The Thorn King

“A wonderful tale . . . It crackles with suspense and excitement from start to finish.”—Terry Brooks Two thousand years ago, the Born Queen defeated the Skasloi lords, freeing humans from the bitter yoke of slavery. But now monstrous creatures roam the land—and destinies become inextricably entangled in a drama of power and seduction. The king’s woodsman, a rebellious girl, a young priest, a roguish adventurer, and a young man made suddenly into a knight—all face malevolent forces that shake the foundations of the kingdom, even as the Briar King, legendary harbinger of death, awakens from his slumber. At the heart of this many-layered tale is Anne Dare, youngest daughter of the royal family . . . upon whom the fate of her world may depend. Praise for The Briar King “Starts off with a bang, spinning a snare of terse imagery and compelling characters that grips tightly and never lets up. . . . A graceful, artful tale from a master storyteller.”—Elizabeth Haydon, bestselling author of Prophecy: Child of Earth “The characters in The Briar King absolutely brim with life. . . . Keyes hooked me from the first page,and I’ll now be eagerly anticipating sitting down with each future volume of the Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone series.”—Charles de Lint, award-winning author of Forests of the Heartand The Onion Girl “A thrill ride to the end, with plenty of treachery, revelation, and even a few bombshell surprises.”—Monroe News-Star (LA)

"They say you can sense evil. That was what he was. A devil. An abomination of the damned. I could feel his power writhing around the room, whispering and cackling in my ear." A curse is forever. Trapped in a scorched rose garden, Riley finds himself in the domain of a malevolent creature cursed by a dark magic ready to claim him as well. The Thorn King is a ghostly retelling of the classic fairy tale: Sleeping Beauty. Originally published in the Once Upon a Ghost Anthology.

In book two of the Broken Empire trilogy, the boy who would be king has gained the throne—but the crown is a heavy weight to bear... At age nine, Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath vowed to avenge his slaughtered mother and brother—and to punish his father for not doing so. At fifteen, he began to fulfill that vow. Now, at eighteen, he must fight for what he has taken by torture and treachery. Haunted by the pain of his past, and plagued by nightmares of the atrocities he has committed, King Jorg is filled with rage. And even as his need for revenge continues to consume him, an overwhelming enemy force marches on his castle. Jorg knows that he cannot win a fair fight. But he has found a long-hidden cache of ancient artifacts. Some might call them magic. Jorg is not certain—all he knows is that their secrets can be put to terrible use in the coming battle...

In a world destroyed by war, angel and fae fight over the humans who are left... Xander I’m used to getting anything I want. Power. Fame. Women. It’s all mine, but boredom has set in after five hundred years as the Fae King and ruling mankind. She’s the only thing that excites me. She’s forbidden, but that won't stop me from making her mine. Gabriella I’ve trained all my life for this moment. My ascension—to gain my wings and join the Celestial Royals. Only, the Fae King had other plans. He ruined everything when he crashed the party and kidnapped me. He thinks this is all a game. My life. My purity. My purpose. I have to escape him or everyone I love will die. For if I don’t ascend, the world will fall into chaos, and sin will reign on earth. Knowing the Fae King, that was his plan all along. Captured by the Fae King is Book 1 in a slow-burn Paranormal Romance Series. This book contains sexual situations, strong language, and violence.

BOOK ONE IN THE BROKEN EMPIRE TRILOGY “Prince of Thorns deserves attention as the work of an iconoclast who seems determined to turn that familiar thing, Medievalesque Fantasy Trilogy, entirely on its head.”—Locus When he was nine, he watched as his mother and brother were killed before him. By the time he was thirteen, he was the leader of a band of bloodthirsty thugs. By fifteen, he intends to be king... It’s time for Prince Honorous Jorg Ancrath to return to the castle he turned his back on, to take what’s rightfully his. Since the day he hung pinned on the thorns of a briar patch and watched Count Renar’s men slaughter his mother and young brother, Jorg has been driven to vent his rage. Life and death are no more than a game to him—and he has nothing left to lose. But treachery awaits him in his father’s castle. Treachery and dark magic. No matter how fierce his will, can one young man conquer enemies with power beyond his imagining?

In the final novel in the Broken Empire Trilogy, the boy who would rule all may have finally met his match... King Jorg Ancrath is twenty now—and king of seven nations. His goal—revenge against his father—has not yet been realized, and the demons that haunt him have only grown stronger. Yet no matter how tortured his path, he intends to take the next step in his upward climb. Jorg would be emperor. It is a position not to be gained by the sword but rather by vote. And never in living memory has anyone secured a majority of the vote, leaving the Broken Empire long without a leader. Jorg plans to change that. He’s uncovered the lost technology of the land, and he won’t hesitate to use it. But he soon finds an adversary standing in his way, a necromancer unlike any he has ever faced—a figure hated and feared even more than himself: the Dead King.

“[A] sophisticated and intelligent high fantasy epic.”—Publishers Weekly The legendary Briar King has awakened, spreading madness and destruction across a land devastated by a royal family’s fall from power through treachery and dark magic. Half-remembered prophecies may point to the young princess Anne Dare, rightful heir to the throne of Crotheny, as the world’s only hope. But a mysterious assassin stalks her, so skilled that even Anne’s friend and protector Cazio cannot stand against him, nor can her sworn defender, the young knight Neil MeqVren. Though Anne herself is the conduit of fearsome powers beyond her understanding and control, it is time for girl to become woman, princess to become queen. Anne must stop running and instead march at the head of an army to take back her kingdom . . . or die trying. Praise for The Kingdoms of Thorn and Bone “A graceful, artful tale . . . a snare ofterse imagery and compelling characters that grips tightly and never lets up.”—Elizabeth Haydon, author of The Assassin King, on The Briar King “There is adventure and intrigue, swordplay anddark sorcery aplenty.”—Realms of Fantasy, on The Charnel Prince

From award-winning author S. A. Hunt comes a blockbuster fantasy tale inspired by such old-school fantasy classics as Stephen King's The Dark Tower, C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, and Madeleine L'Engle's A Wrinkle in Time. After coming home from a stint in Afghanistan, veteran Ross Brigham learns that his father has passed away. Dearly departed Dad was a famous fantasy novelist, and the 300 fans that show up for the funeral demand that Ross finish E. R. Brigham's long-running magnum opus. Ross and two of the author's devotees investigate his untimely death and discover that he might have been murdered...and the time-bending gunslingers of Dad's steampunk novels might be real. As they try to acclimate to the arid deserts of the author's fantasy world, the three damaged heroes become pawns in a war for humanity's survival. The Muses have grown tired of immortality and now incite atrocities on Earth, trying to lure down a leviathan from the stars. Can Ross and his new friends stop the scheming satyrs before both worlds are eaten?

The survivors of the Medusa Virus look into what happened to cause the horrible pandemic.