A Lesson for the Cyclops

Dare to Hope?

Maria leads a lonely existence of silent misery. Horribly disfigured, she earns a meager living as a sideshow freak. Her very existence is one of mockery, contempt, and ridicule. She has no hope, no dreams. No future.

But when a dashing swordsman stumbles onto the circus grounds, wounded and feverish, Maria is able to imagine a life beyond the confines of her dreary world. Could a swashbuckling hero ever fall for a freak like her?

“It combines everything I love in a fantasy—adventure, romance and an unexpected ending!”
— Connie J. Jasperson, author of "Tower of Bones"

"This is a story of what beauty means, of what simple acts can do to change the course of a life. It flows effortlessly from our first meeting with the Cyclops to the wonderful, heartwarming ending of the story—which is, itself, clearly the beginning of something grander."
— Ryk E. Spoor, author of "Phoenix Rising"