The Dragon’s Den, Book 3 in the YA-friendly Warders series, is now available for pre-ordering from SynergEbooks for just $4.88. The Warders is a High Fantasy adventure series with James Bond-like action featuring the secret agents of the Warders and their arch-enemy the Chaotic Order.
There are several advantages to buying direct from my publisher. First, you’ll get your copy of The Dragon’s Den as soon as it’s published. No worries about forgetting to order your copy later. Second, by cutting out the middle-man (Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, et al.) you prevent your hard-earned money from flowing to the industry giants. So where does that savings go? I’m happy to say that a little bit more goes to my publisher, a hard-working small press, and that the rest ends up in my pocket.
Synergebooks supports all major formats including MOBI for Kindle, e-Pub for iPads & Nooks, or PDF if you prefer to read on a computer. You can even purchase books on a CD/ROM – although I need to make clear that it contains a copy in all of the digital formats rather than an audio disc. Perhaps if sales continue to grow I’ll go audio, but for now it’s all written word. Simply click on the format box under the cover image and choose your format.
Just visit the Dragon’s Den Homepage at Synergebooks to place your order. In celebration of the release the second book in the Warders series, The Counterfeit Count is available through Synergebooks for only $1.98. That price applies to all electronic formats, but is only good through this Sunday 28 Feb 2016.
In case you’re still on the fence about pre-ordering, here’s an excerpt from The Dragon’s Den, Warders Book 3:
Dragon’s Den Prologue
The Elven Civil War more than a thousand years in the past…
Ishâk looked over the tangled body of one of his fallen comrades. Small tufts of singed and blackened fur stuck out between the rents and slashes of its banded armor. Three of its four arms still held their scimitars, but the blades were bent and twisted out of shape. The fourth was missing below the elbow. With a quick glance Ishâk found the rest of the arm on the ground against the ramparts. Its hand held the shattered remains of a scimitar.
Turning back to the body, he reluctantly rolled the corpse onto its back. Three great gashes ran down the front of the demonic soldier’s armor. The greenish ichor of demon’s blood still oozed from the wounds. A broken fragment of what appeared to be a large bony claw protruded from the center and deepest cut. Ishâk bent down and pulled the claw from the body. The broken end was cleanly sliced. Whoever this warrior was he hadn’t given up without a fight. Finally he looked to the fallen demon’s face, but there was nothing to see. Unlike the scimitar blades which had only been misshapen the helmet was melted. The fusion of helmet and head was so complete it was impossible to recognize any facial features. If not for the position of the fused lump on top of the body Ishâk wouldn’t have known what he was looking at.
“Report,” came the shrill command from Sorceress Captain Jiana.
Ishâk turned from the corpse and stood up to his full height. As was customary, his dark elf commander sat astride her favorite naptha steed. The naptha resembled a horse in size and bulk, but unlike a horse it was a carnivore. Its head ended in a sharp beak with a bite powerful enough to snap a small tree. The creature’s six legs propelled it across the ground at speeds that a horse would envy. For protection the demonic beast was covered in thick metallic scales that shimmered in the sunlight.
At just over eight feet tall Ishâk was able to look directly into the Sorceress’s face. Her jet black hair which normally framed her alabaster face was tied in a neat braid and fell down her back. She wore a long dark cloak which was thrown back over her left shoulder revealing the finely woven iron mesh of her battle armor. In her left hand she held an iron infused ebony scepter crowned with the yellow firestone that signified her rank. More importantly to Ishâk it also gave her complete control over him and all the demons in the Rakshasa horde. Her yellow cat-like eyes glowed back at him demanding a response.
“No survivors, Mistress. Most of the throng looks like this one,” Ishâk gestured with his lower right arm toward the corpse, “or worse. They’re all either burned, torn to shreds or a combination of both.”
“Tell me what happened here,” she commanded.
“The stronghold looks very similar to the scene we found at the Gremoul tower. All of the bodies are Rakshasa or other demons known to be in your service. The garrison put up a fight, but they were clearly overwhelmed.” After a short pause Ishâk remembered the severed claw he’d recovered from the body. “Whatever new creature the enemy has conjured it’s got large claws and can generate a lot of heat.”
