
Part of Series
After Bieja flees her home in the village of Chemestúk, burned to the ground in a civil war, she soon realizes she has only one place left to go. Her niece, Magiere, owns a little tavern in the port town of Miiska—which is unfortunately a long journey away on the west coast. Bieja has never traveled more than a few leagues from her hut in all of her life. Undaunted all the same, she sets off through her war-torn homeland with what she could scavenge from the blackened remains of her village. All too soon, she finds herself on unfamiliar paths and facing the risk of both deserters and conscripted soldiers who are as desperate as she is. She has always been independent, but she might not survive this journey alone… until happenstance trips her up with a most unusual guardian. The problem is, this guardian might be as dangerous as anything else Bieja will have to face. About "Tales from the world of the Noble Dead Saga"... No knowledge of the Noble Dead Saga is necessary to read, comprehend, and enjoy any "tale." Readers new to this world can step right into it through any of these short works. They are independent of the saga's main plots/stories, though some minor connections will be apparent to readers of the saga. Tales center upon minor characters, places, and events left along the way in the saga’s volumes. As well, there are some new characters, places, and certainly events never before seen in the saga. For those who have read part or all of the saga to date, you may expand what you already know about the world, cultures, times and places, and favorite minor characters left behind. In other words, "tales" can be a little treat straight from us to tide you over in a year's wait for the next volume in the Noble Dead Saga. —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.