Merry Christmas, all! As 2018 comes to a close, I’ve spent a lot of time being with family and mentally preparing my to-do list for all the things I want to accomplish in 2019. Which, you know, is everything under the sun. But, I have one last foreseeable announcement!

After long last, the Sisterhood of the Blade anthology from Battlefield Press is available! A reimagining as if the Three Musketeers had been women all under a pledge to defend and protect Queen Anne, the anthology follows the stories of Padgett (a French rogue) Adina (a reformed pirate), and Aimi (a samurai) as they uncover mischief and political plots in turmoil-striven France and other countries beyond.

Here’s a snippet of my story in the anthology entitled, Souls with Brands, Sisters with Swords:

Even landlocked, the sea called to Adina. She had a sixth sense when it came to ships, all earned from her time sailing the big, wide blue. She smelled the Seine before she saw the long gray line of river water, but it wasn’t the scent of damp and rot that had her smiling. It was the undercurrent of wet, open freedom.

 Her hand tightened around the missive lodged in her pocket. She resisted the urge to double check the address scrawled in the hand of an old companion she hadn’t seen in years. Not since she had innocent blood on her blade and the shine of treasure brightening her eyes. Once upon a time—or once upon a pirate ship—she could’ve been an innocent forever: chasing her desires, taking what she wanted, doing exactly what her gut commanded without a care in the world beyond how she’d spend her loot. Soon after her adoptive father’s death, she learned that this so-called innocence was nothing but willing blindness and accepted cruelty.

It shamed her to yearn for that in passing since she’d joined the sisterhood. Especially when the lure of the ocean reeled her in and old pirate friends came a-calling. Siren spells weren’t singing maidens, but promises of tapping into the wild baseness of her nature.

As of now, you can purchase the anthology via DriveThru here in ebook, paperback, and hardback. If you’re so inclined, please leave a review! A few words mean the world to new authors.

About Sisterhood of the Blade

In an age when it is not proper for a woman to be a soldier, three bright, savvy, and well-trained female warriors must hide who they are when they accept the burden of protecting and helping their queen (Anne). But once you meet these three musketeers, you’ll realize proper was never a concern.

Aimi met and fell in love with Jacques Marlette when the oils trader visited her birthplace of Japan. After they married, she learned of her husband’s friendship with France’s current ruler, King Louis XIII, which in turn brought her close to the queen. Extremely loyal to the crown, Aimi still has the queen’s ear even after Jacque left France on an important errand for the king, never to return.

When Aimi was told of her husband’s death, she decided to not be the grieving widow, but she did vow that she would make some. Taking up her katana, she dove head first into rumors that the cardinal was plotting against the king and queen, for in those rumors lay the only clues to her love’s murder. Clothed in black or brown, and with a rifle never out of reach, she will protect her queen and all of France.

To aid in her quest, Lady Marlette hired two new “hand maidens” after Jacque’s death. They are the African pirate, Adina and the master tactician and French red-head, Padgett.

At the age of five, Adina was found by a roving band of pirates, who despite their brutish ways took the child in and raised her as one of their own. She spent years on the world’s oceans, and was recently dropped off in France after her adoptive father died at sea. She speaks fluent French, Italian, and Spanish, and her upbringing lends itself well to dealing with rabble. When it’s time to fight, Adina carries a cutlass and keeps a pistol at her side. She also wears a bandolier of throwing knives in her leather armor.

Padgett, meanwhile, is the definition of daddy’s little girl. Her father, a general in the French army, has made sure that his only child is well versed in swordplay and comfortable handling pistols, rifles, and other military weaponry. Growing up so close to the general, Padgett has also mastered the art of discussing tactics with anyone of any rank from any army. If negotiations fail, she’s always willing to take up her rapier and parrying dagger to prove her point. If the need arises, she likewise carries a pistol and her horse often comes equipped with a rifle holstered on its saddle. To honor her father’s wishes, Padgett tends to wear the tight clothing of a soldier and a cape that drapes across her from the shoulders down.

Living on the Marlette estate, Aimi, Adina, and Padgett train hard to serve their queen. They have a small armory, and money is never a concern. Together their tales are more than just a female version of the Three Musketeers, but a reimagining as if the queen had her own special guard.

This is the Sisterhood of the Blade.