Showing results by author "Kim Fielding" in All Categories

Brute leads a lonely life in a world where magic is commonplace. He is seven and a half feet of ugly, and of disreputable descent. No one, including Brute, expects him to be more than a laborer. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and when he is maimed while rescuing a prince, Brute's life changes abruptly. He is summoned to serve at the palace in Tellomer as a guard for a single prisoner. It sounds easy but turns out to be the challenge of his life.

Ravaged by a horrific experience, Oliver Webb flees the smog-bound city of Greynox for a quiet seaside village and the inheritance he’s never seen: a cottage called Farview. He discovers clear skies, friendly imps, and a charming storyteller named Felix Corbyn. With help from Felix’s tales, Oliver learns surprising secrets about his family history and discovers what home really means. But, with Felix cursed, Oliver growing deathly ill, and an obligation in Greynox hanging heavy around his neck, it seems that not even wizards can save the day.

A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night, he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn't seen in years.

William Lyon's past forced him to become someone he isn't. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley's Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson, who minds the local store and post office.

Tobias Lykke is big, awkward, and accustomed to spending his holidays alone. This year, however, his godmother—who may or may not be an Italian countess—gives him an elf doll originally entrusted to her by her second husband, who might or might not have been a wizard.

It's been a few weeks since Dylan Warner wolfed out and killed Andy, the crazed werewolf who originally turned him and later tried to murder Chris Nock. Architect Dylan and handyman Chris are still refurbishing Dylan's old house as they work out the structure of their relationship. They come from very different backgrounds, and neither has had a long-term lover before, so negotiating their connections would be challenge enough even if Dylan didn't turn into a beast once a month.

Julian Massey has always been sickly. When the young man's parents send him to the seaside town of Urchin Cove to recuperate, he finds himself stranded in a tiny cabin with only the quirky local inhabitants for company. Then a storm blows through, and he finds an unexpected discovery washed up on the beach: an unconscious man. After stealing a treasure, Kit Archer is taken prisoner by a ruthless pirate, Captain Booth. When a storm hits the pirate ship, Kit is able to escape, but not without serious injuries.

Simeon Bell just hasn’t been himself. Although he has spent a happy year as a roustabout with the Carnival of Mysteries—accompanied by his beloved, Crow Rapp—lately something has felt off. Maybe he hasn’t been himself because he doesn’t fully know who he is. Abandoned in a foundling home as an infant, he has never known anything about his family and has never met another of his kind. A tiny box found on the carnival midway leads Simeon and Crow on a quest to Simeon’s childhood home in the Victorian slums of London, where he discovers the ability to move through time.

Aside from a sympathetic parole officer, Aiden Finn is alone in the world. He knows this is his last chance - after a lifetime in and out of prison, one more mistake will land him there to stay. Unfortunately, his job as a night custodian at a motel is neither satisfying nor good for building his confidence, and booze and burglary are always just a step behind him. Enter beautiful, exotic, and secretive Luka Gabor, the motel's new security guard.

Prosperity comes at a price. In Praesidium, that price is freedom. Strict laws and a harsh penal code ensure ordinary criminals become bond-slaves. But the most serious traitors are turned over to the wizard to be suspended in a dreamless frozen state known as Stasis. Miner is one such criminal, suspended forever—until Ennek, the youngest son of Praesidium’s Chief, stirred by the horror of Miner’s fate, sets him free. Ennek has always skirted the edge of the law.

Skinny, quiet hipster Dylan Warner was the kind of guy other men barely glanced at until an evening's indiscretion with a handsome stranger turned him into a werewolf. Now, despite a slightly hairy handicap, he just wants to live an ordinary - if lonely - life as an architect. He tries to keep his wild impulses in check, but after one too many close calls, Dylan gives up his urban life and moves to the country, where he will be less likely to harm someone else.

In an attempt to manage his overflowing book collection, Elliott builds a miniature neighborhood library in his front yard. The project puts him in touch with his neighbors - for better and worse - and introduces him to handsome, charming Simon. While romance blooms quickly between them, Elliott's not willing to live in the closet, and his best career prospects might take him far away. His books have plenty to tell him about history, but they give him no clues about a future with Simon.

This collection contains the first three Bureau novellas: Corruption, Clay White, and Creature.

As the son of a wealthy man, Enitan Javed has spent his life frivolously - drinking, fighting, and making love. But after his father dies, Enitan is unjustly accused of murdering him and is given the harshest sentence possible. Judged irredeemable, he is banished to the Downs. As even young children know, nothing lives in the Downs except demons who delight in torturing the condemned. Brutalized by the men who transport him to his fate, Enitan has nothing left but his thirst for vengeance.

Morli is a prince on a mission - but he’d rather be baking. Baxter is a lonely production artist stuck in a pandemic lockdown. They are literally universes apart. But with a little help from a magic shop, a raven, and a dead great-aunt who was possibly a witch, Morli and Baxter are joined together on a cross-worlds adventure. Battling killer brambles in order to rescue an enchanted princess seems simple compared to their real challenges: Discovering their strengths and creating a future together.

World War I veteran Thomas Donne is new to San Francisco. Always a stoic man, shell shock and a lost love have nearly turned his heart to stone. No matter - a private eye has no room for softness. Almost broke, he takes on what appears to be a simple case: finding a missing young man. As a magician and medium, Abraham Ferencz cons his audiences into believing he can cheat death and commune with their dearly departed. Although his séances are staged, the spirits are very real, and they’ve brought him almost more pain than he can bear.

Private detective Nick Bozic works the mean streets of 1950s Portland, Oregon, shadowing unfaithful spouses and nabbing thieving employees. He may be lonely, but at least he’s not crooked. Despite the festive season, Christmas simply means less dough in his pocket. With the holiday only a few days away, a regular client drops a new case on him: Yet another being has come through the Rift and needs help finding his way home. Maybe Evindal the elf will help Nick find something, too - a bit of cheer and magic amid the usual brew of corruption and betrayal.

Praesidium is the most prosperous city-state in the world, due not only to its location at the mouth of a great bay but also to its strict laws, stringently enforced. Ordinary criminals become bond-slaves, but the worst punishment—to be suspended in a dreamless frozen state known as Stasis—is doled out by the wizard and reserved for only the most serious of traitors.

A brutal war left Volos Perun with physical and emotional scars and with a reputation as a hero. Now he's a soldier stationed at the palace, desiring Prince Berhanu while receiving only loathing in return. But when Berhanu foolishly refuses the king's request to let Volos accompany him on a peace mission to the neighboring country, Berhanu is kidnapped and brutalized. Now Volos must risk his life as he works to save Berhanu and help his country avoid another devastating war.

Born into poverty and orphaned young, Daveth Blyd had one chance for success when his fighting prowess earned him a place in the Tangye city guard - a place he lost to false accusations of theft. Now he scrapes out a living searching for wayward spouses and missing children. When a nobleman offers him a small fortune to find an entertainer who’s stolen a ring, Daveth takes the case.