A trip to Northern Norway in search of the Aurora Borealis and the ancient petroglyphs of Alta becomes the dividing line between one man's ordinary life and an existence scattered across human history. In Aurora Rift: A Man Out of Time, evolutionary anthropologist Dr. Kyle Richards is torn from the present by a violent geomagnetic phenomenon and forced to survive one civilization after another. 

What makes Thomas LeBrun's premise especially intriguing is the trail Kyle leaves behind: while he struggles through the Stone Age, Viking encounters, the Silk Road, and the Mongol world, his wife Samantha begins uncovering archaeological evidence in the present that suggests his disappearance may have left fingerprints across thousands of years.

Science Fiction

Date Published: July 18, 2026

༺ ABOUT THE BOOK ༻

 

Dr. Kyle Richards thought he was chasing wonder.

 

An Evolutionary Anthropologist, respected lecturer, martial artist, husband, and father, Kyle journeys to Northern Norway in search of the breathtaking Aurora Borealis and the ancient petroglyphs of Alta. But beneath the dancing northern lights, something impossible happens. A violent geomagnetic phenomenon tears Kyle from the modern world and hurls him across the corridors of time. 

 

What begins as scientific fascination quickly becomes a desperate fight for survival. 

 

Thrown into the Stone Age among primitive hunters, Kyle unknowingly leaves behind clues that will survive for thousands of years. He battles Viking warriors, walks beside Silk Road caravans, witnesses the rise of empires, and survives civilizations most people only read about in history books. Along the way, he encounters moments that forever alter him—including an unforgettable friendship with a young boy who will one day become Genghis Khan and a journey east with Marco Polo toward the legendary court of Kublai Khan. 

 

But every jump through time comes at a cost.

 

As Kyle struggles to survive brutal landscapes, ancient warfare, and the terrifying instability of the auroral corridor itself, the man he once was slowly begins to disappear beneath scars, grief, and centuries of memory. Meanwhile, back in present-day Pennsylvania, his wife Samantha refuses to give up hope. Alongside archaeologists and scientists searching for answers, she uncovers ancient carvings, unexplained historical anomalies, and evidence suggesting Kyle may still be alive somewhere… in another time. 

 

AURORA RIFT: A Man Out of Time is an epic blend of historical adventure, science, survival, and emotional human drama. Spanning thousands of years of civilization from Stone Age Norway to the Persian Empire of Xerxes, from Viking seas to the vast Mongol world the novel asks a haunting question:

 

If time itself opened before you… Would you ever truly find your way home again?

 

༺ WHY READ THIS BOOK ༻

 

Kyle's profession gives Aurora Rift: A Man Out of Time an unusual point of view for a time-travel story. An evolutionary anthropologist who has spent his career studying humanity is suddenly forced to live inside the eras he once approached through evidence and scholarship. His passage through time also has consequences in both directions: Kyle leaves clues in the past while Samantha and the scientists searching for him encounter those clues in the present. That archaeological thread turns his fight for survival into a mystery stretching across millennia.

 

The novel also refuses to confine Kyle to a single historical setting. Stone Age Norway, Viking warriors, Silk Road caravans, the Persian Empire, and the Mongol world all become part of a much larger ordeal, while encounters connected to Genghis Khan, Marco Polo, and Kublai Khan place him close to recognizable historical figures. The accumulating scars, grief, and memories matter just as much as the changing settings, because every jump raises a harder question than where Kyle will appear next: how much of the man who left Pennsylvania can survive long enough to return?

 

༺ WHO WILL LOVE IT ༻

Aurora Rift: A Man Out of Time is especially well suited to those who like their speculative fiction intertwined with recognizable periods of human history. The novel's shifting timeline gives historically curious readers more than one era to explore, while Kyle's scientific background adds an observer's perspective that becomes increasingly difficult for him to maintain once survival takes precedence over study.

 

The parallel search in present-day Pennsylvania should also appeal to readers who enjoy mysteries built around archaeological evidence and unexplained historical anomalies. Those interested in stories about separation, endurance, and the psychological price of survival will find another layer in Kyle's struggle to hold onto his identity and his family while centuries of experience accumulate between him and home.

 

༺ ABOUT THE AUTHOR ༻

 

Thomas LeBrun began his martial arts training in the early 1970s, inspired by Bruce Lee and Joe Frazier. He formally studied Judo, Tae Kwon Do, and Okinawan Kenpo, later expanding into Yoshitsune Ju-Jitsu under Sensei Michael DePasquale Sr. and Jr., as well as Aikido, Arnis, pressure-point applications, and boxing. His dedication earned him rank in multiple disciplines. 

 

LeBrun’s path led him to the Close Protection field, where his martial arts knowledge evolved into specialized training in defensive arts, non-traditional weapons, and personal security. He has protected high-profile clients such as Bill Gates, Elton John, and Whitney Houston, working in more than 45 countries. In 2009, he created LeBrun’s American Combatives, a modern system bridging traditional martial arts with real-world application, later authenticated by Grand Master Ron Van Clief and Shidoshi Glen Perry. 

 

A recognized authority in defensive arts, LeBrun earned his 10th dan in Hogoshin-Do in 2022 and has been honored with multiple awards, including Security Expert of the Year (2021) and induction into the Ultimate Warrior Class (2022). He is also a multi-award-winning, #1 international best-selling author of Hiding in Plain Sight and the Cameron Stone series, and was named Best Action & Thriller Author in Alabama, United States of 2025. 

 

༺ CONNECT WITH THE AUTHOR ༻

Website

TikTok

Facebook

LinkedIn

BookBuzz

༺ BUY THE BOOK ༻

Amazon

 

༺ LAST WORD ༻

 

The scale of Aurora Rift: A Man Out of Time may span thousands of years, but its central tension remains sharply personal. Kyle can survive another battle, another landscape, and another century, yet every escape carries him farther from the husband and father who first traveled to Norway. Samantha's search gives that loss a tangible form as ancient carvings and historical anomalies become possible evidence that the man she knows is still somewhere inside history.

 

That connection between the archaeological record and one family's separation is what makes the premise stand apart. Kyle is simultaneously studying history, altering it, and becoming part of it, while the people in his own time attempt to reconstruct his path from what he leaves behind. For readers intrigued by the idea of a modern scientist forced to experience humanity's past from the inside, Thomas LeBrun has built a time-travel adventure with a particularly ambitious reach.

Be the first to see cover reveals, upcoming releases, exclusive excerpts, author features, and more. Join our growing community of readers and book lovers. 

 ➡️ Join our Newsletter

A vanished scientist, a daughter unwilling to accept the official story, and an American Southwest transformed by catastrophic drought give Everything That’s Left Behind an intriguing mystery at its center. Kelly Lydick’s first novel begins with a deeply personal question—what really happened to Nichola Rodale’s father?—then sends Nichola across a desolate landscape in search of an answer that may overturn everything she believed about his death. The combination of family mystery, scientific legacy, and a drought-altered setting makes this science fiction story one to watch.

Fiction/Science Fiction

Date Published: June 28, 2026

Publisher: Sapphire Stories

When Nichola Rodale stumbles upon information suggesting her father—a renowned scientist and brilliant puzzle maker—may not have died during The Great Drought, she embarks on a perilous journey across the desolate American Southwest to discover the truth.

The mystery surrounding Nichola’s father gives this science fiction novel a particularly personal engine. He was not only a renowned scientist but a brilliant puzzle maker, a detail that adds another layer to the information Nichola uncovers and the questions she must pursue. Her search also unfolds across a desolate American Southwest after The Great Drought, placing an intimate family mystery inside a dramatically altered landscape. For readers who like speculative fiction anchored by a concrete question that must be solved, those elements create a compelling reason to follow Nichola into the unknown.

Everything That’s Left Behind belongs on the radar of science fiction readers who prefer their speculative settings tied to a personal mystery. The Great Drought and the desolate Southwest provide the larger backdrop, but Nichola’s reason for crossing that landscape is intensely specific: evidence that her scientist father may still be alive. Readers especially interested in stories involving hidden information, puzzles, family secrets, and a search for truth should find plenty here to pique their curiosity.

Kelly Lydick’s writing has appeared in Natural Awakenings, Co Yoga + Life, True Blue Spirit, American Art Collector, Western Art Collector, and many others. She has been featured on NPR’s The Writers’ Block and the Word podcast, and on iHeart radio. She is the author of the experimental Mastering the Dream, a contributing author to the anthology Dreams That Change Our Lives, and the author of Dream Incubation for Greater Self-Awareness: A Handbook. Everything That’s Left Behind is her first novel.

Website

Facebook

Goodreads

Instagram

Universal Purchase Link

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

At the heart of Everything That’s Left Behind is a discovery powerful enough to make Nichola question a death she had accepted as fact. That gives her journey across the drought-stricken Southwest more than physical stakes: she is following the possibility that her father’s story never ended where she was told it did. Add his identities as scientist and puzzle maker, and the novel has the ingredients for a mystery in which finding the truth may depend upon understanding what he left behind. Kelly Lydick’s move into fiction offers an intriguing premise for readers drawn to science fiction where the fate of a changed world and the unanswered questions within one family intersect.

Be the first to see cover reveals, upcoming releases, exclusive excerpts, author features, and more. Join our growing community of readers and book lovers.

➡️ Join our Newsletter

Across mines, worlds, bodies, and lifetimes, Freedom’s End frames rebellion as more than a single act of defiance. Paintr’s struggle reaches into identity, memory, trauma, and the question of whether freedom can truly be claimed while the forces of oppression continue to follow the soul itself. SE Estes builds this conflict through an ambitious blend of mythic science fiction, dark fantasy, and supernatural western elements, giving the novel a scale that is cosmic while keeping its central battle intensely personal.

Sci-Fi / Fantasy

Date Published: May 5, 2026

Publisher: Manhattan Book Group

Freedom’s End is a mythic sci-fi/fantasy saga about a reincarnating rebel fighting to break cycles of oppression across lifetimes. Born a slave in the mines of Septra, Paintr rises again and again—across bodies, eras, and worlds—to confront a necromancer who seeks to enslave every sentient mind. Blending science fiction, dark fantasy, and supernatural western elements, the story explores identity, liberation, trauma, and the cost of reclaiming one’s soul. With its emotional depth, genre fusion, and expansive worldbuilding, Freedom’s End speaks to readers who love character-driven epics, mythic resonance, and stories about resilience in the face of impossible odds.

Paintr’s repeated return across different bodies, eras, and worlds gives the fight for liberation an unusual dimension. Oppression is not confined to one ruler or one lifetime; it becomes a cycle that must be recognized, confronted, and broken at the level of identity and soul. That structure allows Freedom’s End to explore how trauma survives transformation and what may be lost when resistance becomes an endless responsibility. 

The novel’s genre fusion also shapes its identity. Science-fiction concepts, dark fantasy, mythic symbolism, and supernatural western elements share the same expansive setting rather than occupying separate corners of the story. At the center of that scale remains a character-driven conflict between a reincarnating rebel and a necromancer determined to enslave every sentient mind. Readers drawn to speculative fiction that connects large worlds with questions of freedom, selfhood, and personal cost will find substantial ideas to consider here.

Freedom’s End  will suit readers who prefer speculative fiction built around moral and philosophical conflict rather than a single adventure. Its reincarnation premise may appeal to those interested in stories where identity changes across time while memory, purpose, and unresolved trauma continue to exert their influence. 

The book may also resonate with readers who enjoy ambitious worldbuilding, mythic patterns, darker supernatural forces, and protagonists forced to challenge systems larger than any one life. The mixture of science fiction, fantasy, and western imagery makes it especially relevant for readers comfortable with stories that cross genre boundaries and place emotional consequences alongside cosmic stakes.

Facebook

Instagram

Blog

YouTube

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Freedom’s End places the familiar struggle between freedom and domination inside a far less familiar framework: a rebel whose resistance continues through reincarnation and an enemy whose ambitions extend to every sentient mind. That premise gives the novel room to examine not only whether tyranny can be defeated, but also what repeated conflict does to the person who must keep returning to fight it. 

Paintr’s passage through bodies, eras, and worlds suggests an epic built as much around continuity of purpose as transformation of identity. For readers intrigued by speculative stories where liberation carries spiritual, emotional, and cosmic consequences, SE Estes offers the opening volume of a saga prepared to pursue those questions across more than one lifetime.

Be the first to see cover reveals, upcoming releases, exclusive excerpts, author features, and more. Join our growing community of readers and book lovers. 

➡️ Join our Newsletter

Kill Code opens in a future close enough to feel uncomfortably familiar. Climate catastrophe has divided society into protected enclaves and sprawling zones of poverty, while the National Security Council guards the people who still possess wealth and power. Hogan Duran, a disgraced former police officer surviving on society’s margins, sees the organization’s entrance program as a route back to stability. The opportunity, however, requires him to enter a system whose rewards depend on secrets, coercion, and carefully maintained inequality.

In a world gone wrong, can one man actually make a difference, or will he die trying?

Kill Code

by Clive Fleury

Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction

ADD TO GOODREADS

WHEN THE OCEANS RISE...THE TRUTH DROWNS

It's the year 2031. Our future. Their present. A world decimated by climate catastrophe, where the sun's heat is deadly and the ocean rises higher every day. A world ruled by the rich, powerful, and corrupt. A world where a good man can’t survive for long.

Hogan Duran was a good man once. He was a cop, forced to resign in disgrace when he couldn't save his partner from a bullet. Now Hogan lives on the fraying edges of society, serving cruel masters and scavenging trash dumps just to survive.

But after four years of living in poverty, Hogan finally gets a chance to get back on his feet. He's invited to join the National Security Council, the powerful paramilitary organization responsible for protecting the rich and powerful from the more unsavory elements of society. All he needs to do is pass their deadly entrance exam, and he'll be rewarded with wealth and opportunity beyond his wildest dreams.

But this ex-cop's path to redemption won't be easy. The NSC are hiding something, and as Hogan descends deeper and deeper into their world, he starts to uncover the terrible truth of how the powerful in this new world maintain their power...and just how far they will go to protect their secrets.

In a world gone wrong, can one man actually make a difference, or will he die trying?

Kill Code is the first novel in an exciting new dystopian science fiction series from the mind of award-winning author, screenwriter, and director Clive Fleury. Fans of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey, and Divergent by Veronica Roth will be captivated by Kill Code. 

Hogan’s struggle begins with a bargain that defines the novel’s central conflict: the institution offering him security is also responsible for defending the social order that has left him scavenging to survive. Joining the National Security Council could restore his income, purpose, and standing, but the entrance process requires him to prove himself to an organization whose authority depends upon exclusion and fear.

The world surrounding Hogan is not presented as a distant abstraction. Driverless transportation has displaced workers, wealthy districts sit behind steel fencing and armed checkpoints, and entire communities have deteriorated into tents and improvised structures. These details make the class divide visible before Hogan reaches the NSC facility, establishing why its promises are so difficult to refuse and why its secrets carry such dangerous consequences.

Hogan is also an unusual candidate for the role expected of him. He is older than most of the recruits, still affected by the loss that ended his police career, and uncertain whether he can compete with younger applicants. His doubts create a more vulnerable route into a story built around paramilitary training, political corruption, climate collapse, and an increasingly hostile landscape.

The Station: a seething mass of humanity. Some came with hope in their hearts, ready to embark on the journey of a lifetime. For others, it was the only place they had left to go. They had reached rock bottom. Day or night, the scene was always the same: Transporters arrived and departed constantly, full of people desperate to get away from here, from there, from everywhere. Others wandered around the Station aimlessly. These were the homeless, the addicts, the criminals, the thieves and deadbeats. They spent their time begging or looking for something to steal.

And there was always tension in the air. A fight could break out at any moment as these tired and hungry people reached their wits’ ends and lashed out at the world.

Max and I had been waiting there two hours, which was at least one hour and fifty-nine minutes too long but neither of us minded. I kept reaching into my pocket to pull out the letter and stare at it.

“You’ll wear it out, buddy,” said a smiling Max after I had brought the note out a tenth time. “Just accept it. Next stop: Easy Street.”

I pushed the letter back into my pocket. I still couldn’t believe it. I’d been accepted. That was the good news. The bad news was I knew that this letter only confirmed that I had been chosen for NSC training. It was incredibly difficult to get this far, but even so, only a very few would make it to through to the next stage—to become officers. Frankly, I had grave doubts I could make it that far.

Max tapped me on my shoulder and pointed to a transporter that had just pulled in to Dock 10. It had the word Seattle printed above its windshield. It was Max’s ride. “Okay, Hogan, looks like it’s my time to go.”

I moved behind Max’s wheelchair and pushed it through the seething crowd towards the vehicle. It was, like all public transporters nowadays, driverless. So since there was no one to help, it was up to me to put Max’s ticket into the scanner and to lower him into in his allotted seat. After that, I folded his wheelchair and carried the chair to the luggage rack at the front.

As I finished storing the chair, I spotted an attractive woman in her mid-thirties walk up to Max. I watched as she checked the seat number on her ticket. “That is twenty-two N isn’t it?” I heard the woman say to Max as she pointed to the vacant seat next to him.

Max smiled. “It sure is. And you have the luck to be sitting next to Max Creeling.” He held out his hand. “Great to meet you.”

The woman smiled and sat next to him as I returned.

“Okay, Max, time to go. See if you can get someone to help you with the chair at the other end.”

“I think I can organize that,” the woman said. “I’m Lisa.” She pushed out her hand and I shook it.

“Pleased to meet you, Lisa. Thank you for your kind offer. Now, Max, don’t forget when you get to Seattle to keep out of trouble.”

“Will do.”

I high-fived Max. “Bye. And behave yourself.”

“Always.”

I turned quickly and headed for the transporter’s exit door. Almost as soon as I had stepped down from the vehicle, the door slid shut, the last passenger just managing to squeeze on. As the transporter drove off, Max peered out of the window and winked at me before turning to speak animatedly with Lisa. It looked like he had struck it lucky.

I missed him already.

My transporter would be in next. Dock 20. I started to walk towards the number 20 sign, scanning the crowd for those who were waiting for the NSC Transit transporter like me.

A tall, handsome man in his early twenties stepped in front of me, momentarily blocking my way. I glanced across at him. I knew the type. Dangerous and arrogant but the sort of asshole that women love. In fact, two young beautiful girls were with him: long legs, flowing blonde hair, angelic faces. They were obviously twins.

***

Kill Code will appeal to those who prefer dystopian fiction grounded in recognizable social and technological developments rather than a remote or heavily fantastical future. Its 2031 setting combines climate damage, automated transportation, mass unemployment, fortified wealth, and privatized security into a society that feels only a few decisions removed from the present.

The novel may also suit readers interested in compromised heroes and dangerous institutions. Hogan is not entering the NSC because he trusts its mission; he is entering because poverty has narrowed his alternatives. That tension gives his attempted redemption a political dimension, particularly as he begins to understand how the organization protects its authority.

Those who enjoy survival trials, conspiracies, paramilitary training, stark class divisions, and action-oriented science fiction will find those elements built directly into Hogan’s route through the story.

Clive Fleury is an award-winning writer of books and screenplays and has worked all over the world as a Film/TV director, writer and producer. He has written six books, most recently 'All Or None', the second novel in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series.

'All Or None' sees Detective Ryan back in the thick of things. His latest investigation into a mysterious death couldn’t come at a worse time. He discovers his mother is hiding a troubling secret and is further sidetracked by a new romance. Fans of who dunnit's, crime thrillers, and cop and detective stories will love this novel.

Clive's other books include 'Off Season' - book one in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series; 'Kill Code' - a dystopian science fiction novel set in a world facing climate change; ‘Scary Lizzy’ - a novel about an eight year old girl, who befriends an African child ghost – and the teen action adventure book; ‘The Boy Next Door ‘ - a story of what happens when a teenage girl has a crush on her next door neighbor, who isn’t all he seems. He also co-wrote ‘Art Pengriffin and The Curse of The Four’ - a young adult fantasy adventure about a teenage boy who discovers his father was Merlin the Magician.

Website * Facebook * X * Instagram * BookBub * Amazon * Goodreads

Amazon * BookBub * Goodreads

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter the Kill Code Giveaway Here

The most revealing part of Hogan’s journey may be the view from the NSC transporter. On one side are clean streets, swimming pools, green parks, and guarded checkpoints. On the other are crumbling roads, temporary shelters, unemployment, and communities treated as threats. Hogan is traveling toward the institution that maintains the boundary between those two worlds, even as he hopes it will rescue him from the wrong side of it.

That contradiction gives Kill Code more than a survival-test premise. Hogan must determine whether reclaiming his former status is worth serving a system built to protect privilege—and whether a man already carrying the weight of one professional failure can risk everything to challenge it.

Be the first to see cover reveals, upcoming releases, exclusive excerpts, author features, and more. Join our growing community of readers and book lovers.

➡️ Join Our Newsletter

Bex Gartan is standing at the threshold of adulthood when the boundaries of her world begin to tear apart. In The Lesitha Veil Tales, forbidden crossings, inherited power, and rival visions of order pull one impulsive young woman into a conflict spread across multiple realities. The first two books move from the mystery of a weakening Veil to captivity inside a mechanical world, asking what happens when the person expected to restore stability may also be capable of unleashing chaos.

Every choice echoes across worlds.

Freedom or Chaos; Stability or Control?

The Edge of Oblivion

The Lesitha Veil Tales, Book 1

Author: CM Dawson

Genre: Epic SciFi Fantasy Adventure

View The Edge of Oblivion on Goodreads

"We were younger than we realised and equally naïve."

Dive into The Edge of Oblivion — a coming-of-age fantasy of secret map-books, a dying storyteller’s last wish, and a crystal key that reveals tears in reality. Discover a richly imagined world, fast-paced adventure, and a hero who must choose between duty and destiny — buy now and step over the Veil.

The veil is weakening and shreds between the worlds are becoming more frequent. Darkness is spreading. A new Rysyn is sought to replace the Torsoma before it’s too late and the veil fails, releasing chaos across the facet worlds.

Bex Gartan has no desire to follow her father into the Grinders Guild – or die of stone lung like he did. A rebellious 17-year-old, just weeks before her Liberation Day, a brutal encounter shatters her world. In a shadowy alley, she faces a tragedy and finds her destiny.

Bex's determination to find the truth pulls her into a conflict that spans multiple worlds. She becomes the target of assassins, the pawn of questionable advisors, and now the unlikely successor to the leader of the Facet worlds. Bex must learn to temper her impulsive nature and trust her instincts if she’s to save her friends, and the Facet worlds.

Will she be the saviour they seek or the herald of chaos?

Dark Side of the Veil

The Lesitha Veil Tales, Book 2

View Dark Side of the Veil on Goodreads

When Bexlin Gartan is kidnapped into a world of metal and gears, the impulsive daughter of a storyteller must reclaim a stolen Lesitha Crystal and learn why her blood marks her as the next Rysyn—before a tyrant uses her power to shred the Veil and destroy everything.

Bex crossed the veil for adventure - now she may never return home, may never see her ma again or laugh with her friends. Stranded in a dark Facet, ruled by a tyrant set on seeking revenge and using her to fulfil his vengeance, she must decide whether she will become his pawn or fight to save all she loves.

Separated from her friends, she convinces the strange mechanically augmented half-lifes to help her find them and to return home, but not before she tries to stop the demented ruler, Urbo'Krk. Uncertain who to trust or what the rising energy building within her means, she must learn to control her impetuous ways and calm her mind. Only then can she face the truth of her destiny - saviour or destroyer.

Will she bring stability or usher in chaos?

**On Sale for Only .99cents on Amazon & Kobo!**

The central conflict is not simply a battle between one world and another. Bex is being shaped into a political and supernatural figure before she fully understands the institutions, advisers, and enemies attempting to define her. That tension gives the series a strong coming-of-age core: she must decide which parts of her rebellious nature are liabilities and which are necessary defenses against manipulation.

The Facet worlds also allow the story to change texture as Bex crosses the Veil. The first book builds its mystery around secret maps, inherited stories, fractured reality, and a dying storyteller’s final wish. The second places her inside a harsher world of machinery, augmentation, captivity, and authoritarian control. Each setting expands the mythology while forcing Bex to reconsider what freedom, stability, and responsibility mean.

Chapter 16 Excerpt:

Then there was the Great Xan Janal, who claimed to have gone over the Edge and slayed a mighty beast to save a village. He boasted that there were many worlds, all separated by the Veil. There were people of different races who spoke weird languages. Some were tall and fair with long, flowing, silver hair. Others were short, squat, covered in fur and grunted a lot. Those stories always made me laugh. My eyes blurred as tears welled up, thinking of him. Whether they were real or figments of his imagination, Xan had given his life to sharing his stories of adventure. And I wasn’t about to let him down.

As I crawled on, I wondered which world I would find on the other side of the Veil. Would it be a world of thick jungles, filled with loud, screaming creatures jumping from one towering tree to the next? Or would it be a crystalline world overflowing with unimaginable colours? I was hoping for the water world, for Muut’s sake, except for the whole swimming thing. That scared me.

I looked back again and then beyond Muut. I scanned the horizon and watched as the heat rippled off the scorched ground. The only things that stood as high as a man here were the boulders that dotted the landscape. There was no lush green foliage, and the rivers were more often dry more than filled with water. I dreamed of seeing the leaves of a plant that was as big as me. I fantasised about dipping my fingers into a cool running stream and carrying the refreshing water to my lips; skipping stones across its surface and seeing splashes instead of puffs of dust.

I didn’t know if Xan’s stories were real or made-up fantasies to impress the ladies. But what I knew was that I didn’t want to die without at least attempting to find out. I owed him that much. So I turned back and faced the Edge. I checked the straps that held my knives tucked against my wrists. I placed my right hand out in front of me and then my right knee, then my left hand, left knee. I slowly crawled to the Edge.

The fingers on my left hand reached it first. I stopped and looked at my hand. The tips of my fingers curved over an edge. My breath caught in my throat. I moved my right hand up to match my left and swallowed deeply as the tips of both hands were now bent joyously over the Edge of our world. I slowly lowered myself down to the rough ground and felt the sharp rocks poking me in my chest and belly.

Carefully, I pulled my body up to the Edge and peered over. The air coalesced into a swirling mist of obscurity, roiling and bulging, causing my vision to slide and refocus as I tried to peer through it.

I pulled myself up to the Edge, raising onto my elbows and stretching my neck as far as I could. The grey mist swirled around my head forming dewdrops on my cheeks. I blew into it, watching as it whirled madly away from me, quickly folding back in on itself. I extended my arm and felt a cool dampness cover me like a second skin. The further I extended it, the less I could see of it.

I pulled myself up and swivelled around to sit on the Edge with my legs now dangling freely. My feet disappeared into the swirling mist that roiled below me. Then I leaned out as far as I could and swished my arms back and forth, trying to clear a view through the grey wall.

I either leaned too far or whipped my arms too wildly, because I tumbled off the ledge into the mist. My heart leapt as I felt myself sliding down the edge of the world. Suddenly, I jerked to a stop when the rope tied to my ankle caught me tight. My breath gushed from my lungs and my heart pounded my ribs.

I heard Muut calling to me, his cries distant, muffled.

I hung for a moment, dangling upside down against the edge of the world. I released my fear as I pushed myself up away from the rough rock face. Curling my knees beneath me, I crouched for a moment, waiting to see if I would fall. Nothing happened. The cool mist swirled around me; my head swooned with the mesmerising movement.

I filled my lungs with the moist air and stood. Fully expecting to topple over, I stretched my arms wide to catch myself when I did. I stood there as rigid as a boulder with my arms spread, knees locked, breath held, eyes tightly closed.

Nothing.

I slowly opened my left eye, peeking, face scrunched tight, awaiting the imagined impact. Both eyes sprang open, and the air exploded out of my lungs. A breathtaking view assaulted my eyes.

Chapter 13 Excerpt:

“Come,” the ‘naut commanded.

I turned my attention back to the wall where a trickle of moisture ran down a groove, around a rivet, and disappeared behind the bench.

The white-hot tearing of my scalp ripped a scream from my chest as the ‘naut yanked me to my feet by my braid. He held me, dangling in the air for a moment before releasing me. My hands went to my head and returned covered in blood.

“Come or be dragged.”

The warmth of the blood running down my back held me for a moment. Then Tar was at my side, gripping my elbow to guide me.

“Walk,” he commanded.

My legs felt like they were full of sand, but I made them move as he guided me out of the cell and we followed the ‘naut through the maze of passages. “Where are you taking me now?” I whispered.

Tar ignored my question, but I felt a tightening on my elbow.

“Why are you helping someone like him?”

Again, no response, but this time there was a tug on my elbow. “Okay, at least tell me where you’re taking me?”

The massive head of the ‘naut glanced back at us. “No speak. Walk.”

We rode up out of the cells in an open lift. The fresh air felt good against my sweaty face. I studied the bleak world of Vrellum as we rose and wondered if my friends were somewhere lost in the labyrinthine maze of metal gantries and yellow haze.

The platform stopped and the ‘naut led us out into brighter, well-lit passages. We were back in the fortress of Urbo’Krk. We weren’t led to the main assembly chamber. This time the ‘naut led me past the big wooden doors with the familiar motifs etched on them. Instead, I was taken to a smaller chamber. As we entered, a light came on above a large metal chair that sat in the centre of the room. There were straps on the arms and the footrest. I stopped short, making Tar bump into me.

The ‘naut pointed. “Sit.”

I threw my head back, catching Tar off guard and smashing his face, just missing his already flattened nose. My elbow connected with his ribs, and I heard a satisfying grunt. Turning to run, I wasn’t quick enough. The one-eyed Omaj blocked my exit, and the ‘naut grabbed my shoulder, pinching me, and I screamed at the crushing of my bones. He threw me into the chair, slamming my head against the upper backrest. I left a bloody imprint from his earlier threat of dragging me. I tried to get up but felt pressure on my chest. It forced me back into the chair.

“Enough.” Urbo’Krk stepped out of the shadows with Cog at his side. He’d removed his cape and the silver breastplate. He now wore a black vest that allowed him to display his mechanical arms. Beneath the close-fitting fabric, I could see that his neck and chest were flesh. There was a seam where the augmented arms attached to his shoulders. The join was smooth and had a natural appearance as if the black mesh were just another type of skin.

He leaned over me. His presence felt heavy. The pressure built on my chest, and I tried to take a deeper breath, but could only sip the air. I turned away and refused to acknowledge him.

“Ah yes, you feel my strength.” He stood and pointed at Tar. His energy pushed against me, pressing me into the metal seat. Tar remained standing against the wall and motioned for Omaj to strap my wrists and ankles to the chair.

“I wish to examine you.” He spoke calmly as he turned and walked to a table that ran the length of one wall. “It isn’t every day a Rysyn passes through my world.”

My teeth felt like they might pop out as I spoke through my clenched jaw. “I’ve never heard of a Rysyn and don’t know why you think I’m one. I was only looking for the truth.”

I glared at Tar as I spoke my defiant words. His stoic face drew tight as he stared at me and shook his head. Cog had stepped further into the room and now sat at my side. His quizzically tilted head indicating his attention.

Urbo’Krk’s broad back hunched over the table now straightened as he slowly turned back to look at me. “I will learn what makes you a Rysyn,” his eyes flicked to Cog, “or I’ll make the cog suffer for your defiance.”

Cog tilted his head as he gazed from me to his master. I couldn’t be certain if he understood the threat that Urbo’Krk had made, but I also wouldn’t be the reason that he suffered any further abuse under this monster.

My jaw remained clenched as I slumped defeated into the chair. Tears welled in my eyes as Urbo’Krk came toward me carrying a mesh of wires.

“That’s better. Now sit still; this will hardly hurt.”

The Lesitha Veil Tales will appeal to readers who like their fantasy built around dangerous thresholds, layered worlds, secret forms of power, and protagonists who must grow into roles they never requested. Bex’s combination of recklessness, loyalty, and distrust makes the series a natural fit for readers who prefer a heroine still learning how to distinguish instinct from impulse.

The blend of fantasy mythology, multiverse travel, mechanical augmentation, political manipulation, and fast-moving danger should also interest readers who enjoy stories positioned between epic fantasy and science fiction. Those drawn to coming-of-age adventures with substantial lore, shifting environments, and moral questions about control and freedom will find the series especially well matched to their tastes.

CM Dawson is an indie fantasy author and the founder of Crystal Path Publishing, writing multi-world adventure fiction from the rolling green hills of Wiltshire, England. Her debut series, The Lesitha Tales, follows Bex Gartan — a headstrong, impulsive 17-year-old who finds herself thrust into a power struggle that spans multiple worlds. Compared to Samantha Shannon, Brandon Sanderson, and Suzanne Collins, the series blends fast-paced action, vivid world-building, and a fierce coming-of-age heart. She crafts immersive multiverse fantasy filled with emotional stakes, dark magic, and lore rich worldbuilding. 

The first two books — The Edge of Oblivion and Dark Side of the Veil — are available now. A space opera trilogy, a short story collection, and a dystopian novel are all in development. When she is not writing, she can be found gardening, editing the local parish magazine, playing skittles, or being bossed around by her two English Bulldogs, Sage and Bubba.

Website

Facebook

Instagram

Bluesky

BookBub

Amazon

Goodreads

The Edge of Oblivion

Amazon

Bookshop.org 

Direct from Author

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

BookBub

Dark Side of the Veil

Amazon

Bookshop.org 

Direct from Author

Barnes & Noble

Kobo

BookBub

Follow the tour HERE for special content and a giveaway!

Enter The Lesitha Veil Tales Giveaway Here

The most compelling question running through these books concerns the difference between being chosen and being controlled. Bex’s emerging identity as a Rysyn gives other people a reason to advise, pursue, imprison, and threaten her, but it does not automatically give her the judgment needed to use that power. Her struggle is therefore as much about claiming the right to define herself as it is about protecting the Veil.

With its secret map-books, fractured realities, crystal power, mechanical half-lifes, and competing visions for the Facet worlds, The Lesitha Veil Tales offers a large-scale adventure anchored by a heroine whose mistakes carry consequences. Readers can begin with The Edge of Oblivion and continue directly into Dark Side of the Veil as Bex moves from chasing the truth to confronting what that truth demands of her.

Be the first to see cover reveals, upcoming releases, exclusive excerpts, author features, and more. Join our growing community of readers and book lovers.

➡️ Join our Newsletter