“People rarely see the magic that is right in front of their eyes.”
Hector Valerious is the shrewdest, best dressed, most powerful sorcerer in Orilon – or that’s what he likes to think. If you’ve never heard of him, you’re not the first. He is obsessed with solving the mystery behind immortality, but when he travels to the castle of Pax Thivio to steal an ancient artifact, he meets a rebellious woman who challenges his obsession with something he may want more.
Lady Hadria thinks life is a fairy tale, but there are no chivalrous knights in Pax Thivio, only scheming politicians. So when a mysterious sorcerer breaks into the castle, she jumps at the chance to defeat this villainous fiend, only to discover that he is more chivalrous than the knights themselves.
When Hadria fails to stop Valerious, he almost escapes before both of them are caught. Hadria is betrothed to a misogynistic knight and Valerious is sent to the gallows. Only by abandoning their past beliefs and agreeing to work together shall they have a chance of escaping the castle.
“Many men have lived and died having made no impact upon this world. I am not one of those men. I will not fade from existence. I will live forever in legend.”
My Novel
Valerious is a three-part fantasy novel series incorporating mystery, romance, adventure, politics, and no light helping of humour. It follows Valerious and Hadria as they work together to find immortality through uncovering the pieces of a long-forgotten card game, Memento Mori.
Little do they know the evil they could accidentally unleash.
Along the way, their worldviews are put into question as they contend with the feelings they have gained for each other. Hadria believes Valerious could be a good man, of only someone were to show him love. But Valerious fears love. It would be an obstacle in his quest for immortality.
But before he chooses either love or immortality, the consequences of his actions catch up to him, and the decision is made for him.
Along the way, Valerious and Hadria are joined by Willibald Finnagund, an old pumpkin farmer who loves nothing more than extensive family relations and his Great Grandma Thumplewumpet’s twice-baked triple-layer pumper-spice upside-down cake. They are also joined by Tahlnar Frostbeard, a one-legged centuries-old dwarf who doesn’t quite understand the world outside the forest. Willibald and Tahlnar wander about, getting into mischief and stumbling into trouble. They help Valerious and Hadria get out of trouble, though they are usually the cause of it.
“Death is the greatest injustice of all. Never will someone claim I brought it upon such a fair soul, especially one as enchanting as your own.”
Sample Scenes
To Catch a Phantom
In this scene from book one, the two main characters meet for the first time. Hadria stealthily follows Valerious through the halls of the tower of Pax Thivio, thinking that he is a thief and that she should confront him. However, when she is finally ready to draw her sword and catch him in the act, things go horribly wrong. Just as she thinks she is about to die, she discovers he is not the criminal she thinks he is.
Escape the Mob
In this scene from book two, Hadria escapes an angry mob. She believes they are outraged by the bag of flour she “stole,” when in fact, Valerious’s unorthodox mischief is to blame.