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Katherine is the heir and only child of the King of Ramoth. Her mother died in childbirth, and her father raised her almost single handedly. She learned everything a proper princess and ruler should learn, and exceeded at her studies. Her best friend and confidant is her adopted sister, Myra.
There is only one point in which Katherine differs from her father, and that is the question of her marriage. It has never been questioned that she will rule one day as Queen of Ramoth, but King Frederick feared for her safety if he should die with her unmarried. Only once had a woman successfully held her throne without a consort, and it is his desire that she marry as soon as possible. Rather than orchestrate a simple political alliance, however, he makes a series of tests open only to approved suitors, by which she might make a free choice based on merit, rather than wealth.
After a few days Katherine had no trouble picking her favorite among her six suitors; the charming, boyish heir of Layne. But Leslie is haunted, his country cursed, and he is the first of the suitors to leave her court in search of a quest he could never fulfill. Only the perseverance and dedication of Derek of Tamara could win her back, and finally she pledges him her life and her love, uniting their kingdoms forever.
Katherine's mother was frail and sickly. Outwardly her daughter shows none of these symptoms, being quick, energetic, and full of life. When she is upset, however, her eyes shine with a feverish intensity, and once she fell into a sickness from which the doctors feared she would never recover. Her mind is delicately hinged, and a great tragedy could be her undoing. Frederick makes Janin promise not to upset her, but he breaks this promise when Tamara is cursed, and he takes Derek with him back to Yen.
Her father dead, her husband missing, and her land in chaos, Katherine exists for over a year in a fantasy world of her own making. As Myra struggles to keep the kingdom together she pines away inside her imagination, dreaming of the return of Derek. It is the darkest point of her entire life, but she barely notices it passing.
Her sanity returns when Derek comes back to her, and they live happily for many years, raising two daughters of their own, Rose and Darlene.
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Floyd was frozen where he stood. He struggled to breathe, but the air smelled of blood and death and guilt. He tried to formulate a name, to ask, but language was meaningless, and words would not come. He tried to scream but the sound got stuck in his heart, shattered into a million pieces, and scattered to the wind.
In a world without superheroes, who will stand against the forces of evil?
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Although, Derek comes back, in the end, so I am not totally sad. 
Usually articles like these are written after a book is released, rather than before...