The Ides of Magic: The Story Collector Sorceress

By Linda Maye Adams

Five exciting tales of swords and sorcery!

In Campfire Terror, an overnight stay turns deadly for sorceress Blythe Wayne and her swordmaster husband Gray.

A shipwreck on land? When Blythe and Gray investigate, they find more than they bargained for in Ship of Dread.

Taking a shortcut through a cave leads to danger for Blythe and Gray in Cave of Doom.

Helping a friend find a lost man, Blythe and Gray journey to Skull Cavern, an ancient site with a deadly secret.

A woman disappears into a mysterious fog. A little girl hires sorceress Blythe and Gray to find her in Hawk's Landing.

Five gripping action-adventures tales to keep you turning pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Turquoise Sunset Publishing
• Release date: Jul 13, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201335007

Linda Maye Adams

Linda Maye Adams is published in Kevin J. Anderson’s anthology Monsters, Movies, & Mayhem.  She is the author of the military-based GALCOM Universe series, including the novel Crying Planet, featured in the 2018 Military Science Fiction StoryBundle, and is working on a superhero novel. 

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Book Description

Five exciting tales of swords and sorcery!

In Campfire Terror, an overnight stay turns deadly for sorceress Blythe Wayne and her swordmaster husband Gray.

A shipwreck on land? When Blythe and Gray investigate, they find more than they bargained for in Ship of Dread.

Taking a shortcut through a cave leads to danger for Blythe and Gray in Cave of Doom.

Helping a friend find a lost man, Blythe and Gray journey to Skull Cavern, an ancient site with a deadly secret.

A woman disappears into a mysterious fog. A little girl hires sorceress Blythe and Gray to find her in Hawk’s Landing.

Five gripping action-adventures tales to keep you turning pages.

Praise for Linda Maye Adams

Linda Maye Adams’s especially delightful ‘Alien Pizza’ features friendly aliens so enamored with low-budget monster movies that they make one of their own.–Publisher’s Weekly

Mask Pretty: Writers of the Future Silver Honorable Mention

Teddy Bear Man: Writers of the Future Silver Honorable Mention

Family Places: Writers of the Future Honorable Mention

Vagabond of Blood: Writers of the Future Honorable Mention

Map-Mage: Writers of the Future Honorable Mention

Watcher Ghost: Writers of the Future Honorable Mention

A Quartet of Clowns: Writers of the Future Honorable Mention

THE IDES OF MAGIC

LINDA MAYE ADAMS

Copyright Page

THE IDES OF MAGIC

Copyright ©2022 by LINDA MAYE ADAMS

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission of the copyright holder, except where permitted by law. This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination, or, if real, used fictitiously.

Cover artwork and design by Linda Adams, Graphics Designer

Image created by FairytaleDesign | DepositPhotos

Published by

Turquoise Sunset Publishing

THE IDES OF MAGIC / LINDA MAYE ADAMS — 1st ed.

License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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Introduction

I love action-adventure stories of all kinds, and particularly fantasy. The combination of fighting monsters with magic is just plain fun.

But when I was growing up, there weren’t any real options for me as a reader. Any fantasy stories typically featured men. Maybe there was a woman, or a girl, but they often didn’t participate much in the story. Many times, they were there to be rescued by the main character.

After seeing Uhura on the bridge in Star Trek’s Balance of Terror, I craved seeing women do more than be rescued. I wanted them to have their own adventures.

In the 1980s, writer/publisher Marian Zimmer Bradley published her wonderful Sword and Sorceress anthology series. All the short stories featured women main characters. Every time I went to the local bookstore chain, I’d search the shelves for the next book. Once I found my quarry, I’d devour the entire book in one sitting. Then I’d reread my favorite stories until the next book came out.

So when I started writing fantasy, I wrote stories about characters I wanted to see. But as I found out writing a novel, it’s challenging writing an action-adventure heroine.

Women are built differently. While I’m sure someone would say they know a woman could deck a guy, it’s not the norm for most of us. I served twelve years in the Army and saw over and over how the physical differences of what we could and couldn’t do. There were even some things the male soldiers weren’t good at and the women excelled.

It forced me to think about how to do the action and still satisfy what I wanted to see in fiction. And also, so I didn’t shortchange the men in the stories.

Blythe, my sorceress, is never going to punch out a monster. But she is just as formidable in her magic skills and her ability to fire from the hip as her swordmaster husband, Gray.

There’s always a monster that requires the skills of both of them to defeat. Besides, I love blowing up monsters (fictionally, of course).

Enjoy reading the adventures of my fantasy duo.

Linda Maye Adams

Arlington, VA

July 13, 2022

Campfire Terror

Blythe Wayne found it invigorating to build a campfire in the crisp, chilly fall air. She loved touching the logs given by the trees. Anything from the earth that always made her magic tingle with pleasure. The fragrant wood smoke made her inhale deep, savoring the warmth that came with it.

A sharp snap came from the nearby wood line.

Instinctively, she reached back with her magic to the collection of spells woven into the lining of her woolen cloak.

Gray? she called.

Only a slice of scarlet was on the horizon, the night consuming the rest of the day. No moon tonight, so all she could see outside the firelight