A Wandering Sword
A medieval fantasy novel, free to download
Summary
Lyss grew up as a peasant farm girl, the daughter of her tiny frontier village's resident woodworker. However, when an old hermit settles nearby she learns through him how to read and write and how to wield a sword. His small private library teaches her about the world beyond her village and she decides she can't stay to be wedded off and live a quiet domestic life.
Setting of with no destination in mind, Lyss quickly runs into trouble and meets Col, a charming mercenary who's in the market for a swashbuckling partner. Together they set off in search of fortune and adventure but quickly find themselves tangled in the political machinations of the nobility.
With tensions rising between their own kingdom and the neighboring elfish empire, can two mere mercenaries do anything to prevent a bloody war?
Author's Note
In 2020, as we all settled in the first round of pandemic lockdowns, I decided that I needed a hobby to keep my mind off the world's events and keep my anxiety in check. I eventually settled on the notion of writing a book - after all I had a ton of time, this was an activity I could start immediately, it didn't require me to go anywhere, and (with the supply chain woes as they were) didn't require me to buy anything.
I actually finished this book within about 18 months and then let it languish on my hard drive for the next several years. I'm not a professional writer, and I have no window into that world. I don't have the time and wherewithal to take a stab at commercial self-publishing, and I don't know where I'd start if I wanted to get this published traditionally.
So, not wanting to let it sit forever I've decided to put the book up here on my website for free for anybody to enjoy.
If you read it and like it, feel free to drop me a line or to pass a copy along to a friend. (Or just send them a link here. If I notice any typos or EPUB file issues I'll correct them and update the download here.)