In the White Road Chronicles, one of the first human characters Alyra comes upon is a farm boy name Jerin who lives in the town of Yarholm.

Jerin has a big problem. Or rather, his problems are small little things, but there are a lot of them and they can be quite vicious when angered. Yes, I'm talking about the invasion of okbolds that have overrun his town and nearly taken it over. 

With the release of the Phoenix Province Series, Book 2- Blade of Embers, I thought a reintroduction of the heroes in this series was in order.

The Phoenix Province is a fairytale retelling loosely based on Cinderella. 

Rillion, or Cinderillion of the Phoenix House feels that she is destined to become a great warrior. However, her father, Regent Kenrich of the Karm Province wants her to learn how to become a proper lady. Her lofty ideas of leaving their struggling province to travel to the elusive White City are out of the question. He has other plans for his only child. 

Sterlyn, from the Raven House of Kaim Province, is the second born forgotten son. His older brother, Bartram is destined to become the next Regent in line, whether he wants to or not. This is his legacy. This is what is expected of Bartram. What is expected of Sterlyn is something he wants no part of...or so he believes.

When I first met Tarek in the very first Alburnium story, Illuminated, he was supposed to be a throw-away character. Little did I know at that time that Tarek had his own story that he wanted told. 

Turns out, Tarek is not what he first seems. Not at all.
If you have not read any of the White Road Chronicles or White Road Tales stories, be warned that there may be spoilers in this post.  The first books of both series are available for free. Click the series page links to find out where you can get your copy

Alyra had everything stolen from her while she'd been under the Dark Lord's rule. Her memories, her past, and even her name! 
But there was one thing he could not take from her...and that was her heart. It belonged to the King. The Medallion she kept hidden was testimony that she'd come from somewhere else, that she'd had a good life once. The entire six-book White Road Chronicles series is her journey to reclaim what was stolen. 

Read on to learn more about this enchanting character. Be warned, there might be a few spoilers ahead, so if you have not read Illuminated yet, you might want to go grab it for free, then come back here an read on.

Great News!
I've decided to release The Faerie Trader on Amazon. Right now, it's on pre-order for only .99¢!

This is a limited time offer. Once the book releases on April 23rd, it'll go up to $2.99 sometime that weekend. 

For those who haven't already subscribed to my Castle World Fantasy Newsletter, you can read the first chapter below. Or just click the picture to purchase your pre-order copy. 

 The Chronicles of Alburnium. 

In Silver and Light, we find Kardia leaving the safety of her home village for the great unknown. She is determined to find the legendary path that leads to the White City of Aloblase, that she's only seen in her dreams, and read about in King Shaydon's Book Of Letters. 


Kardia doesn't make it far before she must stop for a rest and there she meets a most unexpected traveler...

Kardia nestled deeper under her woolen blanket, breathing in the scent of damp earth and moss. She’d made camp beside a stream after venturing off the road she followed in her search for the King’s Highway. Hopefully, she’d find the road to Aloblase soon. She was running out of the few supplies she’d packed before leaving Goia, her childhood home.
​
Her eyes, heavy from exhaustion, slowly closed. She’d almost drifted off when the sound of wagon wheels rolling over the dirt road caused her to sit up. A chill of fear raced down Kardia’s back. Hopefully, she was far enough off the road to not be spotted. Holding her breath, she waited for the traveler to pass. Her heart pounded like a drum in her ears. She curled her arms tighter around her chest and tried not to move.

The clomping of hooves stopped.

Something made a sniffing sound.

Strange.

Kardia tried to peer through the fern and brush toward the road, but the growing darkness of night made it too difficult to see more than gray shadows.

“Hello in the woods,” a deep voice called out.

Oh no! They knew she was there. But how?

Kardia held perfectly still, not daring to breathe lest she make her position known. Silently willing them to leave, she tensed up, wondering if she’d get very far if she ran for it. Why hadn’t she left her boots on? If only her tired feet hadn’t hurt so badly when she stopped earlier. She’d not wanted to lose her toes like she’d lost her fingers. Despite the pain, she’d wriggled out of them. They were so hard to get on and off with her damaged hands.

“I can smell you. Human, for sure. Are you hurt? I smell the scent of blood hanging about you. I can help…” the man moved off the edge of the road. It wasn’t footfalls she heard, but rather the clomping of…what exactly was she hearing? How did he… smell…her?

Granted, she’d not tried to bathe yet.  She’d hoped to find safe shelter before attempting that. The blood scent most likely came from her blistered feet. 
“I won’t hurt you, little human.” It sniffed again.

Kardia reasoned that if it was calling her human, then it wasn’t.

“Ah, there you are,” the stranger declared, his tone softening.

Her heart threatened to pound right out of her chest.

“If you’re hiding a weapon, you should know I’m a master fighter. I’m also much larger and stronger than you could ever dream of being.” Then he added, “Even if you were a grown human male. But rest assured, I intend no harm, so be a good little human friend and sit up slowly so we can talk.”

She bolted to her tender bare feet. Stepping on the edge of a jagged rocked, she cried out from the sharp pain. Her foot misstepped and she started to tilt toward the stream.

The creature-man darted forward and caught her by the arm. To her shock, he wasn’t dressed! His bare chest glistened in the dim light of the rising moon. His bearded face and wild hair came into focus. He towered over her by nearly two feet. Thick hair covered his lower arms. As she dared to lower her gaze, she found thick hair, or rather dark brown fur, covered the lower half of his body down to his hooves.
Kardia blinked. She’d heard of the half human half goat men before. They were called…what? The part human and part horsemen were centaurs, she was sure.

“Faun!” she exclaimed as the name slammed into her memory. “You’re a faun!”

(From Silver and Light, chapter 1)

This will be my last release for 2019!
Have you read Secretly In Love- a Madison Creek Township novella? If not, you can grab it for free everywhere. If not, don't worry. A Thousand Wishes stands on its own. Keep reading to find out.

Last year I released The Heart Collector and I must say, it's one of my favorite Madison Creek Township novellas. 

When I was younger, I heard about someone writing a letter to their "older" self concerning the guy they hoped to eventually marry. I thought that was a brilliant idea! So, I did the same thing. 

You know, planning out these thing in advance is prudent for a young girl who has a whole life spread out before her. 

I kept that letter in my special box, waiting year after year for me to open before I married Mr. Right.
And that night before my wedding, I opened my secret box, pulled out the yellowed envelope, and slowly opened it. The penmanship was in childish print, odd sized letters and hearts over the i's. The paper was torn from a school notebook and still had the ripped tabs running down the side. 

Taking a deep breath, I read through the letter, written by my younger self. 

Last time I posted about the new Chronicles of Alburnium series, we met the main characters of Blood and Water- book one. 

Today, I want to share some about the opposition team. In the Grimm's Fairytale of the Maiden Without Hands, there is a wizard, in some version, or sorcerer, in others, while a few even call him Satan. Which fits, really.

This wizard follows the young maiden hero all through the story, trying to make her life miserable. Doesn't that sound familiar? 

Anyway, I decided to use the term interchangeably and crated a master wizard who belongs to a group of rebel wizards that call themselves The Brethren Order. Wizards, in this story, are for the most part a mix of human and creature, though that is not always the case. These half-breed races have special powers and some use them for good, while others use them for their own personal gain. 

This is the group we will meet in the first story: Blood and Water. 

​First, let's meet Fajer the Conjurer. 

If you missed meeting our heroes, check out this post.