SILVER MEDAL in the Fiction/SciFi & Fantasy Category in the 2017 Florida Authors and Publishers Association Presidents Book Awards. The Wisdom and Valor Treasury is a collection of epic fantasy and romance stories set in medieval-like world. Generations have passed since the flourishing of the Kingdom of Kimbria under its first Golden Age, when King Ansgar and then his daughter Queen Keridwen I ruled with integrity, justice, and benevolence. Corruption is now rampant in all levels of society and the common people suffer ...
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SILVER MEDAL in the Fiction/SciFi & Fantasy Category in the 2017 Florida Authors and Publishers Association Presidents Book Awards. The Wisdom and Valor Treasury is a collection of epic fantasy and romance stories set in medieval-like world. Generations have passed since the flourishing of the Kingdom of Kimbria under its first Golden Age, when King Ansgar and then his daughter Queen Keridwen I ruled with integrity, justice, and benevolence. Corruption is now rampant in all levels of society and the common people suffer under poor governance while the Royal Council keeps the throne empty so it may continue as Regent and its members may line their own pockets with bribes and the diversion of tax monies from the Royal Treasury for their personal use. Finally, the people cry out for a new monarch. The Council elects the Lady Keridwen, the young Duchess of Ansgar, as Queen and orders her to marry a fearsome mercenary warlord. Known as Leofric Longsword after the unique, curved Helvellyn sword that he wields with the skill of master, he fetches Keridwen from the remote convent where she's lived for 20 years since she was orphaned as a toddler, but he takes her to his distant castle instead, not to the Palace so she can take the throne. The Royal Council, and in particular its "evil genius" Lord Gethin, has no intention that she will ever rule. When Leofric falls in love with the young duchess, he must choose between his loyalty to his mercenary contract and his love for his wife. What ensues is a heroic struggle against greed, evil, and conspiracy, with the lives and freedom of the Kimbrian people hanging in the balance. There is a wide variety of secondary characters as well, the most prominent of whom is Leofric's trusted lieutenant, Lord Wulfgar, the skilled and able general who will be a key in the battle against the forces of the Palace Guards. There is also a strong blending of romance from start to finish in the love stories of Leofric and Keridwen, Wulfgar and a widow named Goddy, and other characters. This omnibus edition includes not only the novel "Of Wisdom and Valor: The Art of War. The Path of Peace." (Part II of The Windflower Saga trilogy) but also three related novellas: "Bind Not the Heart," "Leofric of Longridge," and the first part of "Swords of Ansgar." "Bind Not the Heart" unveils more of the history of Leofric's and Keridwen's families, including the love story of Keridwen's parents. It also tells more of the life of Sister Ermentrude, Keridwen's godmother and cousin, who raises Keridwen from the age of two, after her parents are murdered. "Leofric of Longridge" is a Young Adult cross-over which takes place when Leofric is a fourteen-year-old orphan being raised by the monks of Longridge Monastery. It describes the tragic event that changed the course of his life and his first meeting with Wulfgar. Even a fearsome warlord was once a youth of fourteen with anything but war on his mind. The first part of "Swords of Ansgar" is about Leofric's and Keridwen's granddaughter, named Keridwen Rose of Ansgar, and her fascination with the Helvellyn sword. It also gives a glimpse of Lady Keridwen in her later years.
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