
IMAGINATIVE HIGH FANTASY A brilliant Americana flintlock fantasy novel set in a world of Appalachian magic that works Sarah Calhoun is the fifteen-year-old daughter of the Elector Andrew Calhoun one of Appalachee’s military heroes & one of the electors who gets to decide who will next ascend as the Emperor of the New World None of that matters to Sarah She has a natural talent for hexing & one bad eye & all she wants is to be left alone—especially by outsiders But Sarah’s world gets turned on its head at the Nashville Tobacco Fair when a Yankee wizard-priest tries to kidnap her Sarah fights back with the aid of a mysterious monk named Thalanes who is one of the not-quite-human Firstborn the Moundbuilders of the Ohio It is Thalanes who reveals to Sarah a secret heritage she never dreamed could be hers Now on a desperate quest with Thalanes to claim this heritage she is hunted by the Emperor’s bodyguard of elite dragoons as well as by darker things—shapeshifting Mockers & undead Lazars & behind them a power more sinister still If Sarah cannot claim her heritage it may mean the end to her her family—and to the world where she is just beginning to find her place About the Author DJ (“ Dave”) Butler grew up in swamps deserts & mountains After messing around for years with the practice of law he finally got serious & turned to his lifelong passion of storytelling He now writes adventure stories for readers of all ages plays guitar & spends as much time as he can with his family He is the author of City of the Saints Rock Band Fights Evil Space Eldritch & Crecheling from Wordfire Press & Witchy Eye from Baen Books