The Portal Sundered

Book Two in the Portal Series. Sam is now Mistress of the land beyond the Portals, abandoning her own children just as she had been abandoned as a child. Haunted by her past and afraid of her future, she discovers that her nemesis had two sons. One of them stands at her side, the other chooses to invade her dreams, refusing to allow her to forget. Every night she must relive the torments of her past until she can take no more. With her magic out of control, Sam must decide whether to call on Lily for help, or if she can face this new threat alone. Either way, she must find a resolution before it's too late and Ametsam's son becomes the monster his Father was before him.

Sam was gone, and no one knew where or why. Her car was found near the old oak tree, empty and abandoned. There was no sign of foul play, but also no sign of Sam, except for footprints that led to the oak tree...and stopped. Two years later, her best friend Kate still cares for Sam’s children, waiting for Sam to return for them. Then one day she does. “I don’t have long,” Sam says. “Can you help me?” Kate must help her return home from a place that is closer than you might think, but still a world away. Sam's escape is just the beginning of her journey. Sam must go back to confront and defeat her abductor, leaving Kate to care for her children. Sam returns to the old oak tree, and the Portal to the world where she was held prisoner. In a whirlwind world of magic and monsters, where people and things are not who or what they appear to be, there are hard choices ahead, and Sam must learn if she's strong enough to make them.

"My name was Sam Brewer and I walked away from my children, and my life, on the promise of a man I’d only just met." Sam discovers a secret and it shakes her whole world to the extent she is willing to leave it all behind when a stranger offers her a new life. She can start again, but only if she leaves everything behind and follows him through a magical Portal only he can control. What waits for her on the other side is a nightmare, and she soon realises the enormity of the mistake she’s made. She needs to find a way home, but she needs help and allies are hard to find. Broken Promises, A Portal Series novel, is Sam’s story.

A thousand years before the Winter War, Elgo, prince of the Vanadurin, killed the Dragon Sleeth and returned home with the fabulous wealth from the dead beast’s lair. But there was more in the bounty than gems and gold, for the treasure was cursed, and in time it brought death to noble and peasant, war between Man and Dwarf, strife and destruction beyond reckoning. Now, generations later, as the conflict continues, the great Dragon Black Kalgalath, in league with the Wizard Andrak, appears to avenge Sleeth’s death and claim the Dragon-cursed hoard. Against this unholy alliance, two sworn enemies set forth to find a legendary long-lost weapon: a warhammer of incalculable power that may be the only hope of victory. But neither the Warrior Maiden Elyn nor the Dwarf Thork is prepared for the dangers awaiting them on this quest....

But sometimes, what kills you does indeed make you stronger. In Gameland, a live-action virtual reality arcade populated by the undead, staying alive isn't always a winning strategy. But for a group of young game hackers, not dying is the only way they'll escape the terror ofThe Game. The newly refreshed and republished series continues in the fourth installment of the best selling post-apocalyptic cyberpunk saga by Saul Tanpepper. Part gamelit, part thriller, this completely original hi-tech and high-stakes take on TEOTWAKI zombie will keep you enthralled from the very first episode to the fourteenth. Get Zpocalypto now.

Shyam Sunder’s education, in Mangalore and later in Madras, followed a course predestined for entry in to the forest service. In the Madras Presidency of the early 1950s, selection to a Class I government post was highly coveted, as well as restricted by numerous fences of exclusion. However, he succeeded due to several unusual events he narrates vividly in this memoir. One of his early forestry mentors cautioned, “Shyam Sunder, you’ll either go very far or will lose your way. I advise you to be careful.” As a researcher, forest administrator, and later as head of the forest department, he always chose to do what felt right. Inexplicably, that hastened success throughout his career. Except for a short period of two years, when he lost most of his hair thanks to a despondent boss, Shyam Sunder’s career was a ‘dream come true.’ With the affection of 10,000 staff, full support of the chief ministers he served under, and ample confidence of the government, Shyam Sunder made Karnataka a model state for forestry in India. He retired in 1989 as the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests. Shyam Sunder loved Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat (To say nothing of the dog), due to the similarity between the trip depicted in the book, up and down the Thames, and his own career. In both cases, life was interesting while not always smooth whether it was protecting forests in the Western Ghats from insatiable societal demands, working with ministers intent on getting their way, or striving to achieve conservation goals while being part of a labyrinthine bureaucracy. Under his leadership, partnering with a staff of ten thousand officials, the forest department of Karnataka became the envy of departments across the country. Shyam Sunder’s memoir is a series of vignettes, from numerous comedic to a tragic few. The life narrated is varied and never short of excitement – being ten yards from a charging tusker or a foot away from a King Cobra; defying orders of the chief minister; being hauled up for contempt of the high court, and discussing with Indira Gandhi the best way to eat avocados. Possessed of wit and passion, the narration lays bare the hubris of popular discourse on noble forest livelihoods, and unflinchingly narrates neglect of rural communities, as well as of forests, at times by the callous imposition of rules and regulations.

From an Aurora Award-winning author, a new sci-fi novel follows three intrepid humans caught up in a conflict that stretches across time and space. Biologist Julie E. Czerneda's new standalone science fiction novel, To Each This World follows a desperate mission to reconnect with long lost sleeper ships, sent centuries earlier from Earth to settle distant worlds. A trio of Humans must work with their mysterious alien allies to rescue any descendants they can find on those worlds. Something is out there, determined to claim the cosmos for itself, and only on Earth will Humans be safe. Or will they? The challenge isn’t just to communicate with your own kind after generations have passed. It’s to understand what isn’t your kind at all. And how far will trust take you, when the truth depends on what you are?

Wild Magic is the dazzling conclusion to The Godwars, an epic quest of daring heroism and startling magic by one of the rising stars in the fantasy firmament. When the First Gods created all things, they brought forth two lesser gods, Tharn and Balatur, to walk upon the new world. But greed and power twisted their minds and turned their ambition into madness. And so the First Gods condemned them to eternal sleep in order to preserve creation. Now, the exiled prince Calandryll, the mercenary Bracht, and the warrior woman Katya pursue Rhythamun, a powerful wizard who would wake one of the mad gods and provoke apocalypse. He carries with him the Arcanum, an ancient book of power that—simply by virtue of having been discovered—already stirs the god from his slumber. But Calandryll and his companions are chased by another vengeful mage, whose dark magics created Cennaire, an undead murderess, to thwart their efforts. And as they face the perils of civil war, magical assaults, and the ever-present threat of Cennaire’s treachery to reach Rhythamun before he wakes the god, they live with the knowledge that the fate of the world rests solely in their hands.