FOUNDATIONS OF BRISTON – TRILOGY
On the faraway planet Harnon, on the continent of Araslon, four dukes rule their lands and are themselves ruled by elderly King Estember. Each duchy has resources the others lack, therefore trade is of necessity for all. Without equitable trade between all, none will thrive.
Jealousy and anger rise bitterly, where one or more dukes covet what the others and have which they do not. Some greedy dukes move toward strife, with border raids and stolen supply caravans. They hope to incite chaos and mistakes in their opponents, for where there is chaos there is also opportunity. Intrigue and power plays at court are deep and foul, dangerous to all and especially to the spies.
On Harnon, anyone with enough affinity can use magic. Some use it for healing, some to encourage plant growth. Some witch for water wells, and some use it to find various ores for mining. Many and myriad are the uses, but now the Priesthood of Mystics wants to control the use of magic completely, so that only their priests and archmages may use magic.
But the secretive efforts of the Priesthood of Mystics do not stop at controlling the use of magic completely. No . . . they have raised up the use of magic as their banner and their god, and now these priests and archmages seek more than just the control of all magic. Their endgame is not just magic . . . it is power . . . power over the entire planet.
In the age of swords, pikes, and flintlocks, of iron plows and hand tools where even basic machinery is considered miraculous, one duke determines to explore the unknown continent of Briston. There, he hopes to find the resources his duchy requires. If they are found, he will make claim of colony, and pray he has the manpower and weapons to keep it.
This trilogy was published on Amazon on May 31st, 2023.
BRANDYWINE – first novel of the FOUNDATIONS OF BRISTON trilogy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6VNM3CG/
eBook: ASIN : B0C6VNM3CG
Paperback:: ASIN : B0C6VV2P23 ISBN-13 : 979-8393019976
When young Orren Dirkson is sold into indentured apprenticeship by his stepfather to a cruel master blacksmith, then taken across the ocean on a colony exploration expedition, he thinks he will never see his mother again. After discovering dragons in the new land, and learning he can use magic, Orren learns his mother has died in childbirth and his inheritance is unattainable. Orren has no choice but to cast his lot for good with the new colony.
Over several years, Orren is hounded by the Priesthood of Mystics as they attempt prove his secret usage of magic, is constantly bullied and beaten by the blacksmith, fights with the soldiers to fend off mercenaries and pirates, and faces mortal danger from the animal predators in the new land. With the help of some new friends and his girlfriend Amandy, Orren perseveres despite carrying the many scars of his trials.
That is, until the Priesthood of Mystics makes a play to take over the colony. Orren is framed for a murder he did not commit. Amandy is kidnapped and disappears. Orren’s few friends are arrested for treason and imprisoned. Alone, he faces a rigged trial and a swift hanging.
At their worst, the many wild and terrible animal predators on Briston only want to eat you. The Priesthood has far more cruel and dire intentions.
CHOICES – second novel of the FOUNDATIONS OF BRISTON trilogy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6V8HJKT/
eBook: ASIN : B0C6V8HJKT
Paperback: ASIN : B0C6W1JS5W ISBN-13 : 979-8393032357
Hiding in the mountain wilderness from false murder charges, Orren Dirkson makes a home in a secluded valley with K’altrix, his dragon bond-mate. K’altrix used mighty magic to heal himself from his tortures at the hands of the Priesthood of Mystics, who now hunts them both for the murder charge and for the illegal use of magic. K’altrix is also hunted by the Drakon race who have forbidden the use of magic by any drakon upon pain of death.
Orren’s girlfriend, Amandy, has been kidnapped and disappeared, the Priesthood is conducting a coup to take over not only the colony but the entire duchy back home, and the incredibly dangerous animal predators of the new land surround his valley home.
Somehow, Orren must face the entire Drakon race alongside his bond-mate, locate and rescue his girlfriend from a fate much worse than death, protect the new colony city from the Priesthood, and try to save the Duke who is besieged by the traitorous Priesthood back home.
Orren can count on his newly-learned magic to help, as well as his few good friends who form a resistance effort, but this is a lot of burden on a young man. If he fails, the Priesthood of Mystics will hang them all as traitors . . . unless the Drakon or the wild beasts get them first.
CONSEQUENCES – third novel of the FOUNDATIONS OF BRISTON trilogy
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C6VQDH4M
eBook: ASIN : B0C6VQDH4M
Paperback: ASIN : B0C6W5QGH4 ISBN-13 : 979-8393034627
As the new Duke of Ballenkoor, Orren thinks he has time to take a breath and relax for a moment. He is ruling in absentia from the colony city of Swannston. His betrothed has been rescued and healed of her ordeal as a slave. A new peace agreement with the Drakon race is negotiated, and the Priesthood of Mystics has been eliminated from his city. Who could blame him for wanting a respite?
But, King Estember swears a death sentence on Orren as a traitor to the kingdom, and gathers armies and navies from the four duchies who serve him to attack in force to destroy this upstart colony and threat.
Facing constant attacks from other duchies, the Priesthood of Mystics, and invasion by the King’s armies, Orren knows there is no middle ground, no creative alternatives.
The colony could capitulate, surrender and hope for the best. Perhaps some of them would live through the purge and punishment. At the other extreme, they could declare independence for the colony and create a new land independent of King Estember.
If Orren’s—and the colony’s—only choices lead to death either way, then there really is no choice but to fight. Outnumbered ten to one at sea, and twenty to one in land armies, the colony faces certain annihilation if Orren’s leadership is lacking in any way.
SCORCHED EARTH is planned as a five-novel series, set in the post-apocalyptic United States. Aliens, high-altitude nuclear explosion, a comet striking the atmosphere, or even God finally turning His back on human apostasy, something caused the EMP effects which took out all electronics in what is now called The Blast.
SKY WARRIOR – first novel of the SCORCHED EARTH series
Over the last twenty-odd years, the ozone has been depleting at an ever-increasing rate, producing mutations as plant and animal life tries to adapt. Sunburn and increased exposure to radiation is the greatest enemy, even greater than Warlord Joshua, whose small army controls the area around Flagstaff, Arizona.
Kat Manklin and her small band of friends use their mutant psychic powers to escape that hell, and the man who raped, tortured, and murdered her own mother. Kat leads them to the LA area and JPL, where she hopes to contact any remaining scientists who can tell her more about the Blast, and why the Earth is dying.
Then the military springs a bit of shocking news. Kat and her friends may be the last, best hope for the survival of mankind, of all life on Earth. All they have to do is travel fifteen hundred miles to reach the scientists who have a theory of how to stop the decline of the ozone, and maybe even reverse it. They will have to battle much worse than mutant animals along the way, and the dark secret Kat carries which will haunt them, and hunt them.
EARTH WARRIOR – second novel of the SCORCHED EARTH series
With only a matter of a few days of rest and recuperation from their wounds, Kat Manklin and her team are informed a second threat of massive storm and ozone-eating entities are headed for U.S. soil.
Ben Two Bears, new husband of Kat, gives us his view of the story as the team gathers gear and weapons, and arranges transportation. This time, they must journey from the Bremerton, Washington area to somewhere around Denver or south to meet with this new super-storm to battle the entities which threaten humanity.
Ben, and every other member of the team, are growing, changing, evolving . . . not only in their extra powers, but physically and emotionally, as well. Some of these changes are kind of cool. Some of them are perplexing, and some downright scary.
What new challenges might they face on this new quest? Dangerous mutant animals? Dangerous mutant humans? Yeah, almost certainly! On the other hand, might the changes within themselves be even more dangerous to the group?
Ben is growing stronger, thicker, heavier, developing massive musculature and finding new abilities from that growth. What might it all mean? How is this happening, and why?
Paul is getting even more accurate with his shooting, and seemingly younger than before. Kat can lift multiple tons with her telekinesis, and Donae can reach much further and with more control with her telepathy. Now Allen reveals both that his empathic powers are many times stronger than he previously allowed the team to know, and he is losing critical control of his own emotional base as he vigorously enters puberty.
Can the team survive all these changes internally, much less face the new and unknown dangers sure to be encountered on this journey across the Rocky Mountains to face a storm much larger than the one they just battled?
DANCING WARRIOR – planned third novel of the SCORCHED EARTH series
now in progress
WEEPING WARRIOR – planned fourth novel of the SCORCHED EARTH series
GUIDING WARRIOR – planned fifth novel of the SCORCHED EARTH series