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What if the forces of light
did not prevail?

That question is the basis for my high fantasy novella series, Minstrels of Skaythe. The evil mage Dar-Gothull has reshaped everything in his own terrible image. Skaythe is an upside-down world, where merciless strength is "good" and caring about others is "bad."

In creating this setting, I wanted to challenge some of the standard assumptions in fantasy. Our great legends tell us that freedom from tyranny can only be won in battle. Or that some sort of "chosen one" will lead an army to rescue the people. Every problem should be solved at the point of a sword or gun.

Personally, I question that warfare makes anything better. So I set out to explore ways that people of good conscience might resist a despot without resorting to violence. My heroes travel as minstrels. Music and dance, juggling and puppetry are their weapons. Rather than fighting to overthrow Dar-Gothull's regime, they try to comfort the suffering of the people. For this crime they are branded as renegades and hunted throughout the land.

These novellas are my answer.

"Always is an illusion. It is a lie the powerful tell - to themselves and to the world. It saves them from admitting that their way has not always been, and that one day their cruelty will have an answer."

Dancer in the Grove of Ghosts

Prisoners of the Wailing Tower

Alemin only wanted to help an innocent. Instead, he was caught by the dreaded hunter-guards. Now he finds himself flung into the Larder, where the very walls are steeped in nightmares and his fellow inmates are vicious killers. Worse, Warden Ar-Lizelle seems intent on tracking down his friends, the Minstrels, who have devoted their lives to undermining Skaythe's tyrannical regime.

On the outside, the renegade mage Lorrah receives a premonition of Alemin's plight. She's desperate to save a man she cares for, but the Larder is commanded by someone she has hated for years and can't bear to face: her cruel sister, Ar-Lizelle. Luckily, Lorrah is not alone. She has help from the fierce women warriors of Badger Squad. Yet even their combined forces might not be enough to get Alemin free from Dar-Gothull's Larder!

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