Medieval Fantasy

Barwell Hollings presents seven fantasy short stories in a variety of settings and genres. Each story contains compelling characters, humor and unexpected plot twists. Meet a space-traveling cat and a very complicated dragon. Have you ever wondered what you would do if you could predict stock prices? What are they really hiding at Area 51? What do hackers have to do with addictive video games?What do certain aliens eat for lunch? Finally, have you ever wanted to interview a zombie? Find the answers of these questions in Twisted Fantasy Stories.

Freed by Love is a short romantic suspense novella set in a medieval-like fantasy world. Lady Violet of Ramey is a member of the lesser nobility and has been married three times to successively higher-ranking noblemen. All three marriages ended in her widowhood, but the last may end her freedom. Fleeing her husband's castle the same night someone murders him, Violet is assumed guilty by many based on circumstantial evidence. She must stand trial. If she is returned to Ravensworth Castle, the verdict is decided before she ever sees a judge. Her family is able to arrange her trial in their ...

Scotland, 1026 - Gruoch, descendant of the line of MacAlpin, should have been born into a life of ease. But fate is fickle. Her father's untimely death, rumored to have been plotted by King Malcolm, leaves her future uncertain and stained by the prophecy that she will avenge her family line. Escaping to one of the last strongholds of the old Celtic gods, Gruoch becomes an adept in arcane craft. Her encounters with the otherworld, however, suggest that magic runs stronger in Scotland than she ever imagined.

the end of The Winter King Arthur fought the battle that forces unity on the warring British kingdoms and now he sets out to face the real enemy—the English (it is one of the great ironies of the Arthur stories that he should have become an English hero when, if he existed at all, he was a great war-leader who opposed the invading Sais). First, though, Merlin leads a perilous expedition into the mysterious west to retrieve a cauldron, one of the treasures of Britain.

Facing the grim prospect of a forced marriage to a feckless minion of King Stephen's, Rosalynde, the defiant youngest daughter of Morwen Pendragon takes matters into her own hands. With the help of her mother's spell book and a stolen wimple, she disguises herself as a plain, matronly nun and flees her loveless fate. Giles de Vere, lord of Warkworth, is facing his own arranged marriage - to Rose's sister, the reclusive Seren, reputed to be the loveliest woman in all of Wales. But destiny has its own wayward plans.

Love in Two Acts is an inspirational romantic fantasy novella set in a medieval-like world. Marigold is 22 years old and has been the companion and sometimes protector of her 18-year-old cousin, Princess Rozabela, since they were children. When Rozabela's carriage cortege is attacked on its way to a neighboring kingdom for her royal wedding, Marigold takes charge and takes on the role. She pretends to be her cousin and becomes the captive bride of a son of the king of a rival kingdom, even though her life may be forfeit if they learn that she isn't the princess. Past feuds and present ...

If he succeeds, he will be named a hero. If he fails, his kingdom, and everyone in it, will crumble to dust. Young Lord Oleron MacDonald has been given a mission. The mysterious wizard, Rune, has cursed him, forcing him to leap forward through time in a desperate search for a great treasure Oleron has coveted and killed for: the treasure that Beowulf himself wrested from the dragon. But while Oleron sees only the chance to return home in wealth and glory, his courage and his heart will be tested by the devastating trials of the London fire of 1666, the sinking of the Titanic, the bombing of...

The long awaited prequel to The Varsian Kingdom Series! In a timeless age and a once perfect world, corruption has decimated the lands of Varsia. The higher races have abandoned the mortals and left them at the cruel mercy of Azrael, a fallen varsa from the original creation. When a young man is conceived with a dark omen upon his birth, Azrael thinks him to be the prophesied one to fulfill the unholy Dusk Holder's Prophecies. Instead, this boy proves to be the most formidable enemy the dark varsa has ever met. With the wisdom of the naiads, the strength of the dragons, and the courage of ...

He will not stop until he claims her as his own. Kendra Roundtree's healing skills are known far and wide. So is her unusual beauty. When Grayson Hendrick comes across her during a raid, he is taken with the spirited beauty immediately. The Viking Warrior is used to getting what he wants, and is perplexed when the stubborn Saxon woman rejects his overtures. Grayson has a ship and a crew of ferocious warriors at his disposal. He uses them to track down the woman over the course of a long year. But when he finds her, will it be he who loses his head and his heart? Wanted By The Viking was ...

Angel Book 5, Culture Shock, begins with Angel and Duke Bryan Pendle arriving at the Court of King Edward. There she meets one of Pope Alexander II's Cardinals, Giuseppe Folonari whose attitude convinces her that she needs to go to Rome to meet the Pope, Alexander II. Archbishop Halford decides to accompany her, along with the Cardinal. To avoid a lengthy sea and land journey Angel takes the two men back to her time. The two are astounded and deeply affected by seeing St Peter's Square in Rome. Transitioning to the Rome of 1062 Angel and her two companions are accosted by Count Gregory II ...

A gritty mechanic binds her fate to three monstrous protectors in a world bent on breaking them. Freya Locke teeters on the edge of ruin. A grease-stained survivor in a crumbling Ohio town, she’s one eviction notice from collapse. Minotaur Metals offers a lifeline, but the job comes with three towering minotaurs. Ror, Jett, and Silas are raw power and primal allure, demanding her body and loyalty in a dangerous bargain. Their scrapyard is a sanctuary under siege. Vinny, a ruthless mobster, wants their land and will crush anyone in his path. Freya’s wrench turns spark a fierce connection...

In the realm of Eldoria, where magic courses through ancient forests and craggy mountains, a legendary artifact lies shattered - the Ancient Crystal of Eldoria. This relic, capable of uniting or shattering the realms themselves, has been missing for centuries. But now, its fragments stir once more, setting into motion a chain of events that could reshape the very fabric of existence. Eldric the Silent Blade, a brooding warrior haunted by a tragic past, discovers the first shard embedded in his mysterious sword - a blade that traps the memories of its victims. This grim finding marks him as ...

“My husband was so excited about this book that I also read it.” – Linda Olinger, Amazon Reviewer GOLD MEDAL AWARD WINNER! - 2023 Fantasy Magic - Readers' Favorite Deaths plague the ancient city of Valtera. And the city has vanished without a trace. At least that is what outsiders believe. But an unspeakable event and a curse dating back a century still haunts Valtera and its people. A curse such as this has not been encountered before, and the dwindling population of the city has grown desperate. Now the people of Valtera are being killed. Similar victims were mentioned in ...

It is three centuries after the Shaper Wars, a conflict involving magic so powerful that it altered all of humanity. That magical legacy remains in the form of a handful of young women every generation – so feared that they are cursed and locked away from childhood. But fate promises that their ability will again change the world, for good or ill. As prophecies of a great doom converge, and an ancient race that desires the destruction of all human life arises, those in power attempt to control the legacy of the Daughters of Vae.

She’ll be crowned queen—if she lives that long. With her coronation fast approaching, Shael fears the debilitating effects of poisoning resulting from her stint in the dragons’ birthing grounds will make her unfit to rule. But this becomes the least of her worries when her brother Iysel turns up claiming he’s the true King of Hylletha as well as heir to Dragonia. Shael is determined to protect the realms from the merciless mage, but the documents that challenge Iysel’s right to the thrones have disappeared. Protecting the realms isn’t the only reason for finding the missing ...

Set in the medieval-like fantasy world of Penruddock, Fiona, The Navigator's Daughter is a romantic historical fantasy novella. It is also included in the romance collection The Daughters of Penruddock. Sixteen-year-old Fiona and her mother Anwen meet a little girl at a convent hospital. The little girl is named Alfreda and she's the daughter of an earl who is off at a war. She has also recently lost her mother and is torn by grief. Fiona cheers her up with puppets and they become good friends. Later, Fiona meets Alfreda's nineteen-year-old brother, Adrian, a knight who was also at the war ...

Love in Season is a romantic fantasy novella set in the medieval-like kingdom of Penruddock. It is also included in The Flowers of Penruddock: A Romance Collection which was a Silver Medalist in the 2018 FAPA (Florida Authors and Publishers Association) President's Book Awards in the Romance Fiction category. Eighteen-year-old Lady Poppy Alexandra has fled an arranged marriage to a wealthy but elderly and very cruel duke. She ends up far away in Blencathra with only her precious stallion and a few coins in her pocket and is placed under the care of the widowed mother of the 28-year-old earl...

The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.

In the Inner Lands, there are three ways sixteen-year-old Shael can get herself and her family killed—by looking like the enemy; by working with the enemy; by becoming the enemy. When sixteen-year-old Shael unknowingly helps a mortally wounded thief, he entrusts her with delivering three figurines to the lord of her castle. Too late, Shael discovers that the figurines were stolen from the Hyllethans, her country’s feared enemies. And since she cut her fingers on the figurines while handling them, she is now linked to them. Any breakage or pressure on the clay is felt on her flesh. ...

A mercenary captain and his legendary swordsmen battle an unstoppable enemy! Gustav von Altenburg and his elite mercenaries, the Greatswords, are called to defend a town in the shadow of the Harz Mountains. But upon arrival they find the town ravaged by disease and fear, with neighboring villages crumbling under relentless bandit raids launched from a nearby ruined castle. But a greater threat looms. A ruthless army of Landsknecht mercenaries is sweeping through the region, looting and burning everything in their path—and now they march toward the town. Gustav must rally every man able to...