Legends of the Light-Walkers Series

Rethana Chosardal’s life in hiding is over, and she has no one but herself to blame. A foolish choice leaves her in the power of the same vengeful clerics who slaughtered most of her family when she was but a child. Worse, the soldiers also seize her best friend and her frail little sister. Allasin, the clerics' leader, recognizes in Rethana the Blessing of comori, magical energy that can manipulate the elements. Rethana has always craved the power her birthright can bring, but Allasin will only teach her if she serves him in intrigues she cannot hope to understand. Yet this cold, cruel adversary gives her glimpses now and then of a warmer soul--of a master she could fall in love with. Rethana is torn between two men: the hometown protector who loved her as a girl and the conqueror who loves her as a woman. As civil war threatens, Rethana must choose between her power and her past. Knowing that a reckless act has already cost her the life she once loved, this new choice may well tear her fragile heart apart. How much more will she surrender to protect her precious, dying sister? Rethana's Surrender is the first book in the Legends of the Light-Walkers. Approximately 100,000 words.

In Rethana’s Surrender, the pulse-pounding opening novel of Legends of the Light-Walkers, the gathering of an army shattered Rethana Chosardal’s comfortable life and thrust her into the arms of one who could be either tormentor or savior. But just as she began to feel safe with the clerics who once hunted her family, new trials wrenched her from even this thin protection. Now unknown enemies have captured her and torn her from the side of her dying sister. Once again tossed on the waves of war with no safe harbor, Rethana has nowhere to turn. The elusive, nomadic Soldan claim her as part of their ancient prophecy to overthrow the malicious rule of an evil emperor. To entice her into their cause, the Soldan offer to feed her insatiable hunger for magical knowledge. Is Rethana willing to pay the price they ask? Before she can decide, another menace sweeps down from the icy north. Under the relentless scourge of the diabolical Skardi, it becomes clear that the petty civil war between Soldan and the clerics places the whole nation in peril. There is no hope but an alliance...if only either side would heed Rethana’s warnings. Rethana stands alone in the midst of trial and treachery, the powers of two great monarchs arrayed against her. Even the strength of the Warlord Allasin, her master and possible beloved, is out of reach. Abandoned by old friends, beset by new enemies, Rethana stands at the very heart of her homeland, forced to make her last stand. Though the fate of Rethana’s sister remains unknown and the whole world rests upon her shoulders, Rethana will bend but not break. Only this iron determination can see her through Rethana’s Trial.

Rafe Skelleran is losing his mind. Weird nightmares ruin his sleep and dog his waking hours. Even the booze doesn't help anymore. And the worst part of going crazy is he doesn't even know why it's happening. In the midst of his descent into madness, a woman shows up on his doorstep, all curves and feisty foreign accent. This dream girl is real enough, but her babble about ancient wars and lurking enemies is the stuff of fantasies. Her rantings gain the weight of reality when an enemy arrives with an arsenal of otherworldly powers and tries to murder Rafe. Fleeing the destruction of his home, blood on his hands, Rafe realizes that if he wants to get out of this alive, he’s going to have to stick with a woman who’s possibly crazier than he is. Besides, she knows about his dreams. She knows the green-eyed crone whose nightly pleas are driving Rafe insane. She says the old woman is real and that she can take Rafe to her. And Rafe can’t pass up the chance to find out the truth. Hijacked to a strange world where he is surrounded by powerful, dangerous allies, Rafe soon realizes he’s no safer with these people than he was on his own. Every time he turns around, someone insists he’s not who he thinks he is. Every time he turns around, someone wants him dead. On the run with what seems the least of many evils, Rafe doesn't have a single person in this strange land he can trust. Even worse, he feels a dormant, volatile power knocking from within, urging him to let his magic loose. He must unlock it before facing his darkest enemy, for without it he can't possibly survive. It's that or accept an allegiance that will give him the worlds...if he's willing to sell the last little bit of himself he has left. 156,000 words