Epic Fantasy Adventures, Books, Lore, and More!

Hi, I’m indie fantasy author, Melinda Kucsera, and in this episode, Tamber Kroh joined me to talk about their fantasy book, When Sundered Spirits Dream.What’s it about?A noble in hiding. A brother following an impossible trail. A madman driven by revenge.Under the Spirit Council’s rigid laws, being born a princess means surrendering your future to duty. When a violent abduction gives one young noble the chance to disappear, they seize it. Adopting the name Dearal, they conceal their magic and exchange courtly obligations for the anonymity of the stables. Freed from noble constraints, they shift genders, harmonizing body and spirit to forge a new destiny.The life Dearal builds begins to unravel when an unexpected friendship with a young noble deepens into something neither of them can afford. If the Council uncovers Dearal's true identity, they will lose not only their freedom, but the magic that has become part of who they are. Meanwhile, Prince Tharon refuses to believe his missing twin is dead, following a fading trail across land and sea.Tharon's search leads him into the hands of a man harvesting magic from the innocent to fuel a war of revenge. As the tendrils of the Spirit Council’s influence spread, back at the royal stables the very hunters Dearal once fled close in, reducing the stable hand’s sanctuary to ashes and threatening to strip them of their entire identity.Where to get the book:Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HFYM452N/Where to find our guest:Website: https://www.tamberkroh.comInstagram, Facebook, & Threads: @tamberkrohNewsletter: https://www.tamberkroh.com/dreamWhere to find your host:Melinda’s website: https://melindakucsera.com/Melinda’s Substack: https://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embedRiders of the Apocalypse Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melindakucsera/two-riders-of-the-apocalypse-illustrated-epic-fantasy-quests Back now! It ends on Nov. 12, 2026.

Hi, I’m indie fantasy author, Melinda Kucsera, and in this episode, Cortney S. Lamar joined me to talk about their fantasy book, Legends from the Ashes.What’s it about?In an empire of animal shifters Zyanya is the lone human-an outsider bound by limits yet driven to break them. Desperate to make a name for herself while trying to save the very village that has shunned her, she becomes an unwilling pawn in the quest for the emperor's high priest to take over the throne. She will have to find a way to help Emperor Cuauhtemoc–who, after the sudden loss of his father, detests his position–find his will and heart to rule over his people all while battling mythological beasts and facing charges of kidnapping, treason, and using outlawed magic.Despite years of tireless dedication to her people, Zyanya is still seen as an outsider after she is denied a hualli–an animal spirit which all citizens of Tamoanchan receive when they are thirteen. When the opportunity presents itself to save her starving village, she seizes the chance to plead with Emperor Cuauhtemoc, unaware that her request will ignite a decades-long conspiracy by the power-hungry high priest to take control of the throne.When she stumbles (literally) upon the nearly dead emperor after the high priest's botched assassination attempt, she is thrust into a dangerous adventure and must navigate a treacherous forest of fierce beasts, escape captivity in a hidden village, and convince the emperor to care more about his people and less about himself. As the lone non-shifter, she will have to draw on every ounce of her strength and ingenuity to save the empire, save her village, and clear her name.Inspired by the strange world of Aztec mythology, Legends from the Ashes plunges you into a world of animal spirits, shapeshifters, mythical beasts, ancient magic, friendship, love, and self-discovery.Where to get the book:Amazon: https://a.co/d/0ehMLuIg BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/legends-from-the-ashes-cortney-s-lamar/1150144492?ean=9781964823041Books-a-Million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Legends-from-Ashes/Cortney-S-Lamar/9781964823041Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Legends-from-the-Ashes-Book-One-Paperback-9781964823041/20297165222?classType=REGULAR&from=/searchAuthor website: www.authorcortneyslamar.comWhere to find our guest:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1CAsHAynT4/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorcortneyslamar?stkn=M2tlcmd3c3JucHQ2Where to find your host:Melinda’s website: https://melindakucsera.com/Melinda’s Substack: https://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embedRiders of the Apocalypse Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/melindakucsera/two-riders-of-the-apocalypse-illustrated-epic-fantasy-quests Back now! It ends on Nov. 12, 2026.

Hi, I’m indie fantasy author, Melinda Kucsera, and in this episode, L. E. Bendon joined me to talk about his fantasy book, The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites.What’s it about?Melisma Gat had put any ideas of a career in magic and adventure behind her long ago. Now all she wants is to run her inn, entertain locals and tourists, and provide that one final decent night's sleep for adventurers (whether seasoned pros or hopeful trainees) before they head off into the forest for whatever ridiculously dangerous quest some rich idiot from the nearby city of Twunhorm has decided to fund.But Melisma's modest and reasonable ambitions suddenly become a lot less realistic when her nightly performance is interrupted by two large creatures bursting into her inn. The city has declared emergency lockdown and it falls upon her to lead a party of trainees off the script of their final examination quest and halfway up an imposing mountain, so that she can get back to her simple life and, if it's not too much to ask, save most of the city's population from being devoured, torn to shreds, or whatever the unleashed magical hybrid creatures have in mind.Why halfway up a mountain? They'll just have to ask the villain when they get there. Maybe she doesn't believe you can have high fantasy at sea level. To find out, Melisma is first going to have to lead her inexperienced team to overcome obstacles, defeat henchmen, solve riddles and avoid being eaten. All she has at her disposal are distant memories of her incomplete training, knowledge of a few simple spells, a couple of books she barely remembers buying and the unreliable translation skills of her pampered pet cat.Discworld meets Knightmare on a planet with purple plants, a magic system inspired by music theory, and adventure questing as a serious field of academia. The Dungeon Campaign for Animal Rites has all of the quirky humour you've come to expect from the author of The Weapon and the Fruit series, but with added satire and no murders.Where to get the book:Paperbacks from the Printer: https://www.aneurysmcupcake.com/paperbackpurchase.htm Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/in/en/ebook/the-dungeon-campaign-for-animal-rites Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0H26N37S7 From the Publisher: https://store.pothi.com/book/l-e-bendon-dungeon-campaign-animal-rites/ Other stores: Http://mybook.to/DCARWhere to find our guest:@authorbendon (threads/instagram) @L_E_Bendon (twitter) @lebendon.com (BlueSky) http://www.lebendon.comhttp://www.aneurysmcupcake.comWhere to find your host:Melinda’s website: https://melindakucsera.com/Melinda’s Substack: https://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embed

Hi, I’m indie fantasy author, Melinda Kucsera, and in this episode, Andrew Shaw joined me to talk about her fantasy book, Renn.What’s it about?Renn is a tale told against the backdrop of the rise and fall of China’s first empire from the point of view of the two characters at the centre of the story. The first narrator is a princess kidnapped and sold to a brothel, who must seduce a foreign king to gain her freedom. The second narrator is her warrior husband who becomes willing to tear down the empire he helped build to rescue her.Renn can be read as a traditional epic fantasy, as a Grimdark novel, or as a Romantasy.Where to get the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0HN7PN7C9Where to find our guest:Email: [email protected] Website: https://andrewshawauthor.com/Jade Website: https://www.jadefiend.com/Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@andrewshaw8306Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andrew.j.shaw.9/Podcast: https://dalu34341.podbean.com/Instagram: andrewshaw8735Where to find your host:Melinda’s website: https://melindakucsera.com/Melinda’s Substack: https://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embedhttps://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embed

Hi, I’m indie fantasy author, Melinda Kucsera, and in this episode, V. Yospe and J. Flynn joined me to talk about their fantasy book, The Bitch Captain and The LadyWhat’s it about?Izzy’s Story: BermudaMy sister promised to take me on an unforgettable summer vacation.I didn’t realize she meant a trip to the seventeenth century.Izzy St. Germaine is an overachiever with a charmed life – privileged, polished, and perfectly on track. When her adoptive sister, Anne, invites her along for a Sisterly Summer at Sea, it feels like the break she’s long overdue for.There’s just one little thing. Anne, who has been living a double life as a time traveler, doesn’t mention that their true destination is Somers Isles, 1649.Thrust into a world straight from her beloved historical romance novels, Izzy takes on the alias and persona of the silken-clad Lady Isabelle, her only protection in a world of slavers and brigands.Join Izzy on a (mostly) light hearted romp through the Renaissance as she uses her modern knowledge to navigate a world of corsets, seventeenth century table manners, and flirting – all while unearthing Anne’s secrets and connections to the past.Izzy’s Story: Bermuda follows Izzy’s side of this epic tale.Anne: BermudaHow, exactly, does one confess to being a secret time traveler? That’s the question plaguing Anne St. Germaine.By all appearances, Anne is an enigmatic solo sailor, gone for months at a time on her ship. In reality, she is a frequent visitor to the past, where she has acquired a reputation as a pirate as well as a nom de guerre: The Bitch Captain of the Seven Seas.Now that the time has finally come to say goodbye to the 21st century, Anne decides to reveal her secret by taking her sister Izzy back in time to the Somers Isles of 1649 - without informing her of their true destination.But the uninitiated and very modern Izzy proves to be a bigger challenge than Anne expects, thrusting both of them into one perilous situation after another.Will Anne be successful in integrating Izzy into her world? Or will this attempt at unburdening her soul end in disaster for their relationship?Get your copy of Anne: Bermuda to follow Anne’s side of this epic journey through time.Where to get the book:Izzy’s Story: Bermuda: https://mybook.to/2l3AAnne: Bermuda: https://mybook.to/88TdWhere to find our guests:https://www.thebitchcaptainandthelady.com/https://www.instagram.com/theladyisabelle?stkn=MW9hZmRlc3BzM2JldQ==Where to find your host:Melinda’s website: https://melindakucsera.com/Melinda’s Substack: https://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embedhttps://www.melinda-kucsera.com/embed