Finding Desperanzum

Finding Desperanzum is a fantasy epic novel of quests, survival, magic, romance, and adventure. Told from the perspective of a young woman, Anne Walker, it follows her journey with her companions through their coming of age and watches their destiny unfold as they struggle to survive and fight the power of the Seithen nation.

People who get lost hiking in the mountains are usually faced with two options: either survive and return to civilization after a harrowing experience, or die a grisly death. Well, Anne Walker survived. But the civilization she returned to was one she had never known. Enter into Atashea, a continent torn by bloodshed. For eighteen years the Seithen from the south have waged a revolutionary war against their northern enemies, the Galdren, and for eighteen years the Galdren have waited for their prophesied monarch to return to the throne and lead them to victory. But can Anne, a lost eighteen-year-old girl, learn to accept her duty as the last Desperanzum princess, and rise to fulfill it? Her Galdren friend Brayen Evander believes so. As her self-proclaimed guardian, Brayen makes it his personal mission to ensure that she fulfills her destiny to save the Galdren. Pursuing the life of adventure and danger he had always dreamed of is just a secondary motivation, of course. But his thoughts of glory quickly fade as he and Anne experience the terrors of war. Hunted by dangerous enemies, Anne and Brayen quickly become fugitives from a radical group of Seithen called the Narat – the same organization responsible for the assassination of the Galdren royal line of Desperanzum, including Anne’s brothers and parents, eighteen years ago. Though Brayen and Anne gain allies to help them in their quest, can they withstand the power and treachery of the Narat? Can they discover the true nature of Anne’s destiny? Will Anne learn what it is she wants to fight for? Or will she and Brayen fall, leaving the Galdren to destruction?

Caitlin Hayes began writing when she was twelve as a means to escape the stress of bullies in middle-school, and to express her creativity. She finished this story when she was thirteen, and has been refining this book ever since. She was born in Laguna Hills, California, and lived there all of her life until she moved away to attend a university where she currently studies Swedish, folklore, English, and other Art. She is the youngest of three daughters. She enjoys designing stories in her spare time, and sketching on any available scrap of paper. She cannot live without music, chocolate, or good books to drink in. She dreams of traveling the world and making a few adventures of her own.