NOVELS AND STORIES
Here’s what’s available for you to read now. Enjoy.
TALES OF THE SWORDSMAN
VOL 1: SWORD OF SORROW BLADE OF JOY
There is only one kind of justice in the jianghu: the kind you bring with a sword.
After maiming a nobleman’s son, the protection of a legendary swordsman was the best hiding place for fourteen-year old Shu Yan. But she certainly didn’t expect to join him in his quest to find the man who murdered his master and family.
Li Ming is the last swordsman of Blue Mountain. He has sworn an oath to avenge his master’s death and bring the man who murdered his family to justice.
But in the search for his master’s killer, the swordsman and the runaway girl will face bandits, conmen, conspiracies, and scheming nobles. Because the road to revenge is never straight, and always full of danger.
Inspired by classic Kung Fu films and spaghetti western movies, Sword of Sorrow, Blade of Joy is the first volume of tales of the swordsman—adventures of wuxia action, witty banter, martial arts camaraderie, bandits, princesses, and treacherous villains.
TALES OF THE SWORDSMAN
VOL. 2: FANGS OF THE BLACK TIGER
The martial world only respects the strong.
Bounty hunters have taken Shu Yan.
Li Ming, the last swordsman of Blue Mountain, will stop at nothing to free the girl. To save her, he will have to count on the help of some old allies: a deadly spearwoman and an (occasionally) corrupt magistrate.
Meanwhile, Shu Yan must rely on more than her wits and a snarky joke to survive the custody of the most ruthless and dangerous scum of the martial world.
But there is unrest in the land. Shazha Kui, the butcher of Blue Mountain, is building a powerful army, awaiting the right moment to topple an empire.
Has the time finally come for Li Ming to avenge the ghosts of his family?
TALES OF THE SWORDSMAN
VOL. 3: FALL OF THE KING SABER
The ghosts of the past never stay silent.
An apprentice is a distraction Li Ming cannot afford. But he promised to train Shu Yan, even though it may lead him from the mastery needed to defeat his master’s killer.
Bounty hunters are a distraction that might kill Shu Yan. With the reward growing ever richer, the girl must return to the only home she has ever known and face her past.
The land is in chaos. People openly join the Black Tiger Rebellion. The jianghu grows more dangerous.
Will the last swordsman of Blue Mountain prevail against the man who took everything from him? Will he restore peace to a kingdom on the brink of ruin?
The eyes of the martial world are watching....
THE TALE OF THE MAGISTRATE
THE TOUCH OF MURDER
Sometimes justice punishes the innocent
If it were up to Magistrate Tao Jun, he would solve every mystery with a sword and a fake name (and maybe a fancy silk robe).
So when a missing person becomes a murder investigation, he's (happily) on the case. But all is not as it seems. As the magistrate digs deeper, he finds: an assassin trying to kill him, a trail of blood, a web of lies, and a conman wanted in two cities. And somehow, in the centre of all this deception, is a girl with a mysterious past...
Well, dodging archers' arrows is more fun than paperwork anyway.
Set amid the Tales of the Swordsman and the Tales of the Jianghu series, this is a detective story with wuxia action (a futou-noir story, if you will). This story follows beloved (and totally corrupt) Magistrate Tao Jun and his dry and irreverent take on the jianghu and the bureaucracy of being a magistrate.
If you like classic wuxia and detective stories, dust off your favorite sword (wipe off those bloodstains—no one needs to see that), and head over to the magistrate's office for THE TOUCH OF MURDER.
THE HANDS OF REVENGE
There is beauty in revenge
Magistrate Tao Jun hates the bureaucratic part of his job.
But when a routine assignment turns deadly, he’s (happily) on the case. That is until he finds the handiwork of a serial killer from his past—one that he put to death personally. As he digs into each shocking murder, he finds: messages written in blood, a fan boy, a perverted nobleman, and, of course, the gruesome handiwork of the Sickle Killer.
And somehow, at the heart of it all, is the Jade Beauty—a woman people would kill to possess.
Well, chasing bad guys across rooftops is more fun than paperwork anyway.
WHY I SWORE TO NEVER HIRE A GOON (EXCEPT IN EMERGENCIES)
GOONS ARE EASIER ON THE BUDGET…
Shi Baizhe is a screwup. His schemes tend to backfire, and no one in the town of Yuan’men likes him. But when his sister gets kidnapped by a gang, he knows he needs a hero. Unfortunately, heroes don’t come cheap, and no one gives freebies to screwups.
…THAN HEROES
WIth no other alternative, he looks to the seedier side of the jianghu for aid. Enlisting the aid of a former crime boss, two brutes, a grifter, and a qinggong specialist, and a particularly foul-tempered cat, Shi Baizhe will put together the unlikeliest crew to ever stage a heist.
And of course, snacks will be provided.
This is a light-hearted heist comedy based in the Legends of the Martial World, an ancient China adjacent setting full of martial arts action, laugh-out-loud humor, and entertaining characters.
WHY I SWORE TO NEVER HIRE A GOON (EXCEPT IN EMERGENCIES) available on Kindle Vella.
eBook and paperback coming soon in 2023.
TALES FROM THE JIANGHU
DUEL AT BROKEN FURNITURE INN
How do you stop martial artists from wrecking your inn?
Yan Tao's daily routine as the proprietor of the Green Brocade Inn is similar to most other proprietors: manage the books, order ingredients, train the staff, greet guests.
And clean up broken furniture.
Green Brocade is better known by its nickname in the world of the jianghu — the Broken Furniture Inn. The popular stopping place draws in martial artists intent on proving their honor and settling grudges. Yan Tao is tired of heroes wrecking his place and his inn is always another brawl away from bankruptcy. But when a group of bandits appears, the fate of his inn rests in the hands of a young pugilist with a mysterious past.
TALES FROM THE JIANGHU
BROKEN CHAIR HIDDEN FIST
How do you stop martial artists from wrecking your inn?
When amnesiac martial arts prodigy Miao begins to recover her memories, she realizes that a great threat looms over her comfortable life at the Broken Furniture (Green Brocade) Inn. The Hidden Fist, an ultra-secretive sect of assassins, never forget their own.
In order to protect her friends, Miao will have to face her dangerous past.
But will her former masters let her go?
