by
Rebecca Hamilton,
T.F. Walsh, Monica Corwin, J.L. Weil,
Laxmi Hariharan, JA Culican, Muffy Wilson,
GK DeRosa,
Marilyn Peake, Kevin McLaughlin, Carissa Ann Lynch,
Vivienne Savage, Anna Hub,
HJ Lawson, Emma Nichols, Shelley Munro, J.A.Armitage,
Leilani Love, Demelza Carlton, Xyla Turner,
D.S. Murphy, J.T. Williams

This Collection is packed with more than 20 full-length Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance reads from New York Times, USA Today, and International Bestselling Authors!

Don’t miss this collection of more than twenty unique twists in paranormal romance and urban fantasy, providing over one million words of supernatural suspense that will transport you to new worlds with smoking hot action and heart-throttling adventure!

The DARK LEGENDS boxed set includes: Mermaids, Sirens, Shifters, Vampires, Dragons, Sorcerers, Warriors, Angels, Faeries, Demons, Witches, Psychics, Ghosts, Mythology, Folk Tales, Legends, Dark Magic, Time Travel, and More!

Rebecca Hamilton
T.F. Walsh with Demon’s Mark
Monica Corwin with Soulless
J.L. Weil with White Raven
Laxmi Hariharan with Redemption
JA Culican with The Keeper of Dragons, The Prince Returns
Muffy Wilson and The Para-Portage of Emily
GK DeRosa with Wilder: The Guardian Series
Marilyn Peake with Shade
Kevin McLaughlin with By Darkness Revealed
Carissa Ann Lynch with Midnight Moss
Vivienne Savage with Making Waves
Anna Hub with Beyond the Shadows
HJ Lawson with New Order
Emma Nichols with Blood Moon
Shelley Munro with Claimed & Seduced
J.A.Armitage with Two of Clubs
Leilani Love with Violca’s Dragon
Demelza Carlton with Ocean’s Gift
Xyla Turner with Broken Treaty
D.S. Murphy with Scarlet Thread
J.T. Williams with Winemaker of the North

Amazon | iBooks | Kobo | Nook

Winemaker of the North
by
J.T. Williams
@AuthorZiok
Award-Winning
and
Int’l Bestselling Author

Sviska is an assassin for an Order that nears completion of its crusade of genocide.

A war raged against magic. Elves and dwarves fought for their lives but men stepped from the ashes as the supreme race. Now, whispers speak of a last hold in the northern mountains protected by magic. But no army can assault this place…

There is only one option. Sviska. Undercover and with only his wits to help him, he is the last hope for men. But an ancient evil works against him and Sviska feels something beyond himself; a power within that awakens in the realm of magic.

Fate will force him into a terrible choice.

Moonlight cast a thin shadow across the floor as a cold night wind rustled Sviska’s cape. He had been silent since ascending the stairwell of the keep, sneaking past numerous men patrolling the halls. The highest level had proved the least guarded, but getting past the last two men without them seeing him was impossible.
Sviska would take only a few seconds, emerging from the shadows moving under bleak torchlight, to be within range. The hour was late and the guards were tired. Within only a few strides from his targets, he went from a sneaking pace to a sprint before leaping into the larger one, driving his dagger into his neck. Turning to the second man, he was surprised when he dropped his spear and cowered, putting his hands out in a motion begging for mercy. A poor guard for his charge in the keep. Sviska slashed his neck causing a bubbling red stream to run down the collapsing body. He glanced back down the hall as he caught and laid the man next to the first one. His killings had not gotten the attention of anyone else in the keep. He glanced at an image on the door before passing into the room, leaving their bodies outside. He would not tarry.
Through an open window across the room, he could hear the dogs barking and their frantic but pointless search.
One of the other bodies must have been found.
He was not surprised given he had to take the main road in and the city was already on high alert due to their rebellious state. He was sent to curb the lord of Tar Mena’s obedience to his masters. The lord had ignored other attempts at peace, and a lesson tonight would teach him to behave appropriately.
Sviska tiptoed forward. His boots made little noise as he passed across the darkened room. An image of a tree and two stars, as well as mention of a medallion worn by his target, accompanied the message that had ordered him from the desert of the south to this far northern wooded town. Upon the door of this very room, he saw the identical image.
A sleeping form awaited their death.
Stepping around a rocking chair and then onto a rug that ran before the canopied bed, he could see in the gleam of the moon a sheen metal upon the chest of the person. In the blankets, the person moved and something fell out of the bed, rolling into Sviska’s path. He stepped on it, looked down, and found a doll wearing a blue dress under his dark boots.
What is this?
He moved his hand from the hilt of his dagger and reached down to pick up the doll. Its stringy hair was caked with blood from the underside of his boot. The guard near the front gates had required additional silencing, and Sviska’s foot had worked well to quiet him.
He dropped the doll and then leaned over the bed. He had expected a woman or a man, but instead, wrapped in blankets and slightly snoring, he found a little girl sleeping. Her arm was above her head, and her hair fell down her face in braided strands.
Why a child? This cannot be.
However, the child was marked with the medallion as his task stated she would be. His masters would not take failure lightly. The Keepers, the assassins of the Order of men, were not allowed to choose to accept or not. They were to simply comply with the wishes of the Order.
His hand gripped his dagger, but his heart thudded and he shivered with chills. He could not draw blood from a child. What crime would a child be guilty of? He had no choice.
It was a moment later when the heavy thud of metal boots preceded the door to the room slamming open. A form appeared, holding a torch and a large hammer. It was a large man, taller than Sviska, and swift, much swifter than the veiled assassin expected.
Sviska went for his sword, sidestepping the arching blow from the hammer, which cracked into the floor just near the bed of the child. He tripped over the rocking chair and rolled toward the wall.
The man shouted out, “Guards! To the room of my daughter! I have found him!”
The child began screaming in a deafening pitch. The figure swung the war hammer again as Sviska made it back to his feet. The iron-spiked head of the hammer just missed him. He ran near the window edge, but the blow of the hammer came again, striking his sheath against the wall and forcing him around to face the man. Multiple guards entered the room, and Sviska felt behind him at the open air of the outside. He glanced down but saw nothing but the ground. He attempted again to draw his sword, but he could not. He gripped his dagger.
“I will help you out of my daughter’s room!” the man yelled before charging him.
He stepped forward, attempting to spin around his attacker, but found himself with the wooden handle of the war hammer against his neck and jaw. The back of his legs were against the bricks of the window. He struggled to push back, but the man had him. With a shout, the angered father of his victim pushed once more, forcing him over the ledge.
Sviska closed his eyes, feeling the wind around his body, awaiting his end that he deserved for his many tasks. He had become tired of his own deeds. The Order had become senseless in their targets, and now, after this one, he welcomed death. But that was not his fate.

J.T. Williams

Featured Book: Winemaker of the North

Thank you for the opportunity to give you a bit more info about myself. I’ve been crazy busy lately so it’s nice to just answer a few questions!

Welcome, we are so glad to have you under the *H*O*T* Spotlight today!
How long have you been a writer and how did you come to writing? I have been a writer since around 3rd grade. I never cared for the “school required” state testing writing prompts and frequently got in trouble for not writing the assigned work my English teachers would give me. By middle school, I had learned I had to actually do what I was told but I started writing my own fantasy stories around this time.

How did you come up with this storyline?
Oddly enough, it was something I began writing out of a mix of love for fast paced sword and sorcery fantasy and history of religious persecutions of Nordic, Germanic, and otherwise “pagan” religions around the time of the Holy Roman Empire. In my book, peoples of magic (i.e. elves, dwarves, fairies) have been brought to near extinction by the empirical Grand Protectorate of Men. This story follows a man that learns that literally his entire life has been a lie and he is tied into the future of magic in the world by fate.

What are the best and the worst aspects of writing?
The best is the free flow of ideas as the story isn’t a chore to write but literally a movie that I record what happens. I have an idea and know a few characters and they show me the story. The worst aspect is fact-checking and assuring books over a series stay consistent. As I am now writing the eight book in this world, I have a TON of history. It can be harrowing at times to keep all the events, gods, myths, etc. straight in my mind! I have a lot of notes!

What inspires you to write?
The desire to journey to worlds beyond my own and to create characters that people can relate to, cheer for, and hate… sometimes all at the same time.

How did you conduct your research for Winemaker of the North?
I studied winemaking, for one. The actual process and a way to twist it a bit for the “magical” properties I needed. I also looked up supposed alchemical devices and ingredients just to find a bit of inspiration. I already possessed a working knowledge of the historical events that this book is inspired from but I did a lot of background work that was just for me as I formed my own pantheon of gods, goddesses, and holy places for my stories.

Favorites from Winemaker of the North?
The interactions between two of my characters are some of my favorite parts of Winemaker of the North. Sviska, the main character, is an assassin that literally has never had a family and Brethor, the Lord of the city in the book, has lost all of his family due to a curse. They become very close throughout the book which makes the ending of the book that much more difficult. No spoilers here, though.

What would your friends say is your best quality?
My loyalty. I have a small circle of those I would call my friends and for them, I would do almost anything.

Are reader reviews important to you?
Reviews are important to me because I like for other readers to know what, as a reader, the person liked about the story. I take the bad with the good, though. Not everyone loves everything but I do hope that people enjoy what I write. The reader is the most important person for my story. I want to entertain them!

What do you do when you don’t write?
I have five kids so I stay really busy! Aside from that, I work as a Paramedic for a fairly busy 911 service. So you can use your imagination for that one! I also enjoy sword fighting (I used to fence and was quite good when I was doing it all the time), hiking, and archery.

Tell us about your other books?
The other books in this series follow and fairly complex and epic storyline following personal duels and revelations as well as massive battles, explosive magic, and a final fight
for the fate of the realms.

My other books are set in this same world but at a time before the events of Winemaker of the North. Half-Elf Chronicles is about a half-elf named Kealin who while unlocking a long hidden power of his non-elf side literally ends up facing the god of death who has a personal vendetta against him. This is an ongoing six book series. Many of the characters in these books are also in my other books.

If you could share one thing about yourself that you would like readers to know what would it be?
I try to add a touch of realism to everything I write. Emotion is an important part of my books and if I can make you happy, excited, nervous, or down right angry with my stories, I feel like I’ve done my job as an author.

Thank you for taking the time to read through these many questions. I hope you enjoy my books and I look forward to talking with you. Hit me up via email or even Facebook messenger!

We are so very happy to have had this chance to get to know you! Good Luck with Dark Legends!

J.T. Williams is the author of the Saints of Wura trilogy and the Half-Elf Chronicles. When he isn’t writing, he wages war in his backyard with his children having make-believe battles against the orcs invading from next door. He is married and has five little orc slayers.

As a longtime lover of fantasy and the surreal, he hopes you enjoy his contributions to the world of fantasy and magic.

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