An Introduction, by Rosie Scott
I grew up with a pen in one hand and a gaming controller in the other. I started “publishing” books at the age of 3 by stapling notebook paper in half and writing the stories and drawing the cover art. As a little girl, my first genre obsessions were horror and tragedy. My video game obsession started in 1991 with MS-DOS, Super Nintendo, and Sega Genesis. I read multiple books per day as a child, but as I grew older I couldn’t find the kinds of books I craved. I have a severe aversion to the standard hero / villain dichotomy; like in real life, I believe there are nuances and shades of gray in every situation and they deserve to be explored. This is what I set out to do with my novels.
I love fantasy video games, but I can count on one hand the number of fantasy books I’ve finished reading in my lifetime (other than my own). Either the characters weren’t well-developed, or they were too heroic, or there was a very clear sense of good vs. evil, or every death was immediately “fixed” by a nonsensical resurrection. In grittier fantasy, perhaps the action and gore was better written, but the characters served only as fodder and weren’t well-developed or likeable despite their flaws before their inevitable demises.
I wanted gritty action, grimace-inducing gore, and characters who were flawed, believable, and developed enough to be my friends. When I published the Six Elements series, I struck gold: not only do I finally have the fantasy books I’ve always wanted, but I’ve found a lot of awesome readers who share the same particulars.
Featured Novels
While studying to be a mage at a prestigious university, Cerin is seized by an obsession with necromancy. When his secret knowledge of the forbidden magic is discovered, he becomes one of the nation’s most-wanted criminals overnight, sending his life into a tragic downhill spiral.
In this gritty story of survival, Cerin learns the hard way that to make it in a cruel world, he must become its match. Rather than run from the law forever, he builds an undead army to face it and make it fear his name. When all living loved ones are lost, Cerin must rise to be a master of the dead.
Book 1
After over a century enslaved in the oppressive underground, he and his best friend, Koby Bacia, escape their chains. They emerge onto the surface: a new world full of the unknown, freedom, and discovery. Desperate to leave his tragic past behind, Alastor changes his name to Calder and delves into the dangerous blood science of shapeshifting. With the new ability to transform into a lethal lizard at will, Calder finally has power after a lifetime of captivity.
Calder and Koby answer the ocean’s call with dreams of smuggling illegal goods as mercenary sailors. This is easier said than done, for the seas are full of horrors of their own, and each time Calder transforms into the beast, it further scars his damaged psyche. Worst of all, a botched business deal puts them at odds with a criminal ring of pirates that are determined to remain the greatest threat on the seas.
Read if you enjoy: rebellion, brutal magic and melee warfare, political corruption and espionage, building of political power, building of friendship with a variety of colorful characters, naval and land battles, mythology, globe-trotting, conquest, sarcastic/dry humor, and philosophical questions and themes.
Kai Sera is the greatest asset of war that exists. In a world where most mages only have the ability to wield one element, she wields them all: fire, earth, water, air, life, and death. Though she is raised as royalty by an adoptive father at the prestigious Seran University of Magic, he refuses to put her skills to use in his army, so Kai breaks free of her bonds to go on a quest of adventure and self-discovery.
One simple quest will turn into a life-changing phenomenon for Kai and her companions. Beliefs are challenged. Old secrets are unearthed. Legal lines are crossed. Loyalties are divided. The seeds of rebellion are planted. When it comes time for Kai to face the truth, a legend will be born.
In Kai Sera’s rage after the brutal execution of a loved one, she has decimated one of the most prized cities in Chairel in a show of magical prowess, and now the country seeks her head. Kai and her companions flee to the unfamiliar land of Nahara, where she must convince its leaders to ally with her in a rising rebellion against her former home.
Nahara is a strange and dangerous land full of giant beasts, and it has a culture that values the bloodshed of gladiators in its coliseum. If any country will join Kai in waging a war with political goals that include legalizing necromancy, it is Nahara. But convincing them may not be easy—for Kai must first prove her power against foes who have yet to be defeated, and when it comes time to battle with Chairel, her ideals will force her to oppose those she loves.
The War of Necromancers has begun.
After her first victory in battle against her former home, Kai Sera and the Seran Renegades are now a force to be reckoned with. They plan to garner support from far away lands, and set off across the ocean in search of more allies.
Word of Kai’s identity and her actions in Nahara have spread across the world, however. The gods are on her trail and angry with her transgressions, and their powers equal hers in strength. The Seran Renegades are thrown vastly off course, and must quickly rethink their plans. A chance encounter with an audacious man with his own desire for vengeance gives them a new goal which will aid them in their war. They build an army of erratic soldiers in a forgotten land in preparation of Kai’s first offensive war campaign: taking over the assassin-infested underground.
When the Seran Renegades breach the surface after a long underground military campaign, they find the War of Necromancers has greatly evolved in their absence. The last country they seek to ally with already has problems of its own. Eteri is as full of political corruption as the home country Kai Sera looks to overthrow, and it is under attack from multiple foes. Even worse, a new and unforeseen enemy enters into the war, and its massive armies threaten to stamp out Kai’s uprising before it can truly begin.
The stakes are raised. New gods throw themselves into the fight. Kai’s growing powers become a cause for concern. Catastrophic magical attacks will devastate entire lands. Tens of thousands will die. Friends and allies will be lost. No victory will come without enormous sacrifice.
A few years after a series of cataclysmic magical attacks scarred the world forever, the War of Necromancers enters its final stages. Kai Sera and the Seran Renegades have agreed to aid their allies in seizing Hammerton, a dwarven country known for its mechanical inventions, siege weapons, and caustic alchemical warfare. Behind the scenes, deceitful allies are working to undermine them, and doubt clouds friendships and intentions as Kai races to find people she can trust.
Over the years of waging the War of Necromancers, Kai Sera has become known by many names. Mage of the Six Elements. Necromancer. God-Killer. Rebellion Leader. Liberator. War General. Goddess of Magic. Living Legend. Most importantly, Kai is the greatest asset of war that exists, and now her war is nearing its end.
Chairel is on the horizon. Kai’s home country has massive armies prepared to defend itself from her rebellion. Mortals and gods alike team up to put a stop to her intimidating advance, but Kai is not fazed. News of the final showdown brings unlikely supporters to Kai’s doorstep willing to bend their knee to her superior power, and her Seran Renegades collect the allies they’ve made over years of globe-trotting and war to face their foes head-on.
The greatest military in the world will come to a final bloody clash with the largest rebellion ever built. Both sides will suffer losses and heartbreak. The world and its occupants will be forever scarred. Kai started this war for political change and vengeance, and she will not relent until it is finished.
Coming Q1 – 2020
Read if you enjoy: excessively oppressive dystopian atmospheres, political corruption and espionage, futuristic technology, strategic planning of stealth and assassination missions, brutal gun and blade warfare, insurrection, sarcastic/dry humor, and philosophical questions and themes.
Melanie Adams has a normal life like any other citizen of the New World. When a loved one is executed after being deemed a domestic terrorist for accidentally muttering a banned word, however, she finds she is not alone in believing it is the government that is to blame. She is soon contacted by Axel Chambers, a member of a resistance group who tells her things used to be different, and people used to be free.
Melanie finds she is living in what used to be the United States of America. After learning more of the country’s past, she decides to join the fight to regain the freedoms and rights citizens once had. Axel trains her to be stealthy and to kill as an assassin, and the two become fast friends and partners, working together to gather artifacts from the country’s history that could help them in the fight.
The government will not make the fight easy. Intrusive technology is rampant in the New World, and the government does not like its citizens to have knowledge or allies. To make matters worse, Melanie and Axel are soon contacted by a government official who is looking to hire the duo to anonymously put a stop to the government’s latest project: controlling the human mind.
Melanie Adams and Axel Chambers have to get out of Chicago. After the successful destruction of one of the government’s largest projects, the two assassins soon become the most wanted terrorists in the New World.
A new recruit to the Resistance gives the duo information that the once successful resistance group in another city is having its missions sabotaged, and that it appears to be the doing of one of the group’s own members. Melanie and Axel set out for the city, vowing to find the person responsible.
Escaping Chicago is dangerous enough, and the trip to the new city tests the two rebels in more ways than one. Once in Indianapolis, they soon find the line between hero and villain isn’t always so clearly defined.
As the two new leaders of the first city held by the Resistance, Melanie Adams and Axel Chambers should be celebrating. Instead, differing opinions of true allies, the mourning of those lost thus far, and even assassination attempts on their lives quickly become their main focus.
The assassins soon obtain insider information involving their home city of Chicago. The government has pulled support to the city, claiming it is a drain on resources and a lost cause due to the Resistance influence there. Melanie and Axel know the best time to take a city is when it is broken and left on its own, and soon begin planning to return to Chicago to acquire even more Resistance territory.
Planning the mission is easier said than done. The New World government is on guard since losing control of Indianapolis, and once in Chicago, Axel and Melanie realize it is no longer the city they left in ruins. Instead of an easy victory, they begin to understand that they should have prepared for heartbreak, old enemies, and even the personal reflection of their own minds.
The Resistance is making progress.
After successfully infiltrating and taking their home city of Chicago from the government, Melanie Adams and Axel Chambers are sent information about a possible new undertaking in New York City. The city is the technological marvel in charge of government media and propaganda, and could be just what the Resistance needs to help turn the tides of war. Taking control of the media systems and sending a message of dissent to the nation could be what finally gets the citizens of the country to rebel.
While they plan for the mission, however, there are many problems to work through in the cities the Resistance has already taken. Convincing superb fighter and loner Billy Johns to join Melanie and Axel in New York City is hard enough, even without considering the mental stresses of war, infighting, and assassination attempts on their lives. Melanie needs to focus on the critical upcoming mission to win the war, but one issue remains: is winning the war worth losing her mind?
Melanie Adams has left the Resistance. The trauma of enduring war and the loss of loved ones has broken her down, but the war trudges on. She soon finds that her ties to the Resistance still hold true, and pull her back against her will to return to it for one final battle.
Axel Chambers is also fatigued with fighting, but insists on one final fight, a battle that could win the country back at the risk of losing it all. He calls upon other cities across the country for reinforcements for a battle that could change everything.
There will be blood. There will be loss. But in the end, will it all be worth it?