New Releases by Sherwood Smith

In this sequel to The Spy Princess, Lilah, newly made a princess, teams up with Atan, the hidden princess of the oldest country in the world, Sartor, to free the kingdom from a century of enchantment. Capture, escape, a forest beyond time, ancient beings, civilizations secreted in caves, and a deadly enemy await the girls. Atan knows that if she survives, the challenges facing a fifteen-year-old queen are only beginning.

This prequel to Crown Duel is about the early life of Vidanric Renselaeus, Marquis of Shevraeth, who as a courtly, well-mannered teen coached in the noble art of dueling, finds himself thrown into the infamous military academy in Marloven Hess. There, instead of reading theories about statecraft, he is forced to learn about command from the inside-and what it means to be king.

An anthology of speculative fiction by women about women

Rhis, princess of a small kingdom, is invited along with all the other princesses in her part of the world to the coming of age party of the Crown Prince of Vesarja, which is the central and most important kingdom. When Iardith, the prettiest and most perfect of all the princesses, is abducted, Rhis and her friends go to the rescue. What happens to Rhis and her posse has unexpected results not only for the princesses, but for the princes who chase after them. Everyone learns a lot about friendship and hate, politics and laughter, romantic ballads and sleeping in the dirt with nothing but a sword for company. But most of all they learn about the many meanings of love.

Journey back to Oz with Dori and Emma, along with old favorites like Scraps and Polychrome, as they travel through the skies over Oz. There''s a plot afoot with a dastardly villain who kidnapped Princess Dorothy in Smith''s first book. It''ll take Glinda, Rikk the Nome, Dori, Emma, Scraps, and many more to contend with this threat ... even a shaggy dog named "Dad!"

Lhind has been on the run all her life. Stealing what she needs, using magic for disguise, she never stays anywhere long. Lhind even has secrets from herself, for she has few memories, and those are troubling. But life is good until she gets caught by Rajanas the warrior-prince, Thianra the bard, and Hlanan the scribe. And that''s when adventure begins, because someone very powerful wants them all dead.As they evade pursuit and work to uncover their enemies, Lhind struggles with the invisible bonds of friendship and trust, while Hlanan begins uncovering her secrets one by one.Then she finds that he has secrets, too.This fantasy with a dash of romance takes place in the same world as A Posse of Princesses and the Wren series.

Once upon a time, I had known nothing about my family. But then I went to Europe and discovered who I really was. And my new life...well, it was like something right out of a fairy tale. I was a member of the royal family of Dobrenica, a tiny, obscure European country with some very unusual attributes. Like magic. And ghosts. And vampires. But for the first time in my life I was truly happy. I was engaged to be married to the heir apparent to the throne, and we were in love. So my mood was high as I walked under the triumphal arch in the center of the capital city and passed the off little painting of a door that had intrigued me ever since I first came to Dobrenica. It was rendered so realistically that on first glance it seemed three dimensional, and I always ran my fingers over the amazing painting as I passed. But this time, my fingers closed on an actual cold metal doorknob, and the door swung inward, revealing a sun-drenched landscape and a teenage girl with honey-colored braids. As I stepped over the magical threshold, she spoke. "You are called to guide the child Aurelie,"she said. "But that is only half your task: to save Dobrenica, you must bring her here." And with that, she disappeared, leaving me floating like a spirit in a strange world, two hundred years in the past.

Just right for fans of Tamora Pierce and Patricia C. Wrede! When twelve-year-old Lady Lilah decides to disguise herself and sneak out of the palace one night, she has more of an adventure than she expected--for she learns very quickly that the country is on the edge of revolution. When she sneaks back in, she learns something even more surprising: her older brother Peitar is one of the forces behind it all. The revolution happens before all of his plans are in place, and brings unexpected chaos and violence. Lilah and her friends, leaving their old lives behind, are determined to help however they can. But what can four kids do? Become spies, of course!

Standalone novel of Sherwood Smith''s epic fantasy Sartorias-deles universe • follow-up to acclaimed military fantasy Inda series • courtly politics, vast worldbuilding, and diverse characters "Smith should rank high on any list of military writers.... A first-rate author boldly at play." —SF Signal Emras is the most diligent of students, and she wants nothing more than to become royal scribe for the intelligent and beautiful Princess Lasva. And Emras gets her wish. But life becomes complicated in ways she could never have foreseen. For though Emras adores the princess, she has been charged with a secret mission for the queen: to search her new home for signs of the evil magical influence of Norsunder—a kingdom once thought legendary, but now known to be real. Emras knows nothing of magic, but finds a knowledgeable and willing tutor in the barbaric land of Marloven Hesea. Was the queen right? Is there a connection between Norsunder and Marloven Hesea? And if Emras was acting on orders from her queen, why is she now on trial?

Before last summer, I was just a normal grad student from California, but then I went to Europe to track down my grandmother''s family and my life changed forever. Mistaken for Ruli, a runaway princess who, it turned out, was actually my cousin, I was drugged, abducted, and taken to Dobrenica, a tiny and very unusual little kingdom in Eastern Europe. The handsome man who kidnapped me was Alec, Ruli''s fiance, the man who was slated to rule Dobrenica. Like so many things in this odd little kingdom, their marriage would have a magical component―for when certain members of two royal lines married at a particular point in time, Dobrenica...vanished. The solution should have been simple, right? Find Ruli and bring her home. Except Ruli didn''t want to come home. Alec and Ruli disliked each other, and to complicate matters further, Alec and I...well, I''ve always been a romantic at heart. In the end we all did the "right thing." Brokenhearted yet resolute, I returned to America, but I just couldn''t seem to forget Alec or Dobrenica. But then I learned that though Ruli and Alec had married, Dobrenica was still in our world. Still in my world. The magic had failed, and no one knew why. So back I went, but my trip became even more dangerous than it was the first time. I expected personal conflict and politics, even sword fighting. I was also prepared for Dobrenica''s ever-present specters. But I was not prepared for murder, mystery, or the chillingly real presence of the undead.

Too much imagination was tantamount to lying―that’s what my grandmother taught me. So when I first got the sense that someone was following me, I ignored it. Who’d waste time following me? Me, being Aurelia Kim Murray, a grad student from California with a passion for ballet and fencing, and a hopelessly romantic vision of the world. I had some to Europe to track down my grandparents’ families, but so far I’d had no luck. I couldn’t explain the sense of urgency that drove me, even to myself. It has begun that day four months ago when my grandmother lay restlessly in her bed, her eyes glittering with fever as she gripped my hand. “Your mother is too gentle,” she’s whispered in her aristocratic Parisian French. “I cannot send her to steal the breach.” Breach? What breach? With her family? With my grandfather’s family? Neither Mom nor I knew anything about Grandmother’s family or the handsome man in the silver-framed photo that Gran always kept on her bedside table. “She wouldn’t talk about her life before California,” my mom has said, as we waited in yet another specialist’s office, hoping to find out why, though Gran had recovered from her fever, she had not spoken since. Nothing had come of my search in Paris, or Vienna, and no matter how fast I walked along the grand boulevards, I knew I couldn’t outpace my sense of failure. And that’s when I met my first ghost. But seeing ghosts wasn’t my biggest problem. I was being followed, and I was about to find out more about my lineage than I had ever imagined possible in my wildest, most fanciful dreams…or nightmares.

R and R Between a Rock and a Hard Place Dylan Hunt and the Crew of the Andromeda Ascendant have been fighting the good fight to re-establish the Systems Commonwealth. They need some serious rest and relaxation. Fortunately, they arrive at Paradise Drift, an ideal spot for a quick vacation. In the drift, the crew can play at pirates, medieval knights, gladiators--almost anything imaginable--in the virtual gaming scenarios concocted for visitors'' pleasure. Since the drift wishes to join the New Systems Commonwealth, the crew is given carte blanche to enjoy all of the drift''s facilities for free. This is a welcome gift for the weary crew, but it doesn''t take long for complications to arise. First, Trance Gemini vanishes without a trace. Then their tech-wizard Seamus Harper visits a harem, only to be confronted by a woman from his past who has a knife and a score to settle. Even worse, Pilot Beka Valentine is relentlessly pursued by a bounty hunter who desperately wants to claim the price on her head. And Captain Dylan Hunt hasn''t been worrying about his losing streak at a glamorous gambling parlor, until he discovers that gambling debts on the drift are anything but virtual. Little does Dylan know, he could end up paying for his debts with his head! Meanwhile, back on the ship, warrior Tyr Anasazi and ship''s AI Rommie are forced to defend the Andromeda Ascendant against aggression from an unlikely source. What follows is an exciting, suspenseful deep-space adventure that will surely satisfy viewers of the TV series and readers with a taste for space opera. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Acclaimed Inda series within Sherwood Smith''s epic fantasy Sartorias-deles universe • Military fantasy woven with courtly politics, vast worldbuilding, and diverse characters After ten years of exile on the sea, Inda returned home to protect his country from attack by an ancient enemy. But he found his home utterly changed. His old classmate Evred, a formerly powerless younger prince, was now king—and made Inda his Royal Shield Arm, the leader of defense for the entire kingdom. His country''s enemy, the Venn, are planning the largest naval attack in history, and the first line of defense is in a critically strategic strait to the north. Control of this strait has been contested for generations, often with violent conflicts, and Inda will need strong allies to overcome the Venn. Even with these allies, Inda is severely disadvantaged and outnumbered. Can Inda, military genius but only one man, find a way to defeat the powerful navy of the Venn and bring peace to his battered homeland at last?

Acclaimed Inda series within Sherwood Smith''s epic fantasy Sartorias-deles universe • Military fantasy woven with courtly politics, vast worldbuilding, and diverse characters Inda was the second son of the prince and princess of Choraed Elgaer. It had been Inda''s fate, as second son, to be his family''s Shield Arm and spend his adult life protecting the lands his brother would one day inherit. But powerful factions in the royal court were committed to seeing Inda fail. For eight difficult years, Inda had been at sea, using an assumed name and forcing himself to never think of all he had lost. And he had created a new life, for the military skills that had been trained into him and his own inborn leadership ability could not be erased. After founding a mercenary marine company, he had earned a reputation for defeating dangerous pirate fleets. When Inda discovers that his home country is about to be attacked from the sea by an ancient enemy, he throws his carefully guarded anonymity to the winds and returns home. After nearly a decade at sea, Inda finds his home utterly changed. His good friend Evred, the formerly powerless and harassed younger prince, is now king. Evred has heard of Inda''s martial accomplishments at sea, and is determined to make Inda his Royal Shield Arm—the person in charge of defending the entire kingdom. Though Inda is skilled, his experience is entirely naval. Can a former pirate captain alter his tactics to become a successful ground commander in time to save his endangered homeland?

First Firebirds. Then Firebirds Rising. Now there is Firebirds Soaring, the third anthology of original stories by some of today?s finest writers of fantasy and science fiction. These authors, including Nancy Farmer (The Sea of Trolls), Ellen Klages (The Green Glass Sea), Margo Lanagan (Black Juice), and Jane Yolen (The Devil?s Arithmetic), have brought new worlds and Old Magic to life in nineteen remarkable pieces of short fiction. Mike Dringenberg, co-creator of Sandman, contributes decorative vignettes. Firebirds Soaring?like Firebirds and Firebirds Rising?sets the standard for short fiction for teenagers and adult fans of the genre.

Swashbuckling in a magic world-L.A. style! Sasharia en Garde! book 1. Sasha''s mother, Sun, was once swept away from a Ren Faire to another world by a prince-literally-but there was no happy ending. Sun''s prince disappeared, and a wicked king took the Khanerenth throne. In the years since, Sasha and Sun have been back on Earth and on the run. Mom and daughter don''t quite see eye to eye on the situation-Sasha wants to stand and fight. Sun insists her prince will return for them one day; it''s safer to stay hidden. Then Sasha is tricked into crossing the portal to Khanerenth. She''s more than ready to join the resistance, kick some bad-guy butt, and fix the broken kingdom. But...is the stylish pirate Zathdar the bad guy? Or artistic, dreamy Prince Jehan? Back on Earth, Sun is furious Sasha has been kidnapped. Sun might once have been a rotten princess, but nobody messes with Mom! Warning: This title contains a kick-butt mother-daughter team, a wicked king, a witty pirate with an unfortunate taste for neon colors, inept resistance fighters, a dreamy prince who gallops earnestly hither and yon, and a kick-butt princess in waiting.

CJ and her gang of friends gather around the 13-year-old queen, Clair Sherwood, and find themselves beset by magical spells and various villains in the middle of Mearsies Heili''s woodland.

Teen-aged king Leander Tlennen-Hess has barely ruled a year when he and his stepsister Kitty (or Princess Kyale, as she wishes to be known) are surprised by a visitor who turns out to be Senrid, king of Marloven Hess. But Senrid is king in name only. His uncle, the regent, holds power, and Senrid must prove himself to be sufficiently strong by abducting for execution the two kids who thwarted the invasion.

“A first-rate fantasy novel” that blends military fantasy with courtly politics, vast worldbuilding, and a diverse cast of characters (Orson Scott Card, New York Times–bestselling author of Ender''s Game) The first book in the acclaimed Inda series, set within Sherwood Smith’s epic fantasy universe, Sartorias-deles Indevan-Dal is the second son of the Prince and Princess of Choraed Elgaer, destined to become his elder brother Tanrid''’ Shield Arm—his military champion. Like all second sons, he is to be privately trained at home by Tanrid, the brother whose lands he will one day protect. When the King’s Voice comes to summon Inda to the Military Academy, he might well feel foreboding, or even fear—war is imminent—yet youthful Inda feels only excitement. But there are things that Tanrid hasn’t prepared him for, and Inda will soon learn that the greatest threats to his safety will not come from foreign enemies, but from supposed allies within his own country.

In this fantasy, Clair travels about the universe looking for girls who need a home. She finds CJ on Earth and takes her to another world to live as a princess.

Big trouble is brewing in Oz! Sinister clouds boil ominously over the Emerald City, Dorothy has gone missing, and there are rumblings of rebellion in the Nome Kingdom. So a desperate plea for help goes out from Princess Ozma to two resourceful sisters from Kansas through the magic snow globe that helped bring them to Oz once before. But the girls face troubles of their own at home, and only one of them can answer Ozma''s call. It''s up to Dori to prevent a war deep in the caverns of the Nomes, while Em tries to do the same between their parents. It''s hard to say who has the tougher job. Written by acclaimed fantasy author Sherwood Smith and adorned with marvelous full-page black-and-white illustrations by William Stout, Trouble Under Oz is the second adventure featuring Dori and Em, two modern-day descendants of Dorothy Gale. The girls find themselves drawn even deeper into the affairs of the magical land they first visited in The Emerald Wand of Oz.

For the first time in paperback--a new Time Traders adventure in which Time Patrol stalwart Ross Murdock journeys back in time to find out what happened to the fabled civilization of Atlantis.

When Wren''s traveling companion begins to meddle with magic, she must try to keep things in hand, turning her quest far more dangerous than she imagined it would be.

Cece Robin is a simple fourth-grade schoolteacher. A chance meeting with a splinter group of the Resistance changes her life. She would never dream of getting involved in their plot to assassinate the Taelon leader Zo''or she''d never kill anyone-not even an alien Taelon! Her refusal makes her dangerous to the Resistance-and a suspect in the eyes of the Taelons. By great good luck she meets up with Augur, whom she puts in a terrible fix. He-the ultimate loner, whose credo is "I''m out for nobody but myself"--Risks his cover, his life, and worst of all, possibly, the loss of some income, to save his favorite teacher from the Taelons and the Resistance. Can Augur save Cece without crippling the Resistance and destroying humanity''s hope for the future? Maybe. But for sure, he''s really going to mess up his social life!

Brad Ellis, a serious young American, and Lucy Beale, a servant at the boarding school where Brad''s father is headmaster, find themselves aboard the "Basset" on a fantastical voyage into the realms of imagination.