Join the Crown's first female Sorcerer as Mallara patrols the Five Valleys on the lookout for magical mayhem. Accompanied by her faithful (but bodiless) assistant Burn, Mallara is charged with keeping the folk the Valleys safe from arcane threats old and new -- but is a lone Sorceress sufficient to keep the peace? "On the Road" features four Mallara and Burn stories. "The Ringed Round" finds Mallara and Burn face to face with an ancient specter imprisoned for millennia in a ring of stones -- stones which plot to add Mallara to their doomed menagerie. "Night Stand" brings Mallara and Burn to a haunted ruin in need of a magical Cleansing. But as Mallara and Burn soon discover, this is no ordinary haunting. Mallara's only hope is to keep the vengeful wraith at bay until sunrise -- but the wraith is determined to claim Mallara's life before the night ends. "The Asking and the Vow" begins with news of a Troll making a rare visit to a sleepy town square. Will the story end with Mallara failing to deliver on a Vow made hundreds of years before she was born? "The Helpers" finds Mallara and Burn pitted against an army of overly-helpful goblins, who may have more than just sweeping up on their minds! ("Night Stand" was originally published in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Fantasy Magazine. "The Ringed Round," "The Asking and the Vow," and "The Helpers" were all previously published in Spaceways Weekly.) Join Mallara and Burn as they take on the task of patrolling the Five Valleys, and discover magic and mayhem with every turn of the road!

Ask not for whom the wedding bells toll…The Markhat Files, Book 6There’s no way Markhat can turn away his newest client. Who is he to refuse the woman he loves—especially when she bribes him with breakfast?
This time it’s Darla’s friend Tamar Fields, whose fiancé vanished days before the wedding. His wealthy family insists Carris Lethway is simply away on urgent business. Tamar smells a lie, and she needs Rannit’s most famous finder to figure out if the source of the suspicious aroma is a conspiracy, or the groom’s cold, sweaty feet.As if his plate isn’t piled high enough, Mama Hog’s slip of the tongue has landed him in the middle of a good old-fashioned Pot Lockery clan feud. Plus, Rannit’s streets are abuzz with rumors of war—and Tamar’s case has his own lady love hearing wedding bells of her own.As Rannit arms for battle, Markhat finds himself torn between old alliances and new commitments, and a growing, awful fear that no matter which way he turns, all he loves is about to go up in flames.Warning: This work of fiction is known to contain dangerous vowels and at least two instances of provocative folk dancing. Readers should be prepared to produce fresh emus for inspection at any time while reading pages 78 or 134. Neither the Publisher nor the Author condones the formation of covalent hydrogen bonds, although the Author does wink at them when his attorney isn't looking.

Review

“It’s no secret that Frank Tuttle is one of my favorite finds since discovering e-books.”—Book Utopia Mom on Hold the Dark“This short story is too much fun for words. The Mister Trophy is an excellent fun romp. Sign me up for the Markhat love boat at once. Where's my T-shirt?”—Mrs. Giggles“…combines the best of the gothic and noir genres.”—Paranormal Romance Reviews on Dead Man’s Rain

Book Description

Runaway grooms and fretful brides are nothing new to world-weary private eye Markhat. But Carris Lethway is no ordinary groom—the deeper Markhat digs, the more mayhem he unearths. Time is running out, both for Lethway and the sprawling, brawling city of Rannit itself. An army backed by three powerful sorcerers is marching toward Rannit’s battered city walls. Somehow Markhat must find his missing groom, unravel the deadly secret that might stave off the threat of war, and learn who’s put a price on his head. All in time for the wedding.