The Sceptre of Morgulan
by Matthew D. Ryan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GENRE: Fantasy
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BLURB:
Coragan
of Esperia has another job to do. Can he and his companions capture the Sceptre
of Morgulan and prevent an apocalypse? Or will Korina outmaneuver them again
and escape with the prize? So much hinges on the efforts of so few—if they fail
in their quest, if the evil witch Korina the Black succeeds, she may gain an
unrivaled power over the forces of darkness; a power she will not hesitate to
use.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
EXCERPT:
“Accident or no, it makes no difference,” his father said.
“You’ve got to be better than that, son. You’re worthless and you’ll never
amount to anything unless you straighten up.” He swung the strap again; it
struck him across his shoulder blades garnering two new welts and a bloody line
of damaged flesh. “I won’t have myself a worthless son.”
Again, the strap came down. Gaelan fell to his knees. The
tears flowed freely now; he couldn’t stop them. He felt small and helpless, too
weak to defend himself, a victim of pitiful circumstance. People often spoke of
the gods, but where were they now? How could such injustice be permitted?
Either the gods did not exist, or they did not care. Either way, thought of
their so-called mercies did not help him. Mardikkar. Auraria. Neither one was
there to stop the pain. He struggled to his feet.
Weak. Helpless. Weak. Helpless. The words formed a grim
incantation in his mind. Something to focus on. Something to fight against.
I will not remain a victim, he thought. Not forever. He
looked back over his shoulder and saw his father holding the leather strap,
preparing to strike yet again. And though his knees quaked and his body bled,
he felt a burning anger in his chest. Someday, father, he thought, I will hold
the whip, and it will be you begging for mercy. And when that day comes, I will
remember this moment and I will give you exactly what you deserve.
His father struck again.
Gaelan awoke.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Matthew D.
Ryan is a published author living in upstate New York on the shores of Lake
Champlain. His work has been featured on-line at Aphelion.com and
YesteryearFiction.com. He has been deeply involved in the fantasy genre for
most of his life as a reader, writer, and game designer. He is the operator of
the web-site matthewdryan.com which features his blog, “A Toast to Dragons,” a
blog dedicated to fantasy literature, and, to a lesser extent, sci-fi. Mr. Ryan
says he receives his inspiration from his many years as an avid role-player and
fantasy book reader. He has spent many long hours devising adventures and
story-lines as well as gaming systems for role-playing games, playing a motley
assortment of characters in RPG worlds, as well as digesting the writings of
J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Jordan, and others. As a result, he has great depth of
experience in the fantasy genre and feels it was a natural shift for him to
move into fantasy writing.
Mr. Ryan is
the author of the exciting dark fantasy novel, Drasmyr, The Children of
Lubrochius, and The Sceptre of Morgulan, as well as a growing number of short
stories. His first novel, Drasmyr, won the book of the month award on Long and
Short Reviews: Young Adult for the month of September 2012. The story features a
traditional Dracula type vampire in a Middle-Earth type setting. It is a dark
fantasy geared toward teens and adults that has consistently earned reviews in
the four and five star range. Drasmyr serves as the prequel to his series: From
the Ashes of Ruin. In addition to Drasmyr, The Children of Lubrochius, and The
Sceptre of Morgulan, Mr. Ryan has published several short stories on-line,
including: “Haladryn and the Minotaur”(published at the now defunct Pegasus
On-line), “The River’s Eye”(published at YesteryearFiction.com) ,
“Escape”(published at Aphelion.com), and the three-story collection Of Dragons,
Love, and Poison.. He has also spoken on the topic of “World-Building”
utilizing his considerable experience as an author and game-designer. When not
engrossed in his fantasy worlds, Mr. Ryan can be found volunteering at the
local food shelf or playing with his cat, “Confucius,” who is as wise and wily
as his name suggests.
Author’s
Smashwords Page: http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/matthewdryan
Author’s
Blog: http://www.atoasttodragons.com
Author’s Home
Page: http://www.matthewdryan.com
Author’s
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/MatthewDRyanAuthor
Author’s
Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/author/matthewdryan
Author’s
Goodreads Page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/579148.Matthew_D_Ryan
Author’s
Twitter Handle: @MatthewDRyan1
for specific
details on Mr. Ryan’s previous novels from this series, following the
corresponding links:
Drasmyr:
http://wp.me/P3Lbq0-gE
The Children
of Lubrochius: http://wp.me/P3Lbq0-gM
Buy
Link:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/574196
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting. I really appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteHow do you come up with your ideas to write your books? Sounds like an interesting book from the excerpt.
ReplyDeleteI've read more books than I can remember and played AD&D for about 30 years. All that fantasy experience becomes a fertile goo in my brain from which I can extract endless sources of delight.
DeleteHad a good day. Thanks for hosting.
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