The Kronicles of Korthlundia
The Ghost in Exile: A Korthlundian Kronicle
The Ghost is going to hell. Not even the goddess can forgive his sins: assassin, oath-breaker, traitor (an affair with the queen earned him that title). No one can ever learn the princess is his daughter. To keep this secret, he flees to the land that turned him from a simple stable groom into an infamous killer.His mission now? To find evildoers and take them to hell with him. But when an impulsive act of heroism saddles him with a damsel who refuses to be distressed, her resilience forces him to questions why he really ran from his daughter.The Soul Stone: Kronicles of Korthlundia, Volume II
In this sequel to The
Goddess’s Choice (Reliquary Press, 2012),
the Crown Princess Samantha and Sir Robrek struggle to solidify their rule
in the aftermath of the king’s murder and Duke Argblutal’s attempt to usurp the
throne. They are thwarted at every turn by those who seek power for themselves
and desire to prevent their marriage. Just when they think their problems are
solved, a deadly curse begins to spread throughout Korthlundia and Samantha
becomes pregnant. Samantha
must fight off priests, enemies, and her closest advisors while Robrek
discovers the reason the goddess chose him as king, to defeat the Soul Stone, a
stone capable of sucking the soul out of its victims, which threatens to
obliterate all life in the joined kingdoms. Their archenemy, the Bard Alvabane,
awakens the Soul Stone and plans to use its power to reclaim Korthlundia for
her people (a people driven out over a thousand years ago by the hero Armunn). Armunn
had to sacrifice his life and soul to contain the Soul Stone. Will Robrek have
to do the same? Will the young couple have only a few
short months to love each
other?
The crown princess Samantha fears she’s mad; no one but she sees
colors glowing around people. The peasant Robrek Angusstamm believes
he’s a demon; animals speak to him, and his healing powers far outstrip those
of his village’s priests. Despite their fears, their combined powers make them
the goddess’s choice to rule the kingdom of Korthlundia. Samantha’s ability enables her to discern a person’s character through their
multi-colored aura, and Robrek’s makes him the strongest healer the kingdom has
seen in centuries. But their gifts also endanger their lives. Royals scheme to
usurp the throne by marrying or killing Samantha, and priests plot to burn
Robrek at the stake. Robrek escapes the priests only to be captured by Samantha’s
arch-enemy, Duke Argblutal; Argblutal intends to force the princess to marry
him by exploiting Robrek’s powers. To save their own lives and stop the realm
from sinking into civil war, Robrek and Samantha must consolidate their powers
and unite the people behind them. The Goddess’s Choice is based on a
Norwegian fairy tale, “The Princess and the Glass Hill.” Though my favorite
fairy tale as a child, it disturbed me that the female character has no name
and no role other than being handed off as a prize. My novel remakes the crown
princess of Korthlundia into a strong heroine who is every bit as likely to be
the rescuer as the one rescued.
Others
Blood Cursed and Other Tales of The Fantastic
This collection of short stories by Jamie Marchant covers
the fantasy genre from deadly serious to ridiculous. When a blood curse
threatens his daughter, a former assassin must break his vow never to kill
again. The stakes are even higher when his victim turns out to be the king. A werewolf
begs a college secretary who doesn't know she's a shaman to save her toddler
from being trapped in her were form. She is reduced to singing nursery rhymes
to rescue the child from her own stubbornness--despite the fact that she sounds
like a "wounded cow." A witch from a parallel world wakes up in the
body of a rodeo bull rider's body. She's forced to adapt to being a man in a
world filled with technology instead of magic. And more. The collection ends
with an excerpt from Marchant's epic fantasy novel, The Goddess's Choice. If you love fantasy from urban to high, this
collection has something for you.
Demons in the Big Easy
Adventurous in her youth, Cassandra built gateways
between Domhan
and its parallel realm of Earth. Now she’s too old for that kind of thing. But
something is making it easier for demons to pass into Domhan.
Not only that, but their behavior becomes inexplicable: whenever Cassandra
banishes one, it laughs at her rather than resists, and it promises it will soon
devour her essence and that of every resident of her small village. Cassandra
is certain such a thing is impossible, for strong wards protect her village.
But then Cassandra’s granddaughter Aine falls
through an unstable gateway. Cassandra is the only one within a hundred miles capable
of creating a gateway and bringing Aine back. Despite her aching joints,
Cassandra goes after her, and the gateway lands her in New Orleans. But
something goes wrong with her tracking spell, which indicates Aine exists in
four different places at once. As Cassandra struggles to find the true location
of her granddaughter in the Big Easy, she discovers the source of the demons’
confidence. Now, with an unlikely pair
of allies—her timid granddaughter and a homeless man who may or may not be
crazy—she has to not only save her granddaughter but also prevent both Domhan
and Earth from being overrun by demons.
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