‘The Panther’ published by Immanion Press.
This is an epic fantasy set in the lost kingdoms of Avalaam, hidden among the rooftops of the world. Ancient beliefs and barriers are breaking down as Doran, the young magician king of the Malluzari, known as “The Panther”, cuts a swathe of devastation and terror in his quest to recreate the mythical empire of his ancestors while secretly aided by the sinister demon, Miahlu.”
It is the story of Allina, who, bought up in the desert fortress of Hscevona to consider herself as being merely a royal by-blow, is suddenly thrown into a maelstrom of intrigue and adventure when she discovers her true identity.
Fate takes her high into the blue mountains to a new world of unimagined dangers and directly into the seething hub of The Panther’s implacable battle against the arch bird-wizards of Samul.
In a tale of love, magic and betrayal, Allina encounters those who jockey to share The Panther’s power: Helia, his tragic mistress; Kelzin, the dashing Lord of Thieves; and Ihaid, dark genius of the sacred Estevani. Ultimately we discover the terrible choice that Allina has to make as she pits her unlooked-for destiny against the powers of evil.
‘The Mammoth Book of Dickensian Whodunnits’ edited by Mike Ashley.
Short story ‘The Lord No Zoo’ by Deirdre Counihan: Martin Chuzzlewit, PI, investigates a crime at the Great Exhibition in 1851.
Charles Dickens created some of the most memorable characters in English literature.
But just what became of the convict that frightened young Pip in Great Expectations?
Was he guilty, or framed? And what really did become of Edwin Drood? Was the case ever solved? Mike Ashley presents over 25 vivid new whodunnits from the world of Dickens – recorded for posterity by such writers as Michael Pearce, Amy Myers, Peter Tremayne, Alanna Knight, Kage Baker, and Edward D.
Hoch. Many of the stories feature one or more of Dickens’s characters, as a sleuth or as the victim of crime; while others are set in Dickens’s real life, with him investigating people closely associated with him, such as Wilkie Collins, Elizabeth Gaskell or Hablot Browne.
Interlinking the stories is a narrative that brings alive Dickens’s own life and part in the early development of crime sleuthing. The stories include: Miss Havisham’s Revenge by Alanna Knight, in which we discover the part Estella Havisham played in the fate of Bentley Drummle; Murder in Murray’s Court by David Stuart Davies, in which Oliver Twist has to help the Artful Dodger who has been accused of murder; The Thorn of Anxiety by Keith Miles, in which the mystery of Edwin Drood is at last solved; The Divine Nature by Kate Ellis, in which David Copperfield finds himself investigating the disappearance of Edward Murdstone; The Letter by Joan Lock, in which the skills of Inspector Bucket are once again put to the test in solving a crime that apparently never happened.
‘The Mammoth Book of Historical Crime Fiction’ edited by Mike Ashley.
Short story ‘Jettisoned’ by Deirdre Counihan: murder mystery in Bronze-Age Britain.
Our dark past brought to life by leading contemporary crime writers A new generation of crime writers has broadened the genre of crime fiction, creating more human stories of historical realism, with a stronger emphasis on character and the psychology of crime. This superb anthology of 12 novellas encompasses over 4,000 years of our dark, criminal past, from Bronze Age Britain to the eve of the Second World War, with stories set in ancient Greece, Rome, the Byzantine Empire, medieval Venice, seventh-century Ireland and 1930s’ New York. A Byzantine icon painter, suddenly out of work when icons are banned, becomes embroiled in a case of deception; Charles Babbage and the young Ada Byron try to crack a coded message and stop a master criminal; and New York detectives are on the lookout for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Deirdre Counihan, Tom Holt, Dorothy Lumley, Richard A. Lupoff, Maan Meyers, Ian Morson, Anne Perry, Tony Pollard, Mary Reed and Eric Mayer, Steven Saylor, Charles Todd, Peter Tremayne.
‘The World and the Stars’ edited by Chris Butler.
Short story ‘Dark’ by Deirdre Counihan
Available from most eBook retailers, paperback from Amazon.