If Harry Potter lived in Middle Earth and had to loot dungeons to pay his school fees…
When Jack Vance’s grandfather is murdered, his dying words are to get Jack to promise to attend Darkthorn Academy. Jack doesn’t like it, but he’ll do what is necessary to honor the man who raised him. Surviving Darkthorn Academy won’t be easy. Jack will have to make alliances, learn to harness magic, and face dangerous enemies, both alive and dead. If he’s lucky he might just make it to second year.
This is a coming-of-age, sword and sorcery fantasy adventure with gamelit aspects, including a slightly overpowered MC, a dragon companion, and a team of adventurers. Inspired by games like Skyrim and Diablo 2 and Fallout.
Meet Robyn Wideman
Lost in the world of being a full-time adult, Robyn discovered that you can make a career of telling cool stories.
Now he spends his time imaging epic fantasy worlds full of aspiring cultivators, underdog heroes, dragons, monsters and more. Adulting has never been so fun!
When tragedy strikes a young boy is forced to become a warrior.
To escape a perilous royal life, Soron and Velaina disappear to the small village of Elderwood, a magicless kingdom, to raise their son in secret. But when their child Nathan begins to show special powers, they realize they are no longer safe. Soon they’ll have to reveal their secrets to Nathan. However, before they can tell Nathan the truth, a cruel and arrogant Duke attacks and kills most of the people in their small village, including Nathan’s parents. Nathan finds himself lost and alone with his heart set on revenge. With the help of his Uncle Verin, he continues the training his father started. But the Duke isn’t finished. He’s returned to kill the survivors, especially Nathan, to hide his crimes from the world. Unable to locate Nathan, the Duke kidnaps Nathan’s best friends to lure Nathan to him. Anger and fear consume Nathan and the strong emotions ignite powerful magic within him. Using his new powers, Nathan is able to hunt down the Duke, but he’s in a race against time. if he can’t catch them soon he’ll lose his chance at revenge and more importantly, he’ll lose the people he loves.
85,000 words Children’s/Teen sword and sorcery with coming of age elements.
Meet Robyn Wideman
Best Selling Author Robyn Wideman writes fantasy, from teen sword and sorcery books like Stoneblood Saga, to gamelit and litrpg series like Darkthorn Academy and New Realm Online.
She vowed she’d never return to Faerie… But vows were made to be broken.
As a human girl, Chloe is perfectly happy being back in the mortal realm where she belongs. She’s even become the town apothecary. When a fae from her past shows up begging her to return to Faerie, she utterly refuses.
But then she finds out an angry group of mortals are using iron to hold an entire castle full of fae hostage. And of course, the hostages include Chloe’s older sister and her sister’s beloved.
Reluctantly, Chloe packs a bag for what is supposed to be a short trip to Faerie.
But the mortals are more powerful than she expected. To fuel them, they have weapons, flames, and revenge. They won’t stop until they control every court in Faerie.
With the help of a new and mysterious magic and a devastatingly handsome fae companion, Chloe has to save Faerie before her sister and the other fae are killed.
If you like the rich world building of Throne of Glass, the enemies to lovers romance of Once Upon a Broken Heart, and the mythical creatures and twisty plot of The Cruel Prince, then you’ll devour Kay L. Moody’s breathtaking new young adult epic fantasy series.
Flame and Crystal Thorns is the first book in a new YA fae romance series. This is a spin off of The Fae of Bitter Thorn series by Kay L. Moody. It features a few appearances and minor spoilers from The Fae of Bitter Thorn, but it also stands alone as its own series. It can be read without any prior knowledge or reading of The Fae of Bitter Thorn.
Buy Flame and Crystal Thorns to enter the magical world of Faerie!
Meet Kay L. Moody
Kay L. Moody is the YA fantasy author of COURT OF BITTER THORN and THE ELEMENTS OF THE CROWN. Her books feature rich world building, slow burn romance, mythical creatures, and twisty plots.
As a lover of strong female characters, books, and the color pink, she enjoys diving into magical worlds where characters can overcome even their darkest struggles. She lives in the western United States with her husband and four sons. Connect with Kay directly when you follow her on social media @kaylmoody
When a technologically superior army advances from the western sea, the mystical Light of Epertase determines that corrupt King Elijah is no longer fit to rule the kingdom. The Light determines his daughter, Princess Alina, is the kingdom’s only hope for salvation. Evil men plan to steal the Light from her soul. Epertase’s fall appears inevitable. But all is not lost, for a long-banished warrior lurks in the outer mountains. His name is Rasi and he prepares for blood. Deadly men plan to sacrifice Alina for the Light of Epertase that lives within her soul. Rasi plans to kill all who try. The kingdom’s fate hangs in the balance.
Meet Douglas R. Brown
Douglas R. Brown runs into burning buildings for a living. As a career firefighter in Columbus, Ohio, he rediscovered his love of writing as a cathartic way of dealing with the daily horrors of seeing people die. After having four books published by a publishing company who ultimately closed their doors, he has since ventured out on his own. And if risking his life, occasional soul-crushing book reviews, and being the father of a teen-aged boy isn’t enough of a beating, he’s also been learning jiujitsu for a few years. What the Hell is wrong with him? (The answer is probably Freudian of some kind.) BTW, did he mention he’s been married since 1996. So, yeah, he’s pretty busy.
“Look, I’m not writing this to feed my ego. Or to get free drinks, or have ladies throw themselves at me. I’m sure that will all happen, but it’s not why I am doing this.” – Dirk in chapter 1.
The Kathaldi Chronicles are an epic tale of a long forgotten evil that has returned to conquer the world.
The Kathaldi hate the gods. The gods are afraid of the Kathaldi. The last time they tangled most of the world was destroyed.
The only hope is a small group of friends. Join Dirk as he tells their story. Who is Dirk? He’s a thief. And a scoundrel. Now he needs to help his boyhood friend save the world. Some wonder why Dirk would help. Look, he’s a jerk, not a monster.
And if the world is destroyed who would Dirk steal from? Does that make him a hero? Hopefully the ladies will think so.
There is adventure, heroes aplenty, magic, monsters, evil deeds, and lots of laughs as Dirk tells how he saved the world while his friends were nearby.
In Rimwords Conspiracy, Book One of this science fantasy fiction, Arun Dyem fights for her people’s survival on her planet of Hettamir against the space pirates who threaten to take over. Tragedy ensues and in Book Two, an Ally princess races to freedom with her newborn. She turns for help to the Treetop Witches who are forbidden to interfere with human destiny. In Book Three, much time has passed and the space witches try to prevent a human child’s return to the Allies, but her telepathic power lets her escape. Will this spell triumph or tragedy for a galaxy at war?
An Investigation Gone Awry Sometimes, your case takes a left turn. Or three or four. Marten Mingenstern and Boog Eggstrom are provisional inspectors, fresh out of Inquisitor’s Guild training and eager to prove themselves. Assigned the mundane task of tracking down stolen jewels, they instead uncover a mysterious cult set on destroying the city. After a thief explodes, they earn the enmity of a vicious noble, the Chief Inquisitor gets bought off and goes rogue, they are seized by barbarians, and they are sentenced to death at least a couple of times. In a final, frantic race with prophecy, they face ruthless fanatics, a city turned against them, and terrible forces long buried.
Flames Over Frosthelm is the first novel about the Inquisitor’s Guild, the investigative arm of the government of Frosthelm, a medieval city-state where criminals thrive, nobles scheme, and dark secrets lurk. Expect intrigue, mystery, swordplay, adventure, politics, romance, and the strong bonds of friendship. And a little magic along the way. Described as Princess Bride meets CSI, this new novel is a tale of classic adventure with a healthy dose of humor.
If the description above was too much, you might prefer this
TLDR Summary Haiku
Young inspectors flail Against a rising darkness. Fighting, jokes, and more.
About the Book
Flames over Frosthelm is a full stand-alone novel clocking in at just over 120,000 words. Beginning, middle, and end, and no waiting for sequels to find out how the adventure ends (hear that, George R.R.?). There is swordplay, violence, death, and some romance, but the book does not include anything terribly hardcore. Think PG13 or Harry Potter and you’re probably in the right place.
Author’s Note
Ever since I started reading the Oz books and Andrew Lang’s fairy tale compendia in elementary school, I have loved fantasy. As I grew as a reader, I branched out into heroic and epic fantasy, starting with tales of heros like Conan and John Carter, set in places like Middle Earth and Witchworld. I also adored comedic fantasy, from Terry Pratchett to Neil Gaiman to a host of others, and my favorite tales were those where young heroes and heroines grew (or were forced) to play a role beyond their station, in many cases learning on the fly and making it up as they went along.
There are so many great authors working now trying out new ideas, pushing the fantasy genre in interesting new directions (some of them full of sparkly vampires or brooding antiheroes with anime hair). Despite all that innovation, it is hard for me to resist the draw of the classics. In this book, I’ve tried to weave together many of my favorite threads from the books of my childhood, to write the kind of book I have always loved reading, both at 13 and at 49. If I’ve succeeded, this story should provide a fun mix of humor and adventure, an introduction to a new world and a few new cultures, with derring-do and jokes along with some solid emotional touches, against a backdrop of a classic fantasy city, bustling with taverns, markets, nobles, politics, religions, thieves, and warriors.
There’s magic, but it’s limited to rare wizards, scholars, and artifacts, not pervasive, and it’s not well understood. Everybody you meet is a human with human goals – no elves, dwarves, dragons, trolls, or Klingons. Although moral complexity is fascinating, and even the best people are not always their best selves, in general I like my good guys good, my bad guys bad, and the stakes high. I hope you do too.
As Fire is to Gold [Chronicles of the Ilaroi – Book One]
Accept Your Fate Or Start a Fight That Is Doomed to Fail?
When dark elves abduct Sara and magically transport her to a strange world, she finds herself at the centre of a deadly conflict between three powerful wizards. Brought there to fuel the powerful spells of Golkar, one of Ilythia’s three Guardian wizards, Sara finds herself alone in a strange world with nowhere to run to, no one to turn to and nowhere to hide. Her fate seems certain. But has the wizard got more than he bargained for? As war breaks out across the land and the citizens struggle to save what they can of their own shattered lives, the fate of Ilythia will depend on one young girl and her desperate struggle for survival.
Avoiding Capture is One Thing, Fighting Back Is Something Altogether Different
Read the conclusion to this story in When All the Leaves Have Fallen [Chronicles of the Ilaroi – Book Two]
