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BOOK ONE

The Messenger From Myris Dar, Book One of The Stone Guardians Script Title image
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A Journey of Strength & Transformation

Dear Reader,

    Do you crave a heroine who defies the rules?
 

    She comes from an egalitarian island, trained as a swordswoman of exceptional skill, but now she must walk through a land that sees her as lesser—because she is a woman.

 

    Yet, she refuses to bend. If you love heroines like Eowyn (The Lord of the Rings), Morgaine (The Mists of Avalon), or Sabriel (Sabriel), you will find a new warrior to stand beside. 
 

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Power in Quiet Moments.


Not all strength is shown in battle. Sometimes, it’s in the way a warrior steels herself before entering hostile lands. In the way a fire-lit conversation reveals unspoken fears. This story is as much about these subtle, powerful moments as it is about swords and survival.

 

If you love books where tension simmers beneath the surface, where meaning is found in stolen glances and measured words, then this is a journey you won’t forget.

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The Messenger From Myris Dar

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Read a writing sample

Paperback trade copy $.36 CAD
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A Band of Heroes You’ll Want to Travel With...

 

Book Description

Rowan Mor Lanyar has trained from childhood as an elite guardian of Myris Dar, her reclusive island home. But when an enigmatic prophecy sends her with a fateful message to Eryos, a land of fallen empires and forgotten secrets, she finds herself hunted by a dark, ancient power that nothing in her training has prepared her for.

 

Falling in with a colourful band of mercenaries led by the taciturn Torrin Ralor, a mysterious, solemn warrior hiding a tragic past, she travels with them toward their common goal, the fortress city of Pellaris, besieged by monstrous creatures sent to destroy the city and the secret it holds—the key to protecting the emerging civilization in Eryos. As the dangers threatening Rowan grow, she begins to suspect that her cryptic message for Pellaris only hints at deeper mysteries.

 

Together, Rowan and Torrin must learn how to fight an ancient, forbidden magic whose dreadful legacy fuels an unquenchable thirst for power and suffering.

           

The Messenger from Myris Dar, Book One of The Stone Guardians series, is an illustrated YA-crossover in the best high fantasy tradition. With mystery, intrigue, budding romance, thrilling battles, and compelling characters in a richly realized fantasy universe, it will resonate with a broad age range from young adult to older fantasy fans and satisfy readers who enjoy thought-provoking stories with characters that are complex both in their relationships with each other and their relationships to themselves.

Escape Into a World Like No Other

 

If you find beauty in the art of storytelling, This book is more than words. It is art, both in language and in illustration. With elegantly drawn, classic-style illustrations created by the author herself. The world and its characters are brought to life in a way that few fantasy novels offer.

 

This book will appeal very strongly to fans of richly detailed, emotionally compelling epic fantasy fiction, and accomplished, engaging storytelling.


Are You Ready to Begin the Journey?

 

Book Description
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What Readers Have to Say

Book One:

The Messenger From Myris Dar.

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The start of a great adventure!

I thoroughly enjoyed this fantasy adventure! The characters are compelling, the story keeps you turning the pages, and I can't wait to see what happens next!

Amazon Customer

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The Bonds of Found Family. 


The band of mercenaries Rowan meets are more than just travelers heading in the same direction. They are scarred, complex, and carrying secrets of their own. Together, they must forge trust, not just to survive, but to unravel the mystery of her cryptic message.

 

If you love the companionship of unlikely heroes, the kind of camaraderie found in The Lies of Locke Lamora or Dragonlance, you’ll feel at home in these pages. 
 

Scroll down to enjoy a writing sample! 

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Writing Excerpt For Book One 

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Excerpt From: Ambush

 

    The morning sun broke through the mist and bathed the company in warm light. Rowan focused on the huge dark form of Hathunor as he paced at the head of their column.

    She was interrupted from her musing as a piercing howl erupted from the trees to their left. Hathunor became a dark blur as he charged into the bush toward the sound, disappearing in an instant and leaving the rest of them in startled suspension.

    Rowan reached up to draw her sword from its harness, hearing as she did so the ringing sound of other drawn blades. The sounds faded quickly in the mist as the companions pulled into a tight ring facing the surrounding trees.

    Another howl sounded from within the forest, its timbre raising the hairs on the back of Rowan’s neck. It was Hathunor’s signal to run.

    “Was that Hathunor?” Arynilas asked from Rowan’s right.

 

    “Yes,” she turned to Torrin on her other side. “He is telling us to flee.”

    “It’s an ambush,” growled Borlin.

    “We move. Now!” barked Torrin as he pulled his excited horse around. He slapped Roanus on the rump for emphasis, and Rowan’s stallion surged under her.

    Trunks and foliage flew by on either side as the mounted company fled. Rowan heard Torrin curse and call to Nathell. Then he was beside her, his sword held low along his horse’s neck. Nathell spurred to the other side and Rowan was flanked.

    To pass through a small gully, they had to move into single file, and as they did so, a Drae Raken appeared at the exit to the gully, black against the green. Arynilas loosed an arrow to clear the path. The Raken dropped to the ground, but another took its place. Rowan glanced back and saw more Raken closing from behind. She pulled Roanus in from his headlong flight, hauling on the reins as her excited horse resisted.

    They would have to stand and fight.

    At that moment, a mass of blackness flew at Rowan from the right. Torrin shouted her name, but she could do no more than register the huge Raken before it struck.

    The air was punched from her lungs as the beast slammed into her, knocking the sword from her grasp. Warm breath blasted into her face, accompanied by an animal snarl. Then she was falling from Roanus to the stony ground below.

    Pain exploded through her side as her vision blurred and then swam into blackness. When she came to, the beast had rolled off her and was dragging her into the trees.

    She looked back in panic and glimpsed Torrin, almost surrounded by Raken, battling desperately, his sword flashing. To his right, Nathell lay motionless on the ground, but Borlin stood guard over him, cutting down any Raken that got too near. Arynilas’s was shooting from horseback, adjusting aim as his mount shied under him. Dalemar was still mounted too, twisting in the saddle, sending fire from his fingertips.

    Blinking rapidly, Rowan fought to stay conscious. She could barely hear the fighting over the pounding in her ears. Weakly, she reached up, prying at the huge scaled hand that grasped her collar and hair, but her feeble attempts gained nothing. In an instant, her captor would disappear into the forest with her.

    Reaching down to her belt, fumbling desperately, she freed her dagger from its scabbard and raised it with the last of her strength.

    The Raken shrieked as she stabbed its hand and abruptly dropped her. The snarling beast turned and loomed above her, raising a massive studded club. Rowan froze, staring wide-eyed as the club plummeted toward her head.

Move! She forced her weak, groggy limbs into action and rolled. Her feint felt agonizingly slow, but to her amazement, the club struck a hair’s breadth from her side. Clods of soil sprayed around her.

    Suddenly the clash and ring of steel, and the shouts and roars and screams of the battle, flooded back into her consciousness. But there was no time to register how her friends were faring.

    The Raken howled and tried to club her once more. She rolled again, narrowly escaping another blow. The ground shuddered at the impact as she frantically pushed herself up and stumbled to her feet.

    But just as she gained her footing, her knees buckled and she almost went down again.

    One of Arynilas’s arrows buried itself in the Raken’s chest with a bloom of gold on black. The beast stumbled back with a grunt, but it only refocused its red eyes on her and raised the club high again. Rowan didn’t wait for it to take aim. She plunged her dagger into its throat, and the Raken toppled to the ground, its ropy black limbs sprawling and spasming.

    Arms and legs trembling violently, head swimming, Rowan bent to retrieve her short blade. Straightening with a groan, she turned to see the battle ending, and most of her friends still standing. She took a step toward them and fell again, landing heavily in the autumn leaves. She sat up and shook her head, trying to clear away the dizziness, but it only made the spinning worse.

    A branch cracked behind her.

    She sucked in a breath, dread rising in her chest, and turned to see another Raken rushing at her. Panting with effort, Rowan tried to scramble back up, but her muscles wouldn’t work. She cursed her weakness.

Writing Excerpt MFMD

Order a Signed First Edition Copy

The first edition of Book One is no longer available on Amazon as we near the release date of the new revised second edition.

Subscribe to receive updates on its release through Kickstarter in September.

For those looking to get a signed copy of Book One in its  first iteration format, I still have a few author copies left.

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