Leona Wisoker is the author of the fantasy novel
Secrets of the Sands, Book One of
Children of the Desert. Her work is fueled equally by coffee and conviction; she has been known to take over the entire dining room to deconstruct a difficult novel-in-progress. Addicted to eclectic research and reading since childhood, she often chooses reading material alphabetically rather than by subject or author. This has led her to read about aardvarks, birds, child-warriors, dragons, eggs, faeries, ghosts, horses, and many other random subjects.
Secrets of the Sands is Leona's first novel. It is set in a world which has known neither King Arthur nor Christianity; a world still struggling through a number of basic moral and developmental issues. The story focuses on two main characters: a young thief, Idisio, whose disturbingly accurate flashes of intuitive insight land him in deeper trouble than he ever thought possible, and Alyea, a king's emissary whose beliefs and strengths are tested to the limit as she enters a foreign culture that plays by vastly different rules than those of her home.
Following books expand not only the story but the characters, illuminating a complex world in the process of breaking free from its own Dark Ages.
The final result leaves room not only for serious questions but moments of laughter, and inevitably involves coffee.
Leona Wisoker’s short stories have appeared in Futures: Fire to Fly and Anotherealm; she is a regular reviewer for Green Man Review and Fantasy Magazine. She has lived in Florida, Connecticut, Oregon, New Hampshire, Las Vegas, Alaska, California, and Virginia; has experienced the alternate realities of Georgia, North Carolina, Arizona, New York, Long Island, and Italy; and believes that "home is wherever my coffee cup is filled."
She currently lives in Virginia with an extraordinarily patient husband and two large dogs.
