Authors Darby Cox and Salinee Goldenberg discuss their new high fantasy novels
Heed our call, fantasy fans, and come to Reston Regional Library for an epic conversation with authors Darby Cox and Salinee Goldenberg!
Cox's debut A Day of Breath blends rich worldbuilding with complex morality in a fantasy about the cost of power, whether magical, religious, or political. Goldenberg's Way of the Walker transports readers to a world inspired by Thai mythology, following a ghost hunter and a prince as they grapple with the violence of war, colonialism, and revolution.
After their talk, both authors will stay for a book signing. Copies can be purchased from Bards Alley at the event.
RSVP for free through Fairfax County Public Library here: https://librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov/event/16221984
ABOUT A DAY OF BREATH
Oly is Niawa’s longest-serving Champion—a warrior bound to the Edge, where demons claw their way through a rift between realms. Gifted with supernatural strength and cursed with eternal vigilance, she has stood alone against the darkness while her kingdom slept safely behind her.
But her power is failing.
With the rift growing restless and her strength draining away, Oly faces a terrifying truth: when the demons return, she may no longer be strong enough to stop them. Her only hope lies in the Day of Breath—the single sacred day each year when the rift is sealed. For the first time in a decade, Oly leaves her post to beg for her power to be renewed.
She never expects the impossible to happen. On the one day demons should be powerless, a new horror spreads through Niawa—parasitic creatures moving through streets, homes, and temples. As panic grips the kingdom and her strength continues to fade, Oly must uncover how the breach occurred and stop the carnage before midnight. If she fails, the rift will awaken again—and there will be no Champion left to stand against it.
ABOUT WAY OF THE WALKER
With her constant connection to the Everpresent – the mystical plane where hunters draw their powers – Isaree’s a natural Phi Hunter, with a future predetermined by tradition: to stalk the Kingdom of Suyoram’s haunted lands and slay troublesome ghosts.
But the more Ree learns about the Phi Hunter Guild’s legacy, the more she questions their rigid doctrine. And as colonizing forces from Grisland tighten their grip across the region, Ree begins to wonder if the hunter’s path is her true calling.
Elsewhere, the famed Storm Prince Tanung has one desire: death or glory. Grappling with a fading legacy and a mysterious illness, his ambition drives him on a mission to capture a brutal rebel leader known for leaving horrific massacres in their wake. But the further he goes, the further he’s drawn into a war rumbling beyond his reality, and out of anyone’s control.
Their paths were never meant to cross. But unmoored by their legacies, the shadows they cast decide whether they’ll be remembered as heroes – or villains.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Darby Cox has been writing since the age of ten. Though life got in the way of the stories floating in her mind, during the early years of the COVID pandemic, she completed her first manuscript in 6 months and hasn’t looked back since. She is a Virgo sun, Leo moon, Cancer rising. i.e. she’s sensitive, loud, and always on a strict schedule. A Day of Breath is her debut novel.
Salinee Goldenberg is a speculative fiction writer and multimedia artist who lives in Washington DC, and is drawn to outsider perspectives. A biracial, bisexual, diaspora writer, Sal often explores themes of identity, obsession and alienation in her work. A gaming industry veteran, Sal has created narrative trailers for titles such as Skyrim, Fallout 4, Dishonored, and Minecraft. When not writing, she likes to paint, listen to records, and play in punk bands.