The Gilded Veil

The Gilded Veil is a sequel to They of the West but can be read on its own.

Life in the Scrublands was suffocating.

Jaela was too big, too strong, and too hard-headed to fit in. After her success in the local foot fighting circuit, a mysterious stranger invited her to join a theater in the capital called The Gilded Veil.

Life in Fenylbyr is exhilarating.

There are people everywhere, swarming like many-colored ants. The theater mixes old-fashioned foot fighting and plays stranger than any tale she's heard back home. The strangest of all: The ending of each play changes depending on who wins the match. Thank the gods her BFF and manager Dralen is there to help her make sense of it all.

The Veil's crew of strong women and queer folks of all stripes take her in as one of their own. She thrives in this newfound family, quickly rising to stardom in a play called The Beast of Bethune.

The bright lights of the theater and the sweet kisses of the kitchen girl sweep her into a life she never could have imagined back in Graueck.

Is this what she wants?

Even as she unleashes the Beast within, she feels the call of home. Her little sisters aren't getting any littler. She only sees Dralen in the mornings and evenings, which come to feel like a refuge from the frenzy of the theater.

Will the Beast be tamed and drag her tail back to the village, or will she find her freedom roaring beneath the big-city lights?

Pro wrestling meets classical theater in this queer fantasy coming-of-age novel.