Angel on the Ropes

An incomparable trapeze artist who lives to fly is about to hit the ground-hard.

Amandine Sand walks a high wire between two lives-hobbled by a life-threatening secret. She's one of the spotted humans falsely accused of being a plague-bringer. These "leopards" are hunted by zealots to protect their offworld colony from the scourge.

Despite this threat, Amandine spends her days guiding other leopards to an underground shelter run by the pacifist Seekers. At night, with her own spots hidden, she soars on the trapeze, risking discovery and death for the boundless heart-hammering joy of flight.

When the persecution of leopards explodes into widespread violence, the Seekers demand more of her time. But her circus is teetering toward bankruptcy and desperately needs her, too. She has no time to breathe... and then she meets a stranger who leaves her breathless-and might just be the biggest risk of all. If her trust is misplaced and she's unmasked, everyone she loves and everything she's fought for could crash.

Now she must make an irrevocable leap. Without a net.

To survive, Amandine must draw upon everything she's learned from the circus and Seekers. But can a pacifist defend her violent enemies to stop a civil war? And can this reluctant angel fly beyond her limits to save her life, her love, and her world?

""Angel on the Ropes is an enchanting mix of science fiction, philosophy and romance, which revels in its characters the way Amandine revels in flying."" -Aurealis magazine

""Thrilling and stunningly imaginative, Angel on the Ropes snared me into an alternate world I completely believed in. Jill Shultz tells a wondrous tale "" -Tess Gerritsen, internationally bestselling author of LAST TO DIE

""Angel on the Ropes is a riveting story that has everything one could want from a novel: a complex, beautifully realized world, a society caught between choices, and a protagonist who has to balance head and heart-and soul. It's a compelling read, and one that will stay with you for a while."" -Melissa Scott, award-winning author of 32 SF and fantasy novels

""Jill Shultz's debut novel is a fascinating journey into the far-future, but one that is immediately recognizable. A seamless blend of speculative imagination and heart, Angel on the Ropes is a novel that soars."" -Kristen Britain, New York Times-bestselling author of the Green Rider series

""In Angel on the Ropes, Shultz introduces us to a complex, richly imagined world populated with engaging characters. The circus motif is magical "" -Lynn Flewelling, author of the Nightrunner Series and Tamir Triad

""It's so exciting it almost made my palms sweat."" -Peter Gold, trapezist, formerly with Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus"