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The first time I read Elizabeth Vaughan, I read her because Geralyn Dawson called and said Beth’s first book, WARPRIZE, made her fiercely envious of Beth’s talent.

Well, blech. Do we really need more supremely talented authors in this world?

I guess so … because I loved WARPRIZE and when the second book hit the shelves (WARSWORN), I was standing in line at the bookstore, money in hand, because I couldn’t wait any longer. Elizabeth Vaughan has build a world that calls to some barely perceived ancestral memory of wide plains, deep snows, fierce warriors and the women who tame them.

WARPRIZE sets-up the time and place — to me, it seems like Eurasian Dark Ages, with Keir of the Cat, a conqueror from the plains who is struggling to bring his people into the Renaissance and who finds his best hope in Lara of Xy, a healer from the city. He takes her into his camp and into his arms, and sets off a war among his people and hers. Keir and Lara are the harbingers of change, and no one knows whether to support them or betray them. WARSWORN moves Lara into the heart of Keir’s army, into plague, into a clash of their cultures. Finally, WARLORD takes Keir and his Warprize into the Heart of the Plains where Keir answers for the loss of his warriors and Lara must be confirmed as his Warprize. The customs of his people, the treachery of the men who fear the change she represents, and her own strength in the face of adversity fascinated me, but it’s the romance that provides the heart of the story. Keir and Lara love each other, and their separation and their longing for each other bound me to this couple as I waited to see if they would come together in triumph.

I loved this series. In a time when books about vampires and dukes and detectives are fun staples, Elizabeth Vaughan’s WARPRIZE series took me to a different, fully conceived world where a primitive reverence for the elements mixes with sophisticated medicine and fabulous imagery. Beth is a fabulous talent and she left me both satisfied and wanting more.

Elizabeth Vaughan has promised to drop by today (and when she blogs with us tomorrow, she’ll be giving away an autographed copy of ALL THREE books and a bar of vanilla soap to one lucky winner), so ask her questions! Questions like … what’s next, Beth? Huh? Huh? What’s next? Tell us all.