The sequel to The Cloud Gatherer begins several years after that book. Haran, now Sultan of Oas and Entana, has married Qeemah and they are expecting a son. But pressing problems vex his reign. The water problem in Entana, the reason for that city's attack on Oas that resulted in Haran's ascendancy to Sultan, has grown worse. And there seems to be nothing to correct it. There simply aren't enough Gatherers to go around. Then, tragedy strikes. Qeemah and Haran's infant son is kidnapped soon after his birth and spirited from the city. Haran, distraught, assembles a group of his best men to find the boy, led by the dour wizard, Thepses. What they learn chills their blood. For the baby has been kidnapped by the Sen, a mysterious and crafty race far to the south of Oas, across the desert Stormground, the huge alkali flats of the Anvil and the tangled swamp known as the Morass. There, strange magics are worked on the child, for he is to serve a purpose.an evil purpose. Haran and his men must travel this dangerous route, seeking allies and fending off enemies. While he approaches Sen, though, they send their own armies north, seeking battle with Entana and Oas. Qeemah and her advisors, outnumbered by a vastly superior army, are forced to contemplate the unthinkable.abandonment of their desert home and defeat by an unstoppable foe.
John F.D. Taff is an author with more than 25 years experience in all sorts of writing...public relations, marketing, sales, journalism and creative. He's a published author with more than 50 short stories and seven novels in print. His writing tends to be categorized as "horror," though most of it has a weird, pulpy Twilight Zone vibe to it. He also writes fantasy, suspense and some science fiction.
His latest sales have been to Malicious Malpractices, Box of Delights, Schrodinger's Mouse, Morpheus Tales, Black Ink Horror, Short-Story.me, PseudoPod and Jack O'Spec. Over the years, four of his short stories have been awarded honorable mentions in Datlow & Windling's Year's Best Fantasy & Horror.
John is a fascinating human being (yes, he's writing this), with diverse interests in history (Ancient Egypt and the Civil War, particularly), spiritualism, the paranormal, cooking, movies, music and reading. He resides in a lovely house down by a river that likes to, every so often, overflow its banks and spread alarmingly over the countryside, sweeping aside mobile homes, swine and meth labs. He shares the house with his two wonderfully cute pugs, Sylvia and Sadie.
He has three fantastic kids whom he doesn't see as much as would like-Harry (or whatever his name is these days), Sam and Molly. They're great kids and he loves them very much. He also shares his life with his wonderful inamorata, Deborah, who puts up with a great deal from him.
P.S. The "F.D." in his name, while partially a remnant of his family's long-standing tradition of naming sons after presidents of the day, does not stand for "Franklin Delano" as some might guess. No, the "F" stands for "Fitzgerald," which my Irish Catholic parents bestowed on me 29 days after JFK was shot in Dallas. The "D" also has a Catholic connection. When I was confirmed, a charming little Catholic ritual that involves the conferment (me) to choose the name of a saint to take. Long story short. Already a horror fan. Omen movie was out. Damian. Yes, to the consternation of my parents, I chose Damian.
So, it's John Fitzgerald Damian Taff.
