Michael J. Sullivan is a New York Times (3 titles), USA Today (3 titles), and Washington Post hardcover (2 titles) bestselling author, and no one is more surprised by those facts than he. When just a boy, Michael found a typewriter in the basement of a friend's house, inserted a blank piece of paper, and typed, "It was a dark and stormy night." He was just ten years old and mimicking the only writer he knew at the time: Snoopy. That spark ignited a flame, and Michael's desire to fill blank pages became a life-long obsession. As an adult, Michael spent more than ten years developing his craft by studying authors such as Stephen King, Ernest Hemingway, and John Steinbeck. During that time, he wrote thirteen novels but garnered no interest from the publishing industry. Since insanity is repeating the same action while expecting a different result, he made the rational choice and quit, vowing never to write creatively again.

Never turned out to be too long for Michael, and after a decade, he returned to the keyboard in his forties, but with one condition: He wouldn't seek publication. Instead, he wrote a series of books that had been building in his head during his hiatus. His first reading love was fantasy, and he hoped to foster a similar reaction in his then thirteen-year-old daughter who struggled due to dyslexia. After reading the third book of this series, his wife insisted that the novels had to "get out there." When Michael refused to jump back onto the query-go-round, Robin took over the publication tasks, and she has run the business side of his writing ever since.

Currently, Michael is a hybrid author with nineteen novels released through big-five publishers, a small press, or indie-produced.

• The Riyria Revelations: 6 books sold as 3 two-book omnibus editions from Orbit (fantasy imprint of Hachette Book Group) — Theft of Swords • Rise of Empire • Heir of Novron
  
  
• The Riyria Chronicles: 2 books released from Orbit, 2 indie-produce, 1 in production — The Crown Tower • The Rose and the Thorn • The Death of Dulgath • The Disappearance of Winter's Daughter • Drumindor (release date TBD)


• Legends of the First Empire: 3 books released from Del Rey (fantasy imprint of Penguin Random House) and 3 indie-published) — Age of Myth • Age of Swords • Age of War •Age of Legend •Age of Death • Age of Empyre
• The Rise and Fall Trilogy: all indie-published — Nolyn • Farilane • Esrahaddon (coming 2023)
• Standalone science fiction thriller: released by Tachyon Publications — Hollow World

Michael's stories center around unlikely heroes who rise to the occasion when history comes knocking. Unlike much of modern fantasy, which focuses on dark themes and anti-heroes, Michael's stories are optimistic and infused with humor, fast-paced plotting, and epic adventure.

Author’s Note

Map

Chapter 1: The Arrow of Death

Chapter 2: The Monk

Chapter 3: The Gathering

Chapter 4: The Voice

Chapter 5: One of Them

Chapter 6: Divine Providence

Chapter 7: The Thief and the Poker

Chapter 8: Escape from Urlineus

Chapter 9: Inside the Gem Fortress

Chapter 10: Death Pays a Visit

Chapter 11: The Orinfar

Chapter 12: Crossroads

Chapter 13: Vernes

Chapter 14: A Gem of Great Worth

Chapter 15: Teshlor Nights

Chapter 16: Hail, Prymus

Chapter 17: Cries in the Dark

Chapter 18: Six Toes In

Chapter 19: Father and Son

Chapter 20: Children of Legends

Chapter 21: A Cup of Wine

Chapter 22: Founder’s Day

Chapter 23: Miralyith

Chapter 24: The Horn

Chapter 25: The Invisible Hand Moves

Chapter 26: Telling the Truth

Chapter 27: The Last Galantian

Chapter 28: Finding the Way Home

Afterword

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About the Author

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