Showing results by author "Kim Fielding" in All Categories

A drifter since his teens, Jimmy Dorsett has no home and no hope. What he does have is a duffel bag, a lot of stories, and a junker car. Then one cold desert night, he picks up a hitchhiker and ends up with something more: a letter from a dying man to the son he hasn't seen in years.

Prosperity comes at a price. In Praesidium, that price is freedom. Strict laws and a harsh penal code ensure ordinary criminals become bond-slaves. But the most serious traitors are turned over to the wizard to be suspended in a dreamless frozen state known as Stasis. Miner is one such criminal, suspended forever—until Ennek, the youngest son of Praesidium’s Chief, stirred by the horror of Miner’s fate, sets him free. Ennek has always skirted the edge of the law.

Brute leads a lonely life in a world where magic is commonplace. He is seven and a half feet of ugly, and of disreputable descent. No one, including Brute, expects him to be more than a laborer. But heroes come in all shapes and sizes, and when he is maimed while rescuing a prince, Brute's life changes abruptly. He is summoned to serve at the palace in Tellomer as a guard for a single prisoner. It sounds easy but turns out to be the challenge of his life.

Morli is a prince on a mission - but he’d rather be baking. Baxter is a lonely production artist stuck in a pandemic lockdown. They are literally universes apart. But with a little help from a magic shop, a raven, and a dead great-aunt who was possibly a witch, Morli and Baxter are joined together on a cross-worlds adventure. Battling killer brambles in order to rescue an enchanted princess seems simple compared to their real challenges: Discovering their strengths and creating a future together.

This collection contains the first three Bureau novellas: Corruption, Clay White, and Creature.

Crow Rapp assumes he’ll spend his life growing corn in rural Illinois, like the grandparents who raised him. But during a visit to a traveling carnival, he encounters a handsome stranger named Simeon Bell—and receives a prophecy of a horrifying future. When that future materializes soon afterward, Crow flees...only to find that no matter how far he goes, fate pursues him.

Private detective Nick Bozic works the mean streets of 1950s Portland, Oregon, shadowing unfaithful spouses and nabbing thieving employees. He may be lonely, but at least he’s not crooked. Despite the festive season, Christmas simply means less dough in his pocket. With the holiday only a few days away, a regular client drops a new case on him: Yet another being has come through the Rift and needs help finding his way home. Maybe Evindal the elf will help Nick find something, too - a bit of cheer and magic amid the usual brew of corruption and betrayal.

Skinny, quiet hipster Dylan Warner was the kind of guy other men barely glanced at until an evening's indiscretion with a handsome stranger turned him into a werewolf. Now, despite a slightly hairy handicap, he just wants to live an ordinary - if lonely - life as an architect. He tries to keep his wild impulses in check, but after one too many close calls, Dylan gives up his urban life and moves to the country, where he will be less likely to harm someone else.

A brutal war left Volos Perun with physical and emotional scars and with a reputation as a hero. Now he's a soldier stationed at the palace, desiring Prince Berhanu while receiving only loathing in return. But when Berhanu foolishly refuses the king's request to let Volos accompany him on a peace mission to the neighboring country, Berhanu is kidnapped and brutalized. Now Volos must risk his life as he works to save Berhanu and help his country avoid another devastating war.

Jaxon Powers has what most only dream of. Fame. Fortune. Gold records and Grammy awards. He’s adored all over the world - even in the remote, repressive country of Vasnytsia, where the tyrannical dictator is a big fan. The State Department hopes a performance might improve US relations with a dangerous enemy. But it means Jaxon’s going in alone...with one exception.

This collection contains the seventh and eighth Bureau stories: Caroled and Camouflaged. Caroled: Charles Grimes hasn’t celebrated Christmas in years, so spending December in San Francisco while keeping an eye out for monsters sounds like an easy way to earn a few bucks. He should have learned by now that nothing is ever easy. Camouflaged: Ever since Ralph Crespo was trapped in human form, he’s been going through the motions at a job he once loved. Maybe that’s why the Bureau chief seems to have demoted him to messenger.

As the son of a wealthy man, Enitan Javed has spent his life frivolously - drinking, fighting, and making love. But after his father dies, Enitan is unjustly accused of murdering him and is given the harshest sentence possible. Judged irredeemable, he is banished to the Downs. As even young children know, nothing lives in the Downs except demons who delight in torturing the condemned. Brutalized by the men who transport him to his fate, Enitan has nothing left but his thirst for vengeance.

William Lyon's past forced him to become someone he isn't. Conflicted and unable to maintain the charade, he separates from his wife and takes a job as caretaker at a former mental hospital. Jelley's Valley State Insane Asylum was the largest mental hospital in California for well over a century, but it now stands empty. William thinks the decrepit institution is the perfect place to finish his dissertation and wait for his divorce to become final. In town, William meets Colby Anderson, who minds the local store and post office.

Teddy Spenser spends his days selling design ideas to higher-ups, living or dying on each new pitch. Stodgy engineer types like Romeo Blue, his nemesis - if you can call someone who barely talks to you a nemesis - are a necessary evil. A cute necessary evil.

Praesidium is the most prosperous city-state in the world, due not only to its location at the mouth of a great bay but also to its strict laws, stringently enforced. Ordinary criminals become bond-slaves, but the worst punishment—to be suspended in a dreamless frozen state known as Stasis—is doled out by the wizard and reserved for only the most serious of traitors.

Aside from a sympathetic parole officer, Aiden Finn is alone in the world. He knows this is his last chance - after a lifetime in and out of prison, one more mistake will land him there to stay. Unfortunately, his job as a night custodian at a motel is neither satisfying nor good for building his confidence, and booze and burglary are always just a step behind him. Enter beautiful, exotic, and secretive Luka Gabor, the motel's new security guard.

Born into poverty and orphaned young, Daveth Blyd had one chance for success when his fighting prowess earned him a place in the Tangye city guard - a place he lost to false accusations of theft. Now he scrapes out a living searching for wayward spouses and missing children. When a nobleman offers him a small fortune to find an entertainer who’s stolen a ring, Daveth takes the case.

World War I veteran Thomas Donne is new to San Francisco. Always a stoic man, shell shock and a lost love have nearly turned his heart to stone. No matter - a private eye has no room for softness. Almost broke, he takes on what appears to be a simple case: finding a missing young man. As a magician and medium, Abraham Ferencz cons his audiences into believing he can cheat death and commune with their dearly departed. Although his séances are staged, the spirits are very real, and they’ve brought him almost more pain than he can bear.

This collection contains the fourth and fifth Bureau novellas, Chained and Convicted.

When Nicky Hauser walks in on his restaurant-owner boyfriend having sex with a waiter, Nicky loses his lover, his job, and his home all in one night. Although he’s nearly thirty, he’s never settled on a true career, and he has nothing to show for his years with Tom. Depressed and unable to find work, Nicky ends up couch-surfing with friends until he lands a house-sitting gig for a wealthy family.When Nicky’s clients discover that he loves to clean, demand for his services skyrockets.