Stories

Book Two of The Last Statue follows on from Heart of Black Ice Bay and traces the lives of five new characters across roughly similar timelines.

• Marica is almost duped by a night caller accelerating her future plan to escape the palace;
• Jasmar's instincts tells him to accompany Marica’s siblings on their escape to Loq;
• Tad, a menial in Aulderly, stumbles upon the missing Lore of Invocation;
• Brokerman has to help deal with an emerald explosion that rips through the grounds of the Aulderly;
• Duke Ervine holds together a fragmented empire while a new ruler is being agreed upon.

Colin McKenzie sells used cars and spoils his dog. In his life he's seen a lot of stupidity and he's become cranky and opinionated. The boy who first made his heart beat faster works in town now, divorced, but there's nothing there for either of them. Then a storm brings new life into a stale world for Colin and after so many years...he finally lives.

Many men enjoyed the life and freedom of being a cowboy, but it wasn't an easy one in The Old West. The aches were many, but it was the loneliness that could wear a man down. Jubal was one of those who dreamed as he moved and protected cattle, and the day finally came he had enough money to buy his own piece of land. Fate, though, dealt him a terrible hand once again, taking everything from him and leaving him lost and alone. Was Lucas his savior, or just more trouble for a man who'd learned to trust no one?

Short things ...

It is January 2004 and the United States and its “allies” have just completed the successful invasion of Iraq and Saddam Hussein has been captured. US Presidential Elections are on the horizon. Howard Dean is the frontrunner to be the Democratic candidate to take on George W. Bush.

These events weigh lightly on the mind of Will Schluter. He just graduated from high school a semester early and is looking forward to spending the next eight months in the pursuit of hedonistic pleasure and mind broadening experiences.

Neither Will nor his country had any idea about the challenges that lurked ahead.

Rusty Parker has one big-ass problem, unlike any other big-ass problems he has ever had in his life. No, it’s not the impending sense of doom that comes with senior year and the fact that he has no idea what to do after or that he’s running out of kink ideas. No, it’s a very peculiar issue.

(Full summary inside.)

Issac Novotny barely made it home from overseas in one piece. Will his memories end up derailing his new life?

Kyan can’t imagine ever moving on. With four small kids, what would that even look like? Surely not his best friend and brother-in-law; the man who drops off groceries, forces him to confront his depression, loves his kids unequivocally, and supports him without question.

The Cat Burglar is the first book of The Professions Series. It was inspired by the 2021 anthology theme An Unconventional Gift.

Kavan has an unsuspected encounter on his 24th birthday that changes his entire life.

The Professions Series series should best be read in order, but each book follows a different brother.

Gabriel Redbrick mourns the loss of his companion, Dr Albert Callico, who died in a minibus accident on his way to a medical conference.

Following a meeting with Albert's solicitor, Gabriel discovers he has inherited a derelict property in rural Italy. He also stumbles upon a secret message left to him by Albert.

The message leads Gabriel to the Italian site where he meets a groundsman, Lorenzo Morelli. The unravelling also suggests that Gabriel’s is in danger while offering a clue to unlocking his past.