I’d like to introduce you to my novels that I haven't published. Actually, I haven't sent them out very often. I've been too shy to introduce them to anyone; I am changing that. This is part of the continual process of getting past self imposed limitations. To be in the Write Place, I can and will be brave.
I thought about dinner with friends, and how I'd introduce someone new to old friends. What did I see or know about this person that backed up qualities I liked? So, this is a virtual lunch date. Pretend we’re having lunch together, and I’m introducing you to some friends of mine you haven’t met yet. After they leave, feel free to tell me if you like these friends and wouldn't mind chatting with them again. Next time we can have tea. Or... Pot Luck anyone?
Fate of the Red Queen
Kuen’s gave up on life. She’s in a holding pattern. She’s been told what to do, taught, guided, and kept from the world all her life. She has no basis for understanding real success or failure on her own. It’s no wonder she gives up the moment she thinks she’s failed her mentor’s dying request. When the man who killed her mentor comes to the jungle where Kuen now lives, she takes up her sword again. She wants to fight back, even if it means her death—even if she hopes it means her death. When the regents of the Land of the Dead realize she’s beginning to act, they start trying to guide her to accept her fate their way. They’ve waited for Kuen to come to their jungle and end the curse that’s kept them undying for over 600 years. So close to the end! They have a lot riding on the outcome. Though they teach her the true aim of her mentor’s quest, Kuen rejects their path. She learns who she is and becomes far more than a queen or a war leader they anticipated. Far more.
Sometimes we have to find our own way despite everything we’ve been taught, and sometimes we have to use what we’ve learned to become more than we ever expect.
Vendetta Mark
Aylycha Bernard is small, athletic, and determined, but would rather blindly swallow a lie than give up hope of her parents’ love. She studied history and martial arts, but when she knew she couldn’t win their approval, she joined a notorious subset of the police force so she could get their attention. After all the ideas that built her whole world cames crashing down because she discovers her true identity, Aylycha struggles on. She can no longer despise the aggressive “farrago” population caught between the Human colony on Aerie and the native Bird population. She is one. At first horrified, she risks her life to reveal the truth about herself and her family. Alycha doesn’t know that this opens up a much deeper secret. Her whole biology proves that something odd has been happening to the Human population. The growing strength of the Human Meme of self preservation is being slowly defied by the impossible Genetic blending of two species. Aylycha has to find a way to live between these crushing two forces.
Aylycha grew up thinking—hoping—she was Human. We all want to believe that we fit into some ideal, sometimes the most popular one, or the most advertised. When Aylycha discovered that she was a farrago blend of Human and Bird, instead of the child her parents wanted, she fought for the truth they had denied her
Seek the Monster
Hero is rude, cynical, and stubborn. He believes he can’t love a woman—though he likes to bed her. Also, he hates his job. But he’s unique in his land. Despite the un-confusing name, he somehow lives completely demon free. It’s an interesting occupational issue, as his job is to kill demons, usually by killing the human it’s made to commit some crime. He doesn’t know that this makes him qualified to hunt monsters. In a war torn land with a ruthless justice system, a serial killer has gone hunting. No demon guides him. The killer takes full, delighted responsibility for his murderous crimes. Hero kills for a living, and meets up with a man who kills for fun—and there’s zero demon between them. How can Hero survive the obvious comparison?
Hero faces his past even as he faces this monster. He has to find a way to respect himself, his job, and not just because a woman told him that he’s worth loving.
The Bone Reader
Cemirowl is quiet and shy. She prefers the company of her ghostly pets. The villagers know she sees the dead, and that her mother went crazy because of it. They fear her. However, Cemirowl is more than that. She feels strongly about her job with the living, and buries the dead while respecting the villagers’ fears. She tells them their futures when they ask, and hides the rest of the time. Her own bone readings have told her that change is coming. She’s aware that she’s not a great fortuneteller: the bones haven’t told her how or when! Even she is frustrated by the gap between who she really is and the creepy stories told about her. During a reading to an errant caballero, Mercari, she apparently predicts the murder of the queen. After Mercari interprets her reading—after the fact—Cemirowl faces a possible charge of treason. Working past her fear of hanging, she comforts a lonely king, and befriends a prince with too many secrets. She has to find the truth to save her life, and put not just the queen’s ghost to rest but that of two other ghosts who cry out for her help. Change is sometimes scary. Cemirowl is forced to come out of her shell and reveal her deep compassion, but she also discovers the dangers of her power that surpasses all rumors.
Red Geberesh
Phayaden cannot make peace with a mystic vision larger than her shaman training. Because of her doubt, she retreats to the felt tents and horse herds of her family. Being a mystic, she cannot hide from the divine. After finding the broken pages of the holy book, The Geberesh, a possible proof of her visions, the demigod Engidu comes to her clan. He is awaiting Phayaden’s future husband, the hero he must guide. Tengis is one among countless heroes who he must lead past their toughest obstacle, a fight that reminds Engidu that he—a demigod—cannot get past the labyrinth guarding his heart’s desire. Tengis arrives with his own vision of their land, to unite the fractious, nomadic clans roaming the steppes of the Tashihyel. But first he must try to gain the loyalty of his brother, or fight him. Together, shaman, demigod, and the future leader of their country pay severe costs to fight for their vision.
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