The Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy
Heart of a Lion
(Book One of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy)
Synopsis: Rayden Valkyrie. She walks alone, serving no king, emperor, or master. Forged in the fires of tragedy, she has no place she truly calls home.
A deadly warrior wielding both blade and axe, Rayden is the bane of the wicked and corrupt. To many others, she is the most loyal and dedicated of friends, an ally who is unyielding in the most dangerous of circumstances.
The people of the far southern lands she has just aided claim that she has the heart of a lion. For Rayden, a long journey to the lands of the far northern tribes who adopted her as a child beckons, with an ocean lying in between.
Her path will lead her once more into the center of a maelstrom, one involving a rising empire that is said to be making use of the darkest kinds of sorcery to grow its power. Making new friends and discoveries amid tremendous peril, Rayden makes her way to the north.
Monstrous beasts, supernatural powers, and the bloody specter of war have been a part of her world for a long time and this journey will be no different. Rayden chooses the battles that she will fight, whether she takes up the cause of one individual or an entire people.
Both friends and enemies alike will swiftly learn that the people of the far southern lands spoke truly. Rayden Valkyrie has the heart of a lion.
Review Quotes
“Heart of a Lion is an awesome book in the ‘Sword and Sorcery’ school of Robert E. Howard. Stephen Zimmer writes the action in sparse style, but its this sparse style that lets the characters come alive to the reader. Letting the characters move and breath in a cinema of the mind.” – Amazon.com Reader Review
“Just finished Heart of a Lion, and it was a fun journey through a well-imagined landscape of giant winged spiders, slave uprisings, and narrow escapes following the indomitable Rayden Valkyrie. She is an interesting character – a great warrior with a heart who seeks to “set things right” when she encounters injustice.” – Amazon.com Reader Review
“This novel grips you from the very first page and never lets go. It has some great action, as well as interesting characters that really make the world come alive.” – Amazon.com Reader Review
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Thunder Horizon
(Book Two of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy)
Synopsis: A deadly menace stalks the shadows of the lands to the north, stirring the winds of war. Farther south, the power of the Teveren Empire spreads with every passing day, empowered by dark sorcery. Formidable legions bent on conquest are on the march, slavery and subjugation following in their wake.
Within the rising maelstrom, Rayden Valkyrie has returned to the Gessa, to stand with the tribe that once took her into their care as a child. No amount of jewels or coin can sway her, nor can the great power of her adversaries intimidate her.
With a sword blade in her right hand and axe in her left, Rayden confronts foes both supernatural and of flesh and blood. Horrific revelations and tremendous risks loom; some that will see Rayden’s survival in the gravest of peril.
Even if Rayden and the Gessa survive the trials plaguing their lands, the thunder of an even darker storm booms across the far horizon.
Thunder Horizon is the second book in the Dark Sun Dawn Saga.
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When Shadows Fall
(Book Three of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy)
Synopsis: When shadows fall, the dominion of light reigns.
Rayden Valkyrie and her companions enter the Imperial City, the heart of the rising Teveren Empire. Never before has her gaze taken in a city so vast, wealthy, and populous.
Sensual delights, grandiose spectacles, and the spilling of blood enthrall wealthy and poor alike. Beneath the surface, Rayden senses an undercurrent of a darker nature.
Learning everything she can of the venomous secrets lurking within the shadows, little time remains before a host of northern tribes arrives outside its walls.
Power lies within blood, and dark rituals have unlocked mysteries from the depths of the abyss.
Legions are on the march, a storm is about to unleash, and a dark sun will soon rise.
When Shadows Fall, the conclusion of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy.
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The Rayden Valkyrie Tales
Stand-alone eBook Novellas
Blood of a Queen
Synopsis: Traveling farther east, Rayden Valkyrie comes upon a city shrouded in fear and anger.
A devastating drought has been followed by a nightmarish rash of brutal murders and disappearances that only occur after the sun goes down. A few witnesses speak of terrifying, monstrous wraiths prowling the streets at night.
The ruler of Terith-Ka, Queen Annukeyen, claims that the demonic entities have been summoned through dark magic wielded by sorcerers in the rival city of Rastapur. A war looms and the people clamor for vengeance against the city they believe has caused their suffering.
Rayden suspects something much darker at work underneath the simmering atmosphere of Terith-Ka. When all others have gone inside with the fall of night, Rayden heads into the empty streets of the city to find answers and confront the evil plaguing a frightened populace.
Blood of a Queen is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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Winds of War
Synopsis: The winds of war are stirring.
The kings of Thrakkia and Samosia quarrel with each other as a wave of invaders from a powerful empire crashes upon the shores of the nearby Kingdom of Pargemon.
Having finished a harrowing mission aiding the Thrakkians deep in their mountains, Rayden Valkyrie understands the looming, perilous threat from the Astrian Empire. Without unity, none of the Griacan kingdoms stand a chance against the much larger invasion that Rayden knows will follow the conquest of Pargemon.
With time dwindling fast and the kings set on a course to weaken each other in battle, Rayden undertakes a bold mission. The fate of many lands hangs in the balance
Winds of War is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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The Sun’s Caress
Synopsis: At the edge of the world, far to the east, Rayden has joined with a band of pirates led by Timiko, the young widow of a great warrior revered for showing compassion and generosity to the powerless toiling in the fields and villages on the islands of Yamatainu.
When word arrives that a raiding fleet is approaching under the command of the pirate Fujimara, a man known for extreme cruelty and barbarity, Timiko and Rayden know that the villages throughout their region are in great peril.
Though greatly outnumbered, Timiko’s fleet sets out against all odds to confront Fujimara’s raiders.
The Sun’s Caress is a stand-alone eBook novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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Across Desert Plains
Synopsis: Only the foolish deem the desolate places of the world truly abandoned.
Journeying to the Kingdom of Thrakkia, Rayden Valkyrie encounters a large contingent of nomadic Barradans. Knowing the routes through the great desert expanses and the numerous dangers encountered within them, the rugged tribal people are also hospitable to strangers and they welcome her among them.
Heading westward to avoid becoming swept up in the ambitions of a bloodthirsty desert warlord, the Barradans have only one other individual among them who is not a member of their tribe; an enigmatic Hebrennan elder.
Mysteries soon unfold, and Rayden’s own life will teeter on the edge of an abyss.
Where no man or woman dwells, things with darker intentions and ravenous hungers can set root, grow, and cast a deepening shadow across desert plains.
Across Desert Plains is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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Prowling the Darkness
Synopsis: Dark rumors and whisperings of unholy sorcery bring Rayden Valkyrie to the remote city of Sereth-Naga.
There she finds a populace cowering in fear of the city’s ruthless, mysterious rulers, who remain behind the high walls of their citadel.
An even greater mystery surrounds the city.
Something is prowling the darkness.
Something that has kept the enigmatic rulers for centuries from escaping Sereth-Naga to spread their wickedness to other lands.
Prowling the Darkness is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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Darkness Enthroned
Synopsis: In the heart of a frigid northern winter, Rayden Valkyrie takes refuge in the lands of the Sarvan people when a mounted column of Attun warriors is seen passing along the outskirts of their territory heading west.
Far from their steppe domain in the east, the Attun warriors are journeying into a remote, unpopulated wilderness, drawing great alarm from the Sarvans about their purpose. Learning of the situation, Rayden joins with a band of warriors from the area’s villages to investigate.
Following the tracks of the Attun warriors, they are led to the base of an enormous, ancient burial mound, where the trail vanishes abruptly. A mystery looms, and Rayden seeks to discover the nature of the burial mound and the reason why the Attuns have traveled so far from their homelands to enter it.
Darkness Enthroned is a stand-alone adventure that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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The Rayden Valkyrie Tales Print Compendiums
The Rayden Valkyrie Tales, Volume 1
Synopsis:The Rayden Valkyrie Tales, Volume I, contains the first three novellas previously released in the collection on eBook formats. These novellas include Blood of a Queen, Winds of War, and The Sun’s Caress.
The novellas in the Rayden Valkyrie Tales collection will continue to be released and made available individually on eBook formats and the compendiums will only be released in print editions. Print compendiums are a great way to make the Rayden Valkyrie tales available to readers who do not have eReaders or prefer print formats.
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