Book I - Dragon Festival, Harvest Fire

Dragon Festival, Harvest Fire is a tale of retribution and rebirth, of traditions new and old, of overcoming loss through great sacrifice, and of learning faith in the Elders. It is the telling of ten year old Tsukiko’s battle with what horrors were wrought upon her family and how her patience helps to summon the ways of the Yoru shadow warriors who were all but destroyed. From the boundaries of Ryoku castle, she watches the Shogun as his past haunts his dreams, studying how she will claim his life. Hundreds of miles to the north, it tells the tale of Ginjiro, an unlikely choice to be the next of the Dragon Riders. He is a student of the uncompromising Yamada-Sensei, one who shares a difficult past with the Shogun. And to the southern islands, surrounded by pirates, traders, and a salty old fisher and his bird, it tells the tale of young Michio, who trains under the watchful eye of his arcane father. Michio struggles to learn the ways of his warrior father as he walks a path towards a singular and dark purpose. All share a common destiny that was prophesied and set into motion on that one fateful night.

A fantasy series for all ages, The Painted Shogun is set in a world that combines the rich aesthetic, and sweeping sensibilities of feudal Asian cultures with splashes of color from pirates, fishers, scoundrels, and Dragon Riders. Vividly told characters immerse the reader in a world of authentic and imagined customs, ethos, war games, and festivals, and Dragons as they’ve not been portrayed before. What sets this work apart from others of its genre is its departure from the medieval and barbaric to something more folk-inspired and sincere. Fans of historical fiction, fantasy, world cultures, suspense, a whisper of magic, and, of course, Dragons will find common ground here.

Available now on Amazon.com in paperback and kindle

Click the image below for a PDF of the First Three Chapters of The Painted Shogun