borne by the consequences of choice

May10

From the blood drenched depravity of The Wounded King, the ancient curses of The Elder, the sadistic betrayal of Red and Gold and the cruel heartbreak of The Tall Priest, we now follow The Magi as he begins his descent into destruction and madness.

It begins with doubt.

Blessed with powerful magic, shrouded in savage infamy in a land one thousand years before Christ, the immortal Magi is feared and revered. The counsel to shamans and kings. His authority unquestioned. But when faced with a dangerous choice, he stumbles.

Driven by false hope, he walks into the darkest of magic. Encouraged by the whispered promises of an impossible priest, he’s witness to monstrous sights. Ignoring the dire warnings of an ancient witch, he kneels, the goal at hand but his soul broken. And, the journey at an end, the most dangerous of deeds having been done, he stumbles again, burdened by a regret that follows him for millennia.

A man battered beyond repair. An immortal desperate to reclaim his darkness. A legend trapped in a nightmare without end borne by the consequences of choice.

This is…The Magi.

Coming Soon.

a peek at the priest

Mar6

The Tall Priest

Book Four in The Martuk Series

The-Tall-Priest-cover-snippet-blood

Coming Soon

the air thick with secrets

Sep9

Doing a final polish on Red and Gold, the latest installment in The Martuk Series, and should have it Live on Amazon, etc. in a day or two. 🙂

Until then, here’s the cover.

Tip of a grateful cap to my cover artist, Timothy Burch. He’s kinda awesome. 🙂

And, yeah, why the hell not? Here’s a brief excerpt:

Listen well …

The voice, the whisper, came again.

I listened.

The Elder was passing me. He moved by, calm and quick. I did not exist to him. I was no one. A stranger to ignore. An initiate who had yet to earn the priesthood, my thick hair damning me to ignominy on sight.

Ah, but this stranger, the one with the cloak ringed with the dull white of bone, he was not one to ignore. I could sense fear in the old man, The Elder. I could feel the air thick with secrets and shame and an utter sense of powerlessness.

The Elder stopped.

I glanced at his bare feet.

They were covered in blood. And bits of flesh? Yes, that’s what it looked like, his long toes smeared in discarded shards of torn flesh. And the hem of his red and gold robe, it, too, was covered in blood. It was dripping, small drops of blood staining the stone beneath his feet.

Dripping.

The blood was fresh.

And they, the two of them, The Elder and this stranger who could whisper to the darkest depths of my soul, both smelled of smoke and raging fire and torn flesh.

But The Elder had stopped. Could he hear my thoughts? Could he read my soul? Did he know I had linked his name, his greatness, with words like shame and powerlessness?

If so, I would incur his wrath.

No …

The stranger grew close. Looked at me. He, too, was covered in blood. His robe dripping fresh blood. His feet stained red. More so than The Elder’s. As if this stranger, whose toes almost squished with fresh blood, had waded through an ocean of red to stand before me.

Yes …

I raised my eyes, slowly, so, so slowly.

His chest was bare. It was covered in blood.

His head was shaved smooth. It was covered in blood.

His eyes, peering from beneath a layer of red, were looking at mine.

A small smile grew on his thin lips.

Young priest …

came the whisper.

Listen well and I will give you the world.

new look for The Elder

Aug24

In the run-up to the release of Red and Gold, the third installment in The Martuk Series, I’m sharing the NEW cover to The Elder.

Once again, cover artist Timothy Burch knocks it outta the park. Don’t you agree? 🙂

a new Wounded King

Aug11

Sorry, kids, but there ain’t nothing better than getting a brand spanking new cover for one of your books.

And that’s what’s happening with The Martuk Series, an ongoing collection of Short Fiction inspired by my award-winning full-length novel Martuk … the Holy.

First up for the face lift was The Wounded King, next will be The Elder, and then Red and Gold, the third in the series, will be making its debut.

But I don’t want to jump the gun and upload the new TWK cover until the one for The Elder is finished, so … here’s a teeny, tiny sneakity peek.