Taha’Leeth, elven ranger and former slave of the Cyphan Confederacy.

Eli, the elven ranger going into battle.

The third installment of the award-winning Chronicles of an Imperial Legionary Officer series is here!

A nobleman from an infamous family, imperial legionary officer, fighter and a right proper bastard of a man…Captain Ben Stiger has successfully thwarted the attack from an army of the Cyphan Confederacy. Now Stiger, his men, and his new dwarven allies have fallen back behind the great walls of Castle Vrell. Stiger finds himself named Legate of the Vanished, the long lost 13th Legion. This title and his own word binds him to the terms of the Compact, an ancient and mystical alliance formed nearly two thousand years before. The snows have come and the mountain summit into Vrell is impassable. On one side of the pass sits an army of the Cyphan Confederacy some twenty thousand strong. On the other sits Stiger, his company, the remnants of the 13th Legion and a dwarven army. Each side is waiting for the spring thaw.

Abandoned and cut off from friendly lines, Stiger takes the fight to the enemy! A nobleman from an infamous family, imperial legionary officer, fighter, and a right proper bastard of a man…Captain Ben Stiger captured Castle Vrell and rid it of a minion of a dark god. Now he finds himself cut off from the empire with a hostile rebel army marching on the legion’s fortress where they guard the entrance to the Vrell Valley. It is not in Stiger’s nature to simply wait for the enemy. Badly outnumbered and facing odds greater than twenty to one, he sets out to impede the enemy’s advance and show them the steel that the legions are made of. To help him on his way he has the services of his friend, Eli one of the last remaining elven rangers. As if matters could not get worse, an army of dwarves is preparing to retake Castle Vrell, a sacred place they name Grata’Kor.

There are forces at play greater than Stiger can imagine. To survive, he must not only contend with a well-supported rebel army, but a hostile dwarven nation intent on fulfilling a mysterious prophecy that has the potential to shatter the world and bring ruin to the empire.

Writing is hard work. Leading up to publication it is exhausting work… especially if it is your hobby, you have a deadline and you have a full time job and a family with three little girls all demanding the attention they rightly deserve. It means that after everyone gets put to bed and read to… (Harry Potter for the oldest and Goodnight Moon to the youngest) daddy goes back to work, putting in four to six hours of work. Then you wake up… walk them to the bus stop… go to work… rinse and repeat.

I saw JJ Abrams recently interviewed on Star Wars. He was asked what he would be doing when Star Wars premiers. His answer, “sleeping.” I would normally have considered that a joke… but after having put so much time and effort into writing… publishing two books in less than a year… I got it! He was mostly serious. Of course… if you have a passion for something and want to make it good… it requires hard work and that is exhausting. Translation… hard work = success.

For me… I love writing. It is my passion and with a little effort and some work… perhaps it will become my full time occupation. I am currently working on three books… scratch that… two books. The Tiger is officially out of my hands… this week heading off to be formatted for Ebook and Print. Yes!!!
Last night… was the first time in a good long while I had to myself. I logged into Armored Warfare and played a handful of games with a few friends before climbing into bed at 10… fully 4 hours early. I actually woke up this morning requiring less coffee. ?

Well… if I want to be successful at this thing called writing… I guess I had best get back to it! My goal is to deliver Book 3: The Tiger’s Curse Fall 2016… along with two other unrelated books!
Oh… and make sure you sign up for my newsletter on my website… I am considering releasing a few shorts… covering some of Stiger and Eli’s earlier adventures prior to release of book 3.

Best regards,
Marc Alan Edelheit