Dacia fourth century BCE. Daos has it all figured out. The gods have granted him a special fate that only few young men achieve. His sacrifice will bring honour to his family and fulfil the prayers of his people. Destiny has something else in store for him, though. As he struggles to make sense of the frightening changes taking over him, all that he has once believed in tumbles upside down, and no one is safe anymore. A whirlwind of fateful events makes him question everything about himself, including his sanity. In the wake of the storm that shakes his life off track, a chilling realisation dawns on him. Was he born a monster?
Meet Sabina Lungeanu
Sabina Lungeanu writes dark fiction and the occasional poem thrown in for good measure. Her work has been shortlisted for the Daniil Pashkoff Prize 2018 and has appeared in various anthologies. Her debut novel, Hiraeth, a gothic thriller set in Victorian Scotland, was published in 2020. She owes much of her writing to her patron goddess, Lady Caffeine. At night, she defies the light-polluted urban skies and goes planet hunting with her telescope. Her second novel, In the Shadow of the Kogaionon, explores the myths of ancient Dacia. Find out more at: Instagram @sabina.scribbles.
Niamh, a young and beautiful woman of the fields and forests, arrives with her family at the late-summer Lughnasa Fair. She hopes she might find a husband there and meets Bryan, one of the king’s finest men. But like other young warriors, Bryan is interested in a romance only for the duration of the fair – or, at best, a Fair Marriage lasting just a year. Then the Lughnasa Fair is disrupted by a malevolent puca, a fey creature resembling a black pony and bent on destruction and revenge. It will fall to Niamh to contend with the puca and help Bryan face it, if he can, before it is too late for all of them. Each book in the Celtic Journeys series tells a complete story, so they may be read and enjoyed in any order. NOTE: Battlefield violence. Mild sexual content; no explicit scenes. This book was first published by Dorchester in 2004. It has been given a re-edit by the author, along with a new cover, but is the same story as the original novel.
Meet Janeen O’Kerry
Like many who end up being writers, I’ve worked at many different jobs: riding instructor, horse trainer, computer programmer, and medical transcriptionist. I began my writing career in the early 1980s with articles for several national and regional horse magazines. My friend Hazel wanted to break into writing novels, so together we wrote three: A *Star Trek* novel; a rather spicy romance; and, finally a sweet romance called *April’s Christmas.* April was the one who got us started when Avalon published that book in 1994. After that I sold my own first novel, the historical romance *Lady of Fire,* to Dorchester Publishing in 1995. Today I am a full-time novelist, Kindle ghostwriter, and copy editor, and can often be found doing workshops and panels at writers’ events and conventions.
Parlan has been named High King of all Eire, but first he must meet with the approval of the noble goddess Eriu. By the oldest tradition, if she agrees to pass the night with him then she has found him worthy to be a High King. In the morning, Parlan insists he will make the goddess his queen and boldly states that he would rather give up his kingship than live without her. But this unthinking rejection Eriu’s gift of kingship brings down the Curse of the Black Dragon. Parlan will have to destroy the dragon in order to save his land and his people. Eriu agrees to help him do this, but promises one thing: No mortal man can love a goddess and survive. NOTE: Battlefield violence. Some brief scenes of sexual content. This book was first published by Dorchester in 2006. It has been given a re-edit by the author, along with a new cover, but is the same story as the original novel. Each book in this series tells a complete story, so they may be read and enjoyed in any order.
Meet Janeen O’Kerry
Like many who end up being writers, I’ve worked at many different jobs: riding instructor, horse trainer, computer programmer, and medical transcriptionist. I began my writing career in the early 1980s with articles for several national and regional horse magazines. My friend Hazel wanted to break into writing novels, so together we wrote three: A *Star Trek* novel; a rather spicy romance; and, finally a sweet romance called *April’s Christmas.* April was the one who got us started when Avalon published that book in 1994. After that I sold my own first novel, the historical romance *Lady of Fire,* to Dorchester Publishing in 1995. Today I am a full-time novelist, Kindle ghostwriter, and copy editor, and can often be found doing workshops and panels at writers’ events and conventions.
The beautiful and accomplished Keavy has turned down all offers of marriage. She cannot forget the golden eagle who came to her in the forest one spring day and made her a gift of three feathers… an eagle who gazed at her with the eyes of a man. Under threat of being disowned, Keavy finally accepts a young druid. They secretly agree to a marriage of convenience and she goes to his distant home. But after the wedding, Keavy learns that here a bride goes not to her husband but to the bed of the king… a king who gazes at her with the eyes of an eagle. NOTE: No graphic violence. Some brief scenes of sexual content. This book was first published by Dorchester in 2003. It has been given a re-edit by the author, along with a new cover, but is the same story as the original novel.
Meet Janeen O’Kerry
Like many who end up being writers, I’ve worked at many different jobs: riding instructor, horse trainer, computer programmer, and medical transcriptionist. I began my writing career in the early 1980s with articles for several national and regional horse magazines. My friend Hazel wanted to break into writing novels, so together we wrote three: A *Star Trek* novel; a rather spicy romance; and, finally a sweet romance called *April’s Christmas.* April was the one who got us started when Avalon published that book in 1994. After that I sold my own first novel, the historical romance *Lady of Fire,* to Dorchester Publishing in 1995. Today I am a full-time novelist, Kindle ghostwriter, and copy editor, and can often be found doing workshops and panels at writers’ events and conventions.
Muriel is mistress of the sea and of the water mirror, which shows the truth when the full moon shines. In return, the women of her family must marry only kings or lose their magic forever. Brendan is a prince, destined to be king. One stormy night, Muriel’s powers save his life. Soon they are together in what seems the perfect marriage. When Brendan’s true identity is revealed, his kingship is lost. Exiled from his lands, with Muriel losing her magic, they will have to find some new way to live… if they, and their people, are to live at all. NOTE: Battlefield violence. Some brief scenes of sexual content. This book was first published by Dorchester in 2002. It has been given a re-edit by the author, along with a new cover, but is the same story as the original novel.
Meet Janeen O’Kerry
Like many who end up being writers, I’ve worked at many different jobs: riding instructor, horse trainer, computer programmer, and medical transcriptionist. I began my writing career in the early 1980s with articles for several national and regional horse magazines. My friend Hazel wanted to break into writing novels, so together we wrote three: A *Star Trek* novel; a rather spicy romance; and, finally a sweet romance called *April’s Christmas.* April was the one who got us started when Avalon published that book in 1994. After that I sold my own first novel, the historical romance *Lady of Fire,* to Dorchester Publishing in 1995. Today I am a full-time novelist, Kindle ghostwriter, and copy editor, and can often be found doing workshops and panels at writers’ events and conventions.
A missing girl. A Faerie game. An abandoned baby. Tracy has been missing for months and her mum isn’t answering the door, but Mike refuses to give up on her. When Tracy’s mum disappears too, his last hope is gone, but in the overgrown garden he finds a pram, and in the pram is a baby.
Will this be Mike’s happy ever after, or will they come for his daughter too? The Changeling Tree is the first magical instalment in the real-world fantasy series. If you like Faerie games, time-travel and family sagas, you’ll love Frances Evelyn’s intriguing story.
Meet Frances Evelyn
Frances Evelyn lives in Rutland, England’s smallest county, with her husband, two sons who are currently too old for magic and stories, and a cockerpoo who protects them from shadows. She writes witty real-world fiction for readers who like to think and feel.
A barracks full of beautiful boys. A girl in disguise, living among them.
It’s the 14th century, and the longbow is king. But in the northern European principality of Ardennes, archery isn’t just the nation’s defense. It’s the national obsession.
MEET THE JOURNEYS 12 young Journeyman archers, the best in the country 2 years of public competitions, in which looks count almost as much as ability 6 will win a coveted membership in the Archers’ Guild of St. Sebastian 1 will become the prince’s new Guardsman
MEET MARIEKE 15-year-old Marieke is as obsessed with St. Sebastian’s as everyone else in Ardennes. Only it’s the middle ages, and girls just don’t become elite archers. Except Marieke’s prospects as a girl aren’t promising either, after a well-timed kick from a mule has left her with a face that’s badly scarred and ruined for marriage. But when circumstances force her to leave her old life behind and flee to the guild for refuge, there are only two things Marieke really knows about the place. One is that a mysterious accident ended her own father’s time as a Journey. The other? There are no women allowed inside St. Sebastian’s. Marieke knows disguising herself as a boy and infiltrating the guild means embarking on a dangerous deception. But it may be her only chance to find out the truth about her father’s past and to stop a murderous plot from coming to fruition. When the dashing young Journeyman Tristan takes her under his wing as his squire, she’s got to stay – at least long enough to help him beat out his brutal arch-rival to win the competitions. Keeping her identity a secret will be hard. Living in close quarters with a pack of gorgeous boys? That will be harder still. But the hardest thing of all will be keeping the vow she makes for herself: to see Tristan become the next Guardsman, without ever letting him find out she’s a girl – a girl, who loves him.
Part Robin Hood and part Princess Bride, with a pinch of Mulan and a dash of Cyrano de Bergerac in the mix, TheArchers of St. Sebastian I: Journeys is a humorous action and adventure saga inspired by late medieval/early Renaissance Belgium and packed with romance, wit, and longbow archery. Perfect for adults who love young adult themes,Journeys is an escape into the past that reads more like romantic historical fantasy than pure historical fiction.
Unrequited love? Ugly heroines who stay ugly? Friendship, coming of age, romance, adventure, and plenty of archery competitions? A unique setting inspired by the glorious city of Bruges, with a richly imagined, immersive world set within the walls of a male-only archers’ guild?Journeys: The Archers of Saint Sebastianhas it all, so if you’re looking for a great escape, don your disguise and join Marieke as she enters the forbidden world of Saint Sebastian’s, and prepare to fall in love with the Journeys – that is, the twelve best and most beautiful archers in all of Ardennes, the Journeyman archers of St. Sebastian’s.
Meet Jeanne Roland
Roland hails from Davis, California, where she spent most of her youth lounging at the pool, soaking up the sun, and daydreaming. She had a key ring that read ‘I’m running away to join the circus,’ and her favorite moment of the day was when the local movie theater went dark, and the slogan ‘escape to the movies’ appeared on the screen. As an adult, her passions include all things melodramatic and beautiful — everything from classic movies, British romantic poetry, ancient tragedy and epic, to Italian opera. She is now a professor of Classics in a small midwestern town, where she lives with her Greek husband, her fraternal twins, and a Bernese mountain dog named Franco Corelli.
Gawain was both Arthur’s champion, and a champion of the ladies. But when one of his lovers marries another man, he flees into battle against a mysterious warrior who has taken the hill-fort of Ragnell, the beauty with the ravaged face — and a mystery of her own …
Meet Ruth Nestvold
Ruth Nestvold has published widely in science fiction and fantasy, her fiction appearing in such markets as Asimov’s, F&SF, Baen’s Universe, Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, and Gardner Dozois’s Year’s Best Science Fiction. Her work has been nominated for the Nebula, Tiptree, and Sturgeon Awards. In 2007, the Italian translation of her novella “Looking Through Lace” won the “Premio Italia” award for best international work. Since 2012, she’s been concentrating her efforts on self-publishing rather than traditional publishing, although she does still occasionally sell a story the old-fashioned way. She maintains a web site at http://www.ruthnestvold.com and blogs at https://ruthnestvold.wordpress.com.
Elaine is thrown in the deep end and her life unravels before her eyes when the princess she serves dies in a tragic accident. All of a sudden, Elaine doesn’t have a purpose. Alone and drifting, she realises the princess’ death may not have been an accident at all, and things spiral even further into chaos.
Can Elaine find herself in the midst of it all, or will she let the stream tug her into yet another life not of her choosing? And what of Raymond Dart, the king’s chief investigator with a reputation for being the hardest, most intimidating man in the kingdom? Is the kindness he shows Elaine real or is he acting to get her to confess to a crime she did not commit? Elaine doesn’t know what to believe and her life could be on the line if she misses a step.
Meet Astrid V.J.
Astrid is a USA Today Bestselling and Literary Classics award-winning author, social anthropologist, and transformational life coach. She grew up in South Africa and currently lives in Malmö, Sweden (after having lived in many exciting and interesting places) with her husband and their two children. Her South African-German heritage and the experiences of living and integrating into other societies have given Astrid a great deal to think about and process. The training in anthropology has given her the tools to think beyond simple stereotypes and ideological explanations of social interaction, while the understanding she has of the human potential to achieve anything we put our minds to, which underlies her certification as a transformational life coach, allows Astrid to see what is possible and to appreciate the human capacity to achieve success in the face of adversity, no matter the obstacles. Astrid’s parents instilled in her a love for books, and the natural world that we inhabit. This love has led to a deep appreciation of the written word and the desire to contribute as much as she can towards improving the state of the world. Astrid would like to use her expertise and passion for cultures to help us move forward. She writes transformation fiction: incorporating transformation principles in novels, rather than writing another self-help book. This is more than Up-lit. Astrid’s books are intended to be uplifting, but also to provoke thought and help people question the situations they find themselves in, as well as to identify how they themselves can transcend their circumstances. Astrid is very interested in minority group questions, considerations on social standards of beauty and the negative consequences these have and would like to make the fantasy genre accessible to people of non-white, non-Western backgrounds. Astrid feels the fantasy genre has become too restrictive with limited representations of race, ethnicity, and culture, and seeks to explore other paths on this writing journey, incorporating her background in anthropology and psychology to create engaging experiences, which also provide food for thought on the diverse topics she finds most important, such as racism, minority rights, cultural diversity, culture change, intolerance, humanity’s environmental impact and much more.
In 1941, two girls disappeared without trace. A year later, Peggy Lightborne turns up, claiming to have travelled through time.
Can she hold on to her freedom without letting go of the truth? If you like real-world fantasy, time travel, Faerie games and family sagas, you’ll love Frances Evelyn’s witty and wonderful story.
Meet Frances Evelyn
Frances Evelyn lives in Rutland with her husband, two sons who are currently too old for stories and magic, and a cockapoo who protects them from shadows. She writes real-world fantasy for readers who like to think and feel.
