2019 Birthday Celebration - Meet the characters from For Such A Time As This by Heather L.L. FitzGerald + Giveaway

2/21/2019

Queen Vashti the Fair is not only the wife of King Xerxes, she is also—secretly—an enchantress. But thanks to Haman’s flirting she now has a new distinction: deposed. While Vashti loses perks like her holographic trousseau, Haman continues to enjoy his position as second in command, much to Vashti’s vexation.

Mordecai was once a soldier in the king’s private guard, but has since carved out a self-sufficient life for himself and niece Esther. Although citizens are required to have an identity chip for governmental transactions, he and Esther live off the grid and out of big-government’s greedy reach.

Or so he thought.

When Mordecai’s old nemesis, Haman, turns up demanding Esther’s participation in the king’s upcoming beauty pageant, Mordecai arranges to have her transported to the Vale of Seven Dragons for protection. But not before Esther’s charm makes her a target on Vashti’s radar, as Vashti seeks to undermine the outcome of Xerxes’ hunt for a new queen.

Esther is caught between loyalty to her uncle and fear for her future—whether in the care of dragons or in the palace of the king. Will she be brave enough to embrace her destiny, wherever that may be?

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Character Profiles from
For Such A Time As This

We've got all the fun and fascinating details about the good, the bad, and the
fearsome, characters in For Such A Time As This, Heather L.L. FitzGerald's
futuristic fantasy mashup of Snow White and Esther...with dragons!

Esther has no memory of her parents. She only knows they died protecting her. Knows that they were heroes. In the basement of the local synagogue, her father and mother, a doctor and nurse, had set up a triage center for wounded soldiers. They brought Esther to work with them, believing the synagogue to be one of the safest places during a war. After all, a house of worship was a refuge that even the enemy respected.

But when the synagogue takes a direct hit, both parents lose their life. If not for her father’s body protecting her own, Esther would have perished as well.

Although she wishes things had turned out differently, she could not imagine loving her parents any more fiercely than she loved her Uncle Mordecai. He had given everything up to provide Esther with a loving, secure home—including his eligible years as a bachelor.

Now soldiers have come to their obscure little farm, learning from locals that her beauty must be included in the upcoming pageant to find King Xerxes a new wife. Though Mordecai has raised Esther to mistrust the government, would it be so terrible to be queen? Mightn’t she help the people of the realm of Susa—especially those in her hometown of Parthia—and be an influence for good?

But what about Mordecai’s wishes? Of course she trusts her uncle, but why--why—would he send her into the fearsome clutches of dragons? There doesn’t seem to be an easy answer or an easy choice. One thing is certain, her faith must extend beyond that of her uncle and find its rest in the hands of a sovereign God.

Mordecai has fought hard for the private, self sufficient life he lives with his orphaned niece Esther. Fighting, in one way or another, has always been a part of his life—even before the Wizard’s War took Esther’s parents.

Trained as a soldier, Mordecai rose through the military ranks thanks to his agility and strength, both of body and mind. Eventually, he became one of the elite royal guards, assigned to protect Prince Xerxes years before he became king. In the course of Mordecai’s exemplary military career, he managed to make one enemy in his time as a soldier: Haman.

Mordecai loathed the way Haman exploited his power in every situation. Yet he did it in such a way to get rewarded, rather than punished. When the war came to an end, Mordecai was more than happy to leave his position at the palace with no need to further interact with Haman.

The years that followed were spent raising his darling, beautiful niece Esther. Thanks to his respected reputation, Mordecai was eventually able to erase his identity from the governmental data base, as well as removing his identity chip—required for all government transactions. Refusing to allow Esther to be chipped as well, he had create a self-sustaining homestead, far out of the reach of the government.

When news of Esther’s mandatory participation in Xerxes’ beauty pageant reaches Mordecai’s doorstep, he realizes they’re not nearly as insulated as he thought. Now he must get Esther somewhere safe, and quickly. With the help of a friend, he hopes to place Esther with seven guardians in wilds of the Hinterlands.

Easier said than done, however. These fearsome protectors are none other than The Seven Dragons of the Vale.

King Xerxes the Valiant is a fake. Everyone close to him knows his title is nothing more than ruse. His soldiers do his dirty work, his advisors make the big decisions, and even his former queen—Vashti—often wielded more influence in matters of state. But he’s sick of the charade.

Sick of himself.

Maybe it’s time to live up to his title. Stop relying on his second in command, Haman, for the running of the day-to-day goings on. Stop deferring to his advisors when faced with diplomatic decisions. Stop drinking so much wine which tends to sully his ability to perform any of the above.

Getting rid of the manipulative Vashti was a good first step. It doesn’t hurt that those outside the palace walls believe him to be valiant. Perhaps his new marriage will provide a fresh start as he lives up to the image he has carefully cultivated to his subjects.

He’ll need help, of course, to turn things inside the palace to his favor. Good thing he has Haman to help him.

There are seven dragons that guard the vale from the greedy humans and wizards that wish to encroach on their magical Hinterlands. These winged reptiles take to the air, patrolling the borders, searching the roads, and readily destroying those that dare to cross into their territory.
United in purpose, there is one magnificent dragon that rules over the other six.

Nautilus—Warrior of the Hinterlands, descendant of Rispian the Resplendent, Grand-dragon of Aakadian of Eneglaam, Protector of the Vale—is a chilling creature to behold. From his pearly white scales to his crimson eyes, this dragon with its serpentine neck and unicorn horn, may only be approached with special permission.

Thankfully, Mordecai has connections that have connections. Without the help of Mordecai’s elderly friend Caleb, there would be no hope for Esther to enter into the protection of this magnificent beast and his six companions.

Haman, second in command in the realm of Susa, may serve King Xerxes with a bit too much zeal. Zeal that has extended to the king’s queen, Vashti. Well…former queen, that is. And Haman may have had a little something to do with the loss of her title, truth be told.

No matter. With Vashti conveniently out of Xerxes’ favor, it’s much easier for Haman to pay her visits ad well as plot the king’s demise. If he can persuade Vashti to forgive him for getting her into this less-than-ideal situation, the two will become a power to be reckoned with—one that cunningly dethrones the impotent King Xerxes. Once Haman and Vashti unite with one another, they can move on to uniting their country with the Wizards Cabal and making Susa one of the most powerful countries in New Persia.

Maybe then they will finally rid the Hinterlands of those pesky dragons that protect the vale, keeping Susa’s borders from expanding as they should.

Queen Vashti the Fair and King Xerxes the Valiant make an ideal couple…if one was to judge them strictly by appearance. But, alas, a marriage cannot survive on pouty lips and chiseled jaws alone.

Besides, Vashti has recently lost her royal standing. No longer queen, the platinum blonde now seethes in her downsized quarters, plotting how best to return to Xerxes’ favor. Promise him an heir? Disrupt his upcoming search for a new queen? Resort to using her secret skills as an enchantress to make him love her again?

One thing is certain, this power-lusting woman will not step demurely out of the way and allow someone else to take her place. She may be the Fairest but she most certainly doesn’t play fair!

Caleb is a man who looks as worn and weathered as the ancient buildings of Parthia—the town where his modest shop, Caleb’s Cornucopia, displays rare treasures from the world over. Affectionately called Abba by the locals, Caleb knows everyone and everyone knows, and loves, him.

He has always held a special fondness for Mordecai and his niece. The three share a distinct connection that he’s kept to himself for many years. With recent tumultuous events in greater Susa trickling into Parthia, he’s beginning to wonder if the time has come to reveal more details about Esther’s miraculous recovery and the words God once whispered to him about the orphaned girl.

Heather L.L. FitzGerald

Award winning author Heather L.L. FitzGerald writes from her home in Texas, while dreaming of being back in the Pacific Northwest, where she grew up. She is drawn to stories that become good friends—friends you want to revisit—the kind you wish to keep close. Those are the type of books Heather aspires to write, ones worthy of delicious coffee and a lingering relationship.
The Tethered World was a finalist and The Flaming Sword won the 2017 OCW Cascade Award for Speculative Fiction. The Genesis Tree was a finalist for a Realm Award, Alliance Award, Selah Award, and an OCW Cascade Award.
Heather’s a member of ACFW, and Manent Writers.