Tales of a Melder Series

'The magnificent creature was indeed the stuff of nightmares, but it was also beautiful, almost beyond imagining.' When Yrsa leaves her home in the Valleys to see the world, she's planning a quiet travelling life with only her faithful pony for company. But her plans go awry when three separate encounters with the same mysterious man lead her to a discovery which will change her life forever. She finds two cubs, offspring of a mythical mother sought for her blood, supposedly needed to break a curse laid by a sorcerer queen. With the help of a long-lived healer who suspects Yrsa has hidden gifts and a fraudulent future teller, she takes the first steps to discovering who and what she is. As she comes to terms with her newfound skills, Yrsa must decide whether to take up the challenge and confront the queen. Along the way, she is tested by the spirits, pursued by a persistent adversary, acquires a horse like no other, and learns she may have a rare talent. Just don't call her a girl … This is the first book in the Tales of a Melder series, which blends mystery and adventure in a fantasy world much like our own, but in another time and another place. The series is suitable for a general adult audience.

After defeating the sorcerer queen in book one of the enticing Tales of a Melder series, Yrsa's adventures continue ... Yrsa spends the winter with Prince Varluss at Demburan, where he delivers on a promise to teach her to read, and to use the sword she was bequeathed by Amluss. She learns more of the weapon's history, as well as her own szanka.   When two women are kidnapped from one of the kingdom's most isolated towns, she joins a troop of guards on a rescue mission into the Outlands, a little-known region to the north. Joining the party is Nestryn, a rich trader and father to one of the missing women.   Old ruins dot the Outlands, echoes of the Gessene Empire which once conquered the land. Now, it is home to descendants of that time, struggling to make a living, as well as many others who have chosen to disappear from the world for a variety of reasons.   As the group follow the trail of the women and their abductors, they are drawn into a dispute between one of the local leaders and a man who once worked for her. The trail takes them to the edge of the northern wastes and the last slave trading town, before forcing them to take sides in a conflict.   Along the way, Yrsa encounters a woman who tries to trick her into serving a krystylyn, makes a new friend in Taigrun, and learns more about herself. This is the second book in the Tales of a Melder series, which blends mystery and adventure in a fantasy world much like our own, but in another time and another place. The series is suitable for a general adult audience.

After unveiling a traitor in book two of the enticing Tales of a Melder series, Yrsa's adventures continue ... Yrsa and her new friend, Taigrun, head for Flengara. The sword she is learning to use – the sword she inherited from Amluss – needs altering for her size and style, and only the Royal Armoury there can work the famed Flengaran steel blade.   When she reaches the city, she manages to arrange an appointment with the Chamberlain, and while they wait for the slow cogs of bureaucracy to turn, she and Taigrun spend time in the archive trying to find the history of her szanka.   There, they meet Hobrin, who assists their search, and when they reach a dead end, he offers to take them to a wise man he knows in a city far to the south. The scholar's words send them off again, this time towards Harmarok, a distant town famous for its metalwork.   But on the way there, everything changes. Yrsa and Taigrun find themselves in a race to save themselves and the zeffen, and to prevent an attempt to endanger the Flengaran royal family.   Along the way, Yrsa meets an old friend, they encounter a very strange bird, and learn a few truths about dragons. This is the third book in the Tales of a Melder series, which blends mystery and adventure in a fantasy world much like our own, but in another time and another place. The series is suitable for a general adult audience.