Tyranny
of the Fey
Terry Bartley
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Starlight King Press
Date of Publication: 8/15/2023
ISBN: 979-8-9877958-1-1
ASIN: B0BV77GJCJ
Number of pages: 242
Word Count: 50,334
Cover Artist: Deryl Arrazaq
Tagline: Adventure Waits for No One
Book Description:
A collection of
short stories in a connected fantasy world
A famed Elven researcher is worried about her home. When she discovers a new
realm with massive magic potential, she believes she has found the answer. Will
the Seasonal Fey Courts allow her to continue her research without
interference, or do they have more nefarious plans?
An Elven princess runs away from her arranged marriage to a parallel world.
Will she be able to find the adventure she seeks? While she is in search of
battles with dragons and quests to obtain sacred artifacts, she finds that what
she was looking for may have been a true connection with someone that
understands her.
Two childhood friends, an Orc and a Goblin, have long dreamed of adventure.
When a magic school dropout stumbles into their lives, they jump at the chance
to realize their ambitions. This found family realizes the world of Galevyn is
a much bigger place than the jungle they grew up in.
Excerpt
“Nice moves,” Aunt Poppy said. Sweat was
beginning to gather on her brow. Her sandy short-cropped hair glistened in the
sunlight. “You must have been practicing while I was away.”
She raised her short sword to guard her face and torso
and backed away from me. She certainly looked less intimidating in her formal
pantsuit, but the shirt still strained from her hulking arm muscles.
“Something like that,” I replied. I didn’t exactly
have fighting clothes, as my mother didn’t approve of this hobby. But my old,
beat up riding clothes worked well enough. “Or you’re just getting old.”
I took a deep breath and flung my head to toss my dark
black ponytail around to my back. I rushed towards her and she swiped her blade
in my direction. At the last moment, I dropped into a crouch and swung my
leg around to trip her. She jumped before I could make contact and
flipped forward, over my head. She lowered the edge of her short sword to
my throat as autumn leaves fell around us.
“Got me again,” I laughed as she pulled her sword away
and offered me her hand. I happily took it and pulled myself up. The
garden of the Autumn Maiden’s estate wasn’t meant for this sort of training,
but it was always my favorite use of the grounds.
“You truly are getting better,” she repeated.
I pushed some loose hairs behind my ear and smirked.
“Still not good enough to beat you.”
“Please girl, I have been adventuring for over a
century now. You are barely within your second decade,” Aunt Poppy
reassured.
“I just really wanted to beat you before . . . .
Well, you know,” I admitted.
“Asha,” she began sympathetically, “just because
you’re getting married doesn’t mean you need to stop sparring with me.”
“The future Autumn Maiden doesn’t concern herself with
the martial arts,” I said, pointing a crooked finger at her, mimicking my
grandmother. I pushed my nose out and opened my eyes a bit wider.
Aunt Poppy laughed. “You better not let her catch you
doing that. That woman never forgets. You can trust me on that.”
That made a chill run down my back, remembering all
the times I’d been scolded by my grandmother. It’s not what she says so much as
how she says it. That tone will stick with you.
“But it's more than that, Aunt Poppy. I don’t
want sparring to just be a womanly dalliance for me. I want to be an
adventurer. I want to be like you!” I exclaimed. I meant it. The princess
life never seemed to fit for me.
“I know,” she said in a consolatory tone. “But
sometimes we just don’t get to choose our path in life.”
I liked to believe she truly felt things could be
different. Why else would she send me such detailed letters of her adventures
all the time? I hoped she might know about a loophole to get me out of this.
“But you did!”
Aunt Poppy sighed. There were some things, it seemed,
even great adventurers can’t do. “That’s the blessing of being the second born.
I assure you, your father has made sacrifices because of his duty to the
family. That is just something firstborns get saddled with.”
“It's not fair,” I whined. I sounded like a
small child. I always made sure to take advantage of my time with my aunt to
get in all my overly dramatic complaints that I couldn’t do in front of the
rest of my family.
“That it is not, Asha. Life rarely is,” Poppy
said solemnly, turning to look toward the Autumn Maiden’s expansive manor
house.
“It's just,” I began, “The way you talk about
the material realm makes it sound like there is so much more opportunity
there.”
“It is that,” Aunt Poppy admitted, “but there are
troubles there too. I’ll be heading back there after tonight’s dinner.
Perhaps if you make a good impression your grandmother might let you tag
along.”
I smiled at the thought, even though I knew it was a
far-fetched fantasy.
“Asha! Sister! It is almost time!” My
sister Tinsley called, running out of the large decorative glass double doors on
the back of the manor house.
“Very well, Tinsley,” I relented and began following
behind her.
“Eh, not so fast,” Aunt Poppy said.
I looked down and noticed the training sword still in
my hand. I handed it over.
“I get it,” Aunt Poppy began, “I’ve had more than a
few first dates I’d wished I’d brought a weapon along, but it may not offer a
good first impression.”
“Probably not,” I laughed.
About the Author:
Terry Bartley is a journalism, literature, and English teacher at Scott High
School and writer of the upcoming collection of short stories, Tyranny of the
Fey. Terry is the host of the podcast “Most Writers are Fans,” about the intersection
between writing and fandom. Terry has professionally written for the Coal
Valley News and Screenrant. He has won awards for writing and broadcasting from
the West Virginia Associated Press, the National Broadcasting Society, and
MarCom. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Phoenix and an M.A. in
English Education from Western Governor’s University.He loves tabletop
roleplaying games, social deduction games, reading comics, and watching musical
television shows. He lives in rural West Virginia with his dog, Etsy.
Webpage: http://www.terrybartley.com
Podcast:
https://anchor.fm/terry-bartley
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@terrlet
Twitter: https://twitter.com/terrybartley
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/terrybartleywriter
Blog: https://www.terrybartleywriter.com/author/terrywbartley/
Newsletter Sign-Up: https://www.terrybartleywriter.com/newsletter-sign-up/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/22973304.Terry_Bartley
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