Seasons of the Sword Series

Warlords, assassins, samurai... and a girl who likes to climb Though Japan has been devastated by a century of civil war, Risuko just wants to climb trees. Growing up far from the battlefields and court intrigues, the fatherless girl finds herself pulled into a plot that may reunite Japan — or may destroy it. She is torn from her home and what is left of her family, but finds new friends at a school that may not be what it seems. Magical but historical, Risuko follows her along the first dangerous steps to discovering who she truly is. Seasons of the Sword #1: Can one girl win a war? Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies, moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn’t possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she? YOUNG ADULT HISTORICAL ADVENTURE As featured in Kirkus, Foreword, and on the cover of Publishers Weekly! Tight, exciting, and thoughtful... The characters are nicely varied and all the pieces fit into place deftly. -- Kirkus Reviews Risuko is an artfully crafted novel that evokes a heavy sense of place and enchantment.... Risuko's development and evolution are fascinating to watch in this powerful and relentless coming-of-age adventure. -- Foreword Reviews (spotlight review) Vividly portrayed, flush with cultural detail, and smoothly written. -- BookLife

Can one girl stop a killer? The future of Japan hangs in the balance, and it's up to a girl who likes to climb to save the day Two armies have descended on the Full Moon, and the war that has torn Japan apart for over a century threatens to destroy Lady Chiyome's school for young shrine maidens (and assassins). In this thrilling sequel to Risuko: A Kunoichi Tale, Risuko must face warlords, samurai, angry cooks, a monster in the hills, the truth about her father, a spy among the kunoichi... And a murderer. Someone kills a Takeda lieutenant, staging it to look like suicide. Can Risuko figure out who would do such thing? And can she keep it from happening again?   Reviews: "Once again David Kudler has fully succeeded as a novelist with a genuine flair for historical fiction populated by memorably crafted characters and decidedly entertaining plot twists and turns. Like the first novel in the author's 'Seasons of the Sword' series, Bright Eyes is imaginative, original, exceptionally well written, and highly recommended" - Midwest Book Review

Can one girl save a nation? With Japan's future in the balance, Risuko may recover the Kano clan's honor — or she may destroy it forever Lord Takeda has sent Risuko, Emi, and Toumi on a mission to the capital. The road is dangerous. The destination is treacherous. Risuko — the girl who just likes to climb — must make a choice that will have repercussions not only for Risuko's life and those of her friends, but possibly for all of Japan. In this thrilling third book in the Seasons of the Sword, she encounters old friends, new enemies, and a strange boy from a far-off land called Portugal. Through raging battles and deadly court intrigue, Risuko must follow a path narrower and less stable than any pine branch. And the consequences should she fail are sharp and hard as rocks below. The red-and-white disguise of the kunoichi awaits. Is Risuko ready? Seasons of the Sword: 1 - Risuko (Winter) 2 - Bright Eyes (Spring) 3 - Kano (Summer — coming April 30, 2024!) 4 - Autumn — coming soon! (Young adult historical adventure; Japanese Civil War) Projected release, April 30, 2024

Meet Lady Chiyome’s Army of “Deadly Blossoms” — Before Risuko Does! After a century of brutal civil war has torn Japan apart, Lady Mochizuki Chiyome gathers together the most unlikely army imaginable to unite the empire and bring an end to the bloodshed: an army of girls clad in the red and white garb of miko, shrine maidens. An army of kunoichi. Together, these girls work as spies, as bodyguards, as assassins — going where no soldier could go, doing what no soldier could do. Here are six stories of the kunoichi, set before the award-winning Seasons of the Sword novels (Risuko and Bright Eyes): 1 - White Robes — Mired in her own grief, Lady Mochizuki Chiyome encounters two young women who give her a whole new, much more interesting opportunity 2 - Silk & Service — A young Takeda warrior meets a servant who is much more than she seems 3 - Waiting for Kuniko — Mieko is waiting at a rendezvous behind enemy lines. In the rain. Without a hat. The person who comes up the road is the last person she expected to encounter. 4 - Wild Mushrooms — A Hōjō commander is delighted when two pretty young shrine maidens enter his camp on the evening before a battle. Perhaps he shouldn’t have been. 5 - Ghost — At a banquet to celebrate a new alliance, Chiyome contemplates murder, and discovers a new servant 6 - Schools for Talented Youngsters: Monthly Headmistresses’ Dinner — Three unique ladies get together once a month to share the joys and challenges involved teaching young ladies with very particular… talents. (Historical fantasy/crossover) Preview (from “White Robes”) Chiyome considers the two girls, still dressed in their oh-so-innocent miko garb. They are standing now, no pretense of humility. Kuniko’s face is dark, her nostrils flaring. Mieko looks as if she’s been enjoying a lovely nighttime stroll, except for the dark circles in the middle of her cheeks and the splash of dark red across her white sleeve. “Well, well, well,” Chiyome laughs. “Aren’t you two entertaining.” “Yes, my lady,” Kuniko grunts through clenched teeth. Mieko says nothing. […] An image: a beautiful screen Chiyome saw at the imperial palace, when her father brought her there to observe some ceremony or other. The screen seemed to her child’s imagination to have shown the whole of Japan, peopled by thousands of figures: armed samurai, elegant nobles, monks, merchants, and, scattered throughout, young girls in red and white. An army. An anonymous army. Invisible. Able to go everywhere. Able to gather information. Able to strike. With her toe Chiyome writes on the dusty floorboards: ku (く), then no (ノ), and then finally ichi (一). “Can you two read?” Kuniko scowls down at the marks. “Nine… in… one?” Mieko’s peers at Chiyome. She murmurs, “Kunoichi.” Kuniko blinks at her companion. “Kuno… What’s a kunoichi?” Mieko’s eyes remain on Chiyome. She knows. “Ah,” says Chiyome, grinning to herself, “it is… a very special kind of woman. Tell me, ladies. Would you like to end this ridiculous war? Would you like to be kunoichi?” “Yes, my lady,” the girls answer. Kuniko’s eyes are dark, but Mieko’s glisten.

Can One Girl Save A School? Contains Risuko And Bright Eyes, As Well As Six Prequel Stories! Kano Murasaki, called Risuko (Squirrel) is a young, fatherless girl, more comfortable climbing trees than down on the ground. Yet she finds herself enmeshed in a game where the board is the whole nation of Japan, where the pieces are armies moved by scheming lords, and a single girl couldn’t possibly have the power to change the outcome. Or could she? Kano Murasaki, you may not realize it, but I have done you a great favor. I have it in my power to give you a gift that you don’t even realize you desire. Make yourself worth my trouble, and you will be glad of it. Disappoint me, and you will be very, very sorry. At the Full Moon, an isolated mountain school for training young women to become shrine maidens (and much more), Risuko finds friends, challenges, and danger.  Intrigue, poison, invasion, murder — she must survive from winter into spring if she is going to figure out who she is truly going to be. This thrilling collection contains the first two novels in the award-winning teen historical fiction series Seasons of the Sword. In addition, Winter into Spring includes a half-dozen short stories set before the novels, exploring the characters and world: a sixteenth-century Japan torn by over a century of civil war. PRAISE FOR RISUKO: ”Tight, exciting, and thoughtful!” — Kirkus “Risuko is an artfully crafted novel that evokes a heavy sense of place and enchantment…. Risuko’s development and evolution are fascinating to watch in this powerful and relentless coming-of-age adventure.” — Foreword Reviews (spotlight review) “Vividly portrayed, flush with cultural detail, and smoothly written.” — BookLife PRAISE FOR BRIGHT EYES: “Bright Eyes is imaginative, original, exceptionally well written, and highly recommended” — Midwest Book Review “An enthralling. unputdownable tale! […] The well-crafted mystery, well-honed history and world-building, and Risuko’s adventurousness leave the reader wanting more.” — Shailyn Rogers, Ind’Tale Magazine “The author crafts a highly unique and captivating world in the pages of Bright Eyes.” — BookLife