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:
It appears my mistress needs me again, which is good, in a
way ... my hunger has returned and I am due for another feeding. I relax as I
am pulled up the last short channel of the jar; I concentrate on the sensations
and feelings that barrage my mind as my essence twists and turns, undulating in
response to the summoning magic.
Coalescing from mist form to human, I become aware of
another presence in this chamber. Something strong and powerful, reeking of
magic and other rancid odors. Glancing in the creature’s direction is enough to
identify it: an arcagrich, a demon I am familiar with, although I have not seen
one in a thousand years. I turn away from the demon and glance back towards
Korina. She stands several feet from me in a summoning circle; she looks ...
pale, almost frightened. I’m glad she still respects me, but really? I do not
intend to break my word ... at least, not yet.
The crack of a multi-lashed whip splits the air and my
vision explodes. Staggering, I drop to one knee as the shock and pain hit me. I
gasp: there was more than just metal behind that whip! I lift a hand to my
face; it is a mangled ruin. Three long furrows streak across my cheek and
another one mars the pale flesh of my neck.
I turn to look at my assailant, angry, yet cautious.
“Lucian! Slay that demon,” Korina says.
Now, I understand. Her pet has escaped. And she wants to use
me to clean up her mess. I might have refused, if the creature had not attacked
me. But it is an arcagrich. Can I take an arcagrich?
Why, yes. I believe I can.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
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
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER
CODE
Matthew will be awarding a $20 Amazon or
B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour, and a $10
Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn host.
4 comments:
Thanks for hosting!
Thanks for hosting. I really appreciate it.
Had a good day. Thanks for hosting!
A very interesting bio.
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