvarach is the story of fourteen-year-old Bensin, a slave, whose status is made obvious to everyone by the steel collar locked around his neck. A martial artist who competes to win money for his owner, Bensin fights in tournaments with a sword-like weapon called a cavvarach. But his greatest battle is the struggle to protect his little sister from the horrors of legalized slavery in a world where slaves have few rights. Desperate to keep her safe, Bensin struggles to find a means – legal or otherwise – to arrange for her freedom.
(For a fun introduction to the story’s setting and its culture, including an explanation of how cavvara shil works, click here.)
Sound like a story you might enjoy? Click the play button below to listen to the first 15 minutes of the story as narrated by Joseph Baltz.
Can’t wait till the end of the summer to find out what happens? You can read the whole of chapter one here, download the ebook from Amazon here, or buy the paperback edition here.
Click here to find out more about narrator Joseph Baltz. You can even listen to samples of other audiobooks he’s recorded!
I read The Beloved Daughter on my Kindle not long ago and was deeply moved by it. The story is gritty and heartbreaking in places, but at the same time touching and inspiring. It burdened me to pray more for the people of North Korea, especially Christ’s followers who have been imprisoned and are enduring unspeakable suffering for their faith.
Today Alana Terry, author of The Beloved Daughter, is visiting my blog. She was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about her book, and below she talks about the newly-released audio version, as well as a giveaway!
Annie: I’m curious how you were able to describe in so much detail what goes on behind closed doors in such a closed country. What kind of research went into the writing of this novel?
Alana: Most of the research I gleaned was from reading and listening to interviews with defectors from North Korea. I also found resources from certain ministries like Voice of the Martyrs incredibly useful.
Annie: I like the way you preface each chapter with a verse from scripture. They’re not the common verses that we see quoted all the time, either! What inspired you to do this, and how did you choose what verses to use?
Alana: I can’t specifically remember why I chose to include Scripture passages with each chapter. I guess it probably went back to wanting to point my readers to the Lord. It’s such a heavy story that maybe God knew we would all need some Scripture thrown in there. As far as the verses go, I don’t really like just quoting the verses that have been hashed and rehashed until we’re numb to them. The Bible is so full of poetic imagery, so it wasn’t too hard to find verses to go with the tone of each section.
Annie: What can we expect in the rest of the series?
Alana: My next novel, “Not Alone,” is a follow-up to “The Beloved Daughter,” although it’s not exactly a sequel. It takes one of the minor characters from “The Beloved Daughter” and carries her story on. I hope to publish “Not Alone” as the first in a suspense trilogy, however my wrists have been giving me trouble and my writing is not proceeding as fast as I hoped. You can see the trailer for “Not Alone” at alanaterry.com/not-alone
The Beloved Daughter, an inspirational suspense novel by award-winning author Alana Terry, is a story of persecution and triumph set in the oppressive North Korean regime. The audiobook version of Alana’s bestselling debut novel is narrated by Kathy Garver, a four-time Audie award winner and Lifetime Achievement Award recipient from the Motion Picture Council. (You might also recognize Kathy as Cissy from the TV show Family Affair.)
(Listen to a sample of Kathy reading from The Beloved Daughter.)
Two Audiobooks for the Price of One!
If you order The Beloved Daughter audiobook and are one of the first 25 customers to email the receipt to [email protected], you will receive a code to also download a free version of What, No Sushi, book one in Alana’s new historical fiction/time travel series for kids!
The Beloved Daughter
Synopsis: In a small North Korean village, a young girl struggles to survive. It is her father’s faith, not the famine of North Hamyong Province, that most threatens Chung-Cha’s well-being. The Beloved Daughter follows Chung-Cha into one of the most notorious prison camps the contemporary free world has known. Her crime? Being the daughter of a Christian.
Acclaim:
*Winner, Women of Faith Writing Contest
*1st Place, Book Club Network Book of the Month
*Amazon Bestseller (#5 Christian Suspense)
Reviews:
“…an engaging plot that reads like a story out of today’s headlines…” ~ Women of Faith Writing Contest
“The Beloved Daughter is a beautifully written story that is…both personal and representative of the challenges that many North Koreans still face today.” ~ Sarah Palmer, Rescue Team Coordinator at Liberty in North Korea
“The author does a phenomenal job… HIGHLY RECOMMENDED – but have tissues handy.” ~ Pauline Creeden, Editor AltWit Press
“…the most compelling Christian novel I have read.” ~ Temujin Hu, Author of The Rage
(Click here to order your own copy of The Beloved Daughter.)
Enter The Giveaway
The author’s friend Nicole makes beautiful hand-made earrings out of bark, coral, and even teeth and bones. Six winners! To see what kind of work Nicole does, check out her etsy shop.
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| A sample of Nicole’s nature-inspired earrings |
And don’t forget to email your receipt of The Beloved Daughter auidobook to receive a free audio download of What, No Sushi, Alana’s children’s chapter book about the Japanese-American internment camps!
SEE THE AUDIOBOOK HERE
SEE THE PAPERBACK HERE
SEE THE EBOOK HERE
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