Books in Lodestone Tales series

On a whim, the rainbow's child falls to earth, where a cruel adversary takes advantage of her innocence. Bereft of her thunder-swept heavens, she dwindles. The sky calls to her, but she cannot answer. This transcendent short story of J.M. Ney-Grimm's troll-ridden North-lands explores how inner freedom creates outer opportunities. Earth trumps heaven until ancient music plays. (This edition of Rainbow's Lodestone includes its sequel story Star-drake.) PRAISE FOR RAINBOW'S LODESTONE AND STAR-DRAKE "...almost "Tolkienesque"...the stories feel like they're happening on the Earth we know, but long before our recorded history... Despite the fact that it deals with a grim act of mischief, [Rainbow's Lodestone is] a delightful read. The enchanting thing about it is the personification of the Rainbow, and the general attitude she has towards her fate... All in all, these are wonderful stories...Ney-Grimm's unique blend of Nordic fantasy and fairy tale mentality is a refreshing take on the genre, and [her] poetic style of writing (whichever tone she uses) adds a special sheen to the work. I read a lot of fiction, and I can honestly say I've not come across anything quite like this." —James J.Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes EXCERPT FROM RAINBOW'S LODESTONE She did not see him, but a rainbow's child might not. The sky was her realm—air and light and wind—with brief visits to earth and the creatures of earth. She pranced and leapt and whirled. She tossed back her head, tresses swirling, and flung her arms skyward. She bent and bowed. She rejoiced in this highland dell. He threw the lodestone. It caught the hem of her gauzy gown of light, pinning a sapphire panel to the ground. Pain. Terror. Shock. Her face registered all these and more. She tried to straighten, tugging at her dress. It dragged her downward, trapping her against the ground. She looked up, eyes dilating, pleading in the gesture of one hand. Now she was seeing him. ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

Two friends. Two opinions. One dilemma. On fabled Navarys—the Atlantis of the North-lands—Liliyah studies energea as all thirteen-year-olds do, devoting her mornings to mastering the music that controls her magic. Afternoons, she hobnobs with the artisan crafters and shopkeepers who built the island city-state into the trade capital of the world. Her friend Mago faces struggles unsuspected by carefree Liliyah. His father, a renowned inventor, succumbs to irrational flashes of rage. His mother holds a lethal secret close. When the king's geomancer announces that a tidal wave threatens Navarys, every citizen on the island springs to action. Amidst the uproar, the aeromancer Palujon steals Mago's father's latest invention: unique lodestones with the potential to revolutionize life as the Navareans know it. Mago vows to make good his father's loss. But Liliyah questions Palujon's motives. Why would a man of his stature break the law? Is he truly a dastard? Two friends. Two answers. Life and death hang on their choices. PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM "...a coming-of-age story with elements of Steampunk make it a great tale for fantasy enthusiasts of all ages." —D.J. Gelner, Amazon review of Troll-magic "I loved this story! It is lively, perky and interesting." —W. Walsh, Amazon review of The Troll's Belt "J.M. Ney-Grimm is a master [of epic fantasy], and I've been a fan of her work since the first paragraph I read..." —James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review of Sarvet's Wanderyar "Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her!" —Mira, Amazon review of Troll-magic EXCERPT FROM SKIES OF NAVARYS The tale is usually told with the great Palujon Clisto as rogue and thief, and the legendary Zandro Mytris as hero and savior. But one mother of ancient Navarys knows the truth. She was there on the fabulous airship Subindo, the only one of the fleet to ride untouched through the storm. * * * Liliyah clutched the back of the divan where she knelt, bounced once,and pressed her face to the slanted window pane of the airship. The glass felt cool against her nose tip. "Look! Look!" she exclaimed. "It's Eirene! Going to the park." "How can you tell?" Mago's shoulder nudged hers as he peered downward. "We're way too high to tell who's who." "She always goes now. Besides, I just know. It is her." Why did Mago have to doubt everything? He'd been nicer when they were younger. Now it was always "are you sure?" and "why do you think that?" and never just taking her say so. Liliyah gritted her teeth. ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

Two friends. Two opinions. One dilemma. On fabled Navarys—the Atlantis of the North-lands—Liliyah studies energea as all thirteen-year-olds do, devoting her mornings to mastering the music that controls her magic. Afternoons, she hobnobs with the artisan crafters and shopkeepers who built the island city-state into the trade capital of the world. Her friend Mago faces struggles unsuspected by carefree Liliyah. His father, a renowned inventor, succumbs to irrational flashes of rage. His mother holds a lethal secret close. When the king's geomancer announces that a tidal wave threatens Navarys, every citizen on the island springs to action. Amidst the uproar, the aeromancer Palujon steals Mago's father's latest invention: unique lodestones with the potential to revolutionize life as the Navareans know it. Mago vows to make good his father's loss. But Liliyah questions Palujon's motives. Why would a man of his stature break the law? Is he truly a dastard? Two friends. Two answers. Life and death hang on their choices. PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM "...a coming-of-age story with elements of Steampunk make it a great tale for fantasy enthusiasts of all ages." —D.J. Gelner, Amazon review of Troll-magic "I loved this story! It is lively, perky and interesting." —W. Walsh, Amazon review of The Troll's Belt "J.M. Ney-Grimm is a master [of epic fantasy], and I've been a fan of her work since the first paragraph I read..." —James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review of Sarvet's Wanderyar "Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her!" —Mira, Amazon review of Troll-magic EXCERPT FROM SKIES OF NAVARYS The tale is usually told with the great Palujon Clisto as rogue and thief, and the legendary Zandro Mytris as hero and savior. But one mother of ancient Navarys knows the truth. She was there on the fabulous airship Subindo, the only one of the fleet to ride untouched through the storm. * * * Liliyah clutched the back of the divan where she knelt, bounced once,and pressed her face to the slanted window pane of the airship. The glass felt cool against her nose tip. "Look! Look!" she exclaimed. "It's Eirene! Going to the park." "How can you tell?" Mago's shoulder nudged hers as he peered downward. "We're way too high to tell who's who." "She always goes now. Besides, I just know. It is her." Why did Mago have to doubt everything? He'd been nicer when they were younger. Now it was always "are you sure?" and "why do you think that?" and never just taking her say so. Liliyah gritted her teeth. ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains. She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.

The warriors of Torbellai brought back a prize in the night, and young Paitra wants to see it. Even hidden away in the armory, the artifact changed the whole mood of their mountain citadel from dread foreboding to hope. And Paitra's people need hope to turn the tide in their long war against the troll horde. Might this small triumph presage a mightier victory? But the warlord hid the fighters' plunder for good reason. Forged by trolls and radiating magic, it presents grave risk to the soul and spirit of any who approach it. Sneaking past the weapon smiths into the armory with his brother, Paitra still believes his home a safe place for boy's mischief. But bronze hammered by trolls is anything but safe. Opportunity cloaked within its lethal enchantment awaits the right unlocking key. Could Paitra wield that key? And will he survive his curiosity? Through death into magic and sound, Paitra confronts . . . resonant bronze. PRAISE FOR J.M. NEY-GRIMM "...Ney-Grimm paints a vivid, lush picture worthy of the Peter Jackson treatment." —D.J. Gelner, Amazon review of Troll-magic "...fascinating and insightful..." —P. Saternye, Amazon review of Livli's Gift "Ney-Grimm's unique blend of Nordic fantasy and fairy tale mentality is a refreshing take on the genre... I read a lot of fiction, and I can honestly say I've not come across anything quite like this." —James J. Parsons, Speaking to the Eyes review of Rainbow's Lodestone "Her work compares favorably with Robin McKinley and Patricia McKillip ...I'm really pleased to have discovered her!" —Mira, Amazon review of Troll-magic EXCERPT FROM RESONANT BRONZE Something had changed the previous autumn in the Battle of the Falling Waters. The Ghriana warriors poured into the valley between the lake and the cliff, high-couraged and fell, sweeping the troll horde onto the precipice, pushing them over its brink where the waters tumbled. Victory seemed near—the next in a string of crucial victories—when a low, resonant throbbing disturbed the air and shivered the earth. The Ghriana faltered, suddenly weak at the knee and hollow at heart. The troll horde recovered and, under Regenen Carbry's command, seized the field. The Ghrianan death toll grew grievous, and every conflict since had featured troll dominance, Ghrianan rout, all accompanied by that hideous throbbing groan on the breeze and rumble through the ground. But, now, now, something had changed again. Why? Paitra wanted to see the bounty brought in by the victorious warriors. What was this prize, that its capture should bend the current of the war? ABOUT THE AUTHOR J.M. Ney-Grimm lives with her husband and children in Virginia, just east of the Blue Ridge Mountains.She's learning about permaculture gardening and debunking popular myths about food. The rest of the time she reads Robin McKinley, Diana Wynne Jones, and Lois McMaster Bujold, plays boardgames like Settlers of Catan, rears her twins, and writes stories set in her troll-infested North-lands.