Part of Series
Jan, son of Nadia and Cadell, is conscripted along with every able male in Chemestúk by one faction in a rising civil war. Soon after, another faction burns the village to the ground, leaving Jan’s parents and other survivors to seek refuge in an aging keep. Inside the worn and crumbling stronghold, young and long-ago orphaned Julianna hides away with the survivors and Jan’s parents. Left to wonder if he or any others of their men will survive to return home, all she can do is help those around her. When armed deserters come to raid the keep, Julianna is lost in how to best help Nadia and Cadell, the village elders, keep everyone alive. Soon, she faces choices and actions she never would have even considered in better days. Meanwhile, Jan has only his wit and trickery, his charming appeal to women and his violin, all of which he has leaned upon too often in a lazy life. To his shock, he realizes these limited skills are not enough to save him as he is pressed into a forced march toward the front line of a battle. Neither Jan nor Julianna had ever given serious thought to their feelings for each other. Now separated, they both realize they’ve lost someone important. How far are they willing to go and what can they live with, to stay alive and find each other again? About Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga No knowledge of the Noble Dead Saga or other related works by us is necessary to read and enjoy any of these stories in “Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga.” Any reader new to this world can step right into it through any one of these short works. Tales are organized into “collections” where all stories therein share a theme and/or premise. Most tales are not sequential and can be read in any order. When one or more link together, subsequent stories will mention “sequel to…” on their covers to guide you. These short works can be your first adventure into our world or something to tide you over in the wait for the next of our novels to be released. —Barb & J.C.
Author
[See barbhendee.org] Like most writers, I've worked at many jobs in my life, including teaching pre-school until I completed my master's degree in Composition Theory. Between 1993 and 2006, I taught college English while writing fiction on the side, some independently and some with my husband and life-long partner J.C. Over the years, we've lived in Washington State, Idaho, Colorado, and now moved just south of Portland, Oregon. I love the Northwest, and it's a great place to write. We have a lovely and talented daughter, Jaclyn, who lives in Houston, Texas along with our wonderful and talented son-in-law, Paul. J.C. and I sold Dhampir in 2001, which changed our lives considerably. It was published in January 2003, and we've published a book in the Noble Dead Saga every year since. In May of 2006, we were both able to quit our teaching jobs and move into full time writing. Recently, I've begun writing romance/suspense novels, beginning with: Alone with a Soldier. I am so glad my books have found an audience because I love to write fiction more than anything else in the world... and I'm not really good at anything else.
