This is an exciting new coming of age story with detailed world building and gritty action and fight scenes. The backstory has Norse or Scandinavian cultural and spiritual influences and overtones. His past was lost, only faded dreams and echoes of happier times remained. Sometimes he had a flash, a quick fleeting glimpse of a better place with friends, warmth and cheer below a silver sun in a twilight land. Those were rare though. Now, there is only the harsh brutal present, sweat stinging the eye and blood flowing from cracked bruised knuckles, a sword in his filthy callused hand and the hoarse shouts of the Sword Masters ringing in his ears. Exhaustion paints his partner's face like cheap mask. No doubt his own face looks just as bad. It is a never ending struggle, up before the sun, running, jumping, lifting and fighting, each day full of pain and injury. Training, always training, His country, Vesfalruk, needs warriors to defend their land and homes. And, this place makes the best warriors. There are none better with sword or ax in all the world. But there is a power and a sense of belonging in this place, this ancient Guild Hall and fortress lying in the shadow of the Eastern White Mountains. Being here comforts him in ways he does not understand and the cold winter winds are somehow less chill. His sword calls and he takes it up and trots out into the yard. Vesfalruk is a besieged place, an isolated mountainous land that has struggled against numerous foes and invaders, the Erhand. It is a land with a violent and bloody history and a kingdom without a king. There has been no king for over two-hundred years and relative peace, if it can be called that, has been the norm for most of that time. So trade flourishes, peace reigns and ancient traditions are openly questioned and sometimes mocked. Vesfalruk warriors are still renowned throughout Ellorhim and the Guild Halls continue to train them, against a rising popular opinion. Old enemies are stirring again, their armies gather, swelling and massing for another round of invasion and conquest. And, that is fine with him and it if the same for those he has grown up with in this Guild Hall. Let them come again. We will be ready. He vows this, to himself and to others.

    But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men - or worse, a company of mercenaries - against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war...

    All is not lost though, as clearing the local ant infestation has freed up a lot of space. Perfect for founding his very own kingdom! Now he just needs to deal with pesky neighbors, colonists from the other side of hell, a serious mold infestation, a budding romance, and a very demanding dragon.

    She is haunted by nightmares and visions of things to come. She dreams of a tall dark woman and gunshots in a city street. Is this woman her future, or is it Jenny, the bubbly red-head from her home town? She learns of a group of psychics who are using their visions to make the future better. But fate is complicated and sometimes people die! As her abilities grow, Callie learns that her incredible gift comes with incredible responsibility, and that to get love, you must first give it away. Callie's Secret crosses many genres, but ultimately it is the story of a young woman discovering the power of love in all its forms. Previously published as: Callie's Secret, Revelations, and Redemption

    Disguised as a man, she hides from the mistakes of her past. As a favor to an old friend, she finds herself agreeing to guide Avalon, a Paladin of Sel, through the woods to safety. All Avalon has known is the temple life. When her fellow Paladin is murdered, Avalon is framed for the crime and must flee her home to find the source of the attack. Her only clue is an ancient tome that she is unable to decipher. Traveling with the ranger Fletcher, Avalon thinks she is safe. Neither of them realize the danger that follows them.

    Nearly every member of the Council is against her, the people do not favor her and the only people she has in her corner are her mother, her sister and a group of Garden Mages who would do anything the Queen asks. Except Rhyme that is. Rhyme has worked as one of the Queen’s Gardeners for much of her life. She has more power than most people think and knows more than she lets on. Despite her dislike of the Heir’s mother, the current Queen of Angileri she knows what's best for the people. Rhyme knows Adri will make a great ruler...that is if she gets the chance. Rhyme and her fellow Gardeners will have to use every skill they possess to ensure that this unlikely monarch gets the chance to sit the throne.

    War is raging between the mages and seventeen-year-old Sara Fairchild will be right in the middle of it.She just doesn't know it yet.Sara is the daughter of a disgraced imperial commander, executed for desertion. Sara is also the best duelist and hand-to-hand combatant in Sandrin. She lives quietly with her family’s shame but when challenged about her family’s honor, her opponent inevitably loses.On the night she finds out her father’s true last actions, she takes the Mercenary Guilds’ vows to serve in the emperor’s army. Using her quick wits and fierce fighting skills, she earns a spot in the first division. There she discovers secrets the mages on both sides would prefer stay hidden. Dark enemies hunt her and soon it's not just Sara questioning the motivation behind this war.While fighting mages, blackmailing merchants and discovering new friends, Sara comes across something she’s never had before - passion. The question is - can she fight for her empress against a mage who might unwittingly claim her heart?This is year one of the Initiate Wars. Sara is hoping it doesn't become the year she dies.

    Tom Swan is not a professional soldier. He's really a merchant and a scholar looking for remnants of Ancient Greece and Rome - temples, graves, pottery, fabulous animals, unicorn horns. But he also has a real talent for ending up in the midst of violence when he didn't mean to. Having used his wits to escape execution, he begins a series of adventures that take him to street duels in Italy, meetings with remarkable men - from Leonardo Da Vinci to Vlad Dracula - and from the intrigues of the War of the Roses to the fall of Constantinople.

    It's her only chance to rescue her sister from capture and slavery by the ruthless Rapathian invaders.It feels like a desperate but simple decision until she meets Marin, Captain of the Eldrin, the elite force of mage-warriors protecting King and realm from attack. Pledged to defend their country, they are also sworn to capture and kill dangerous Blade adepts.Now Ariel has to convince Marin and his highly skilled team of fighters to help her rescue her sister––and that they can trust her to fight alongside them.Failure means instant death. But the path to success is long and hard. Love and war would be complex enough without having to resist the temptation that too much power brings––or the interference of powerful Elementals focused on revenge....Shadowblade is the first book of A Dance of Fire & Shadow, the new fantasy adventure-romance series from Jay Aspen.

    Martin, Steven Erikson, and David Gemmell. By a critically acclaimed and highly praised author. The start of a brand new epic series. Retelling of the classic Greek history from Xenophon. Supported by targeted marketing, including ARCs, advertising in the genre press and online support.On the world of Kuf, the Macht are a mystery, a seldom-seen people of extraordinary ferocity and discipline whose prowess on the battlefield is the stuff of legend. For centuries they have remained within the remote fastnesses of the Harukush Mountains. In the world beyond, the teeming races and peoples of Kuf have been united within the bounds of the Asurian Empire, which rules the known world, and is invincible. The Great King of Asuria can call up whole nations to the battlefield.His word is law.But now the Great King's brother means to take the throne by force, and in order to do so he has sought out the legend. He hires ten thousand mercenary warriors of the Macht, and leads them into the heart of the Empire.

    Jamie and his mother have returned to his mother’s home, Aurellius—a world where dragons, dwarves, elves, and other so-called mythological creatures actually exist. It is a world created by the leader of the Dragons, Dragonith, and his mate, Gwenith. Even though life on Aurellius is not the ideal that Dragonith and Gwenith had envisioned, it is still far better than Earth, where the nine races have wreaked havoc and exploited Earth’s people. But now a movement, led by a group called The Sisterhood, would seize the powerful “Dragon’s Heart” in order to gain total control of Aurellius. Jamie is unwittingly being drawn into this struggle, with his very life at stake. In order to survive, he must learn many skills that he can only learn in Stonebriar Academy. However, competition to enter Stonebriar Academy is grueling, and only one hundred students will be granted admission. And gaining admission is Jamie’s only hope if he is to survive against the Sisterhood. Jamie desperately wants to be admitted to Stonebriar, not only to give himself a fighting chance against the Sisterhood but also so that he might learn something that a few short months ago he didn’t even know existed—how to fly with a Dragon.

    

    With her father unable to do his night watchman rounds, Kate does all she can to help her family survive. But when Andrew Pitt comes into her life, everything changes. True happiness seems to be on the horizon for Kate as she and Andrew make plans to marry. Then tragedy strikes and Kate takes the only course she can to protect the people who depend on her. With her future looking hopeless, Kate must find a way to escape – and to get back the man she loves.

    She was never meant to be a squire. She was supposed to marry well, and raise sons who would become knight protectors.Ana had other plans. After years of hard work, Squire Ana Derel has earned the respect of her peers. She's a crack shot, and lethal with a blade. She's weeks away from earning her own knighthood.Then a deadly ambush leaves her charred, defeated and wanting justice. With the South readying for war, and the North demanding answers, Squire Derel finds herself alone in the epicenter of the coming storm. Alone, until she meets the enigmatic Knight of the Shire. Will their unlikely friendship be enough to prevent a war? Or will war consume them too?