Sherwood Smith

Battle on and off the field, with sword and fan, with might and manners... It begins in a cold and shabby tower room, where young Countess Meliara swears to her dying father that she and her brother will defend their people from the growing greed of the king. That promise leads them into a war for which they are ill prepared, a war that threatens the homes and lives of the very people they are trying to protect. But war is simple compared to what follows, when the bloody fighting is done and a fragile peace is at hand. Although she wants to turn her back on politics and the crown, Meliara is summoned to the royal palace. There, she soon discovers, friends and enemies look alike, and intrigue fills the dance halls and the drawing rooms. If she is to survive, Meliara must learn a whole new way of fighting--with wit and words and secret alliances. In war, at least, she knew whom she could trust. Now she can trust no one. The Firebird edition of Crown Duel combines the hardcover editions of Crown Duel and Court Duel-and features a never-before-published story by Sherwood Smith!

Aurelia Kim Murray is a California girl who wishes there were more to life. And there is. For Kim is part of a royal family from a tiny eastern European country, and soon finds herself swept up in the romance and mystery she always wanted-and more, because there's something very different about her bloodline and the magical nature of her ancestral country.

Many generations ago, a mysterious cataclysm struck the world. Governments collapsed and people scattered, to rebuild where they could. A mutation, "the Change,” arose, granting some people unique powers. Though the area once called Los Angeles retains its cultural diversity, its technological marvels have faded into legend. "Las Anclas" now resembles a Wild West frontier town… where the Sheriff possesses superhuman strength, the doctor can warp time to heal his patients, and the distant ruins of an ancient city bristle with deadly crystalline trees that take their jewel-like colors from the clothes of the people they killed. Teenage prospector Ross Juarez’s best find ever – an ancient book he doesn’t know how to read – nearly costs him his life when a bounty hunter is set on him to kill him and steal the book. Ross barely makes it to Las Anclas, bringing with him a precious artifact, a power no one has ever had before, and a whole lot of trouble.

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 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!

Indevan Algara-Vayir was born the second son of a powerful prince, destined to stay at home and defend his family's castle. But when war threatens, Inda is sent to the Royal Academy where he learns the art of war and finds that danger and intrigue don't only come from outside the kingdom.

With the help of a prince and an apprentice wizard, Wren strives to rescue her best friend, a princess named Tess, from the fortress of a wicked king. Reissue.

The Crown Duel Two novelettes about Mel’s and Vidanric’s older two offspring, Prince Alaraec (“Court Ship”) and Elestra (“Beauty”). In the latter, the middle child, who thinks of herself as the plain one of the three Renselaeus siblings, goes into the throne room to look at a tree, and meets a beautiful villain. Thus begins a duel of wits with unexpected results. In “Court Ship” Prince Raec and his best friend, Nadav, heir to the duchy of Savona, go on a mission to court a princess. Both boys get distracted… but the princess is determined to keep them on task. A dance of diplomacy and romance ensues.

This four-volume feel-good pandemic project has earned praise from lovers of The Goblin EmperorIn the grand tradition of martial arts fantasies, The Phoenix Feather begins twenty-five yearsafter a pair of lovers ran for their lives from an angry prince and washed up on an island where they adopted new identities—and found themselves blessed by an omen promising great things, a single golden phoenix feather.Their eldest child, a natural martial artist like his father, seems destined for those great things. The second son, an artist and a dreamer, has no desire for greatness—he wants to be left alone to paint. And the youngest, a daughter, used to wearing her brothers’ castoffs and trotting at their heels, is the least promising, always scamping her studies in favor of sword lessons and play.All three vowed to keep their parents’ dangerous secret. But in this first volume, Fledglings, the family learns that sometimes children must follow their own paths . .

Rhis is sixteen, romantic, a princess of the tiny kingdom of Nym. Nothing ever happens in Nym, until she receives an invitation to a celebration for Prince Lios of Vesarja, the largest kingdom around. Lios is as handsome as Rhis hoped, and she falls instantly in love, just like in her favorite songs. But life isn't like the songs--none of her friends are happy, and then there is the Perfect Princess, Iardith, who keeps occupying Lios's time. Rhis does her best to fix things for her friends, as she pursues her romantic ideal . . . and then the Perfect Princess is abducted. Of course Rhis must go to the rescue . . . the princes right behind. This rollicking romantic fantasy takes place in the same world as the Wren Books, and Lhind the Thief.

The evil king is dead, the war is over, and Meliara -- barefoot countess and reluctant heroine -- has been swept up into a different kind of battle in the dance halls and drawing rooms of the royal palace. Physical warfare is easy compared to the genteel skirmishes of the royal court. Here, Mel's friends and enemies look alike: Instead of swords, they wave fans; instead of armor, they wear beautiful gowns and sinister smiles. If she is to survive, Mel will have to learn a whole new way of fighting -- with wits and words and secret alliances.

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! Product Warnings 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. Swashbuckling in a magic world—L.A. style!

Sasha s prince is wicked, Sun s is missing they take up the sword, L.A. style! Sasharia En Garde Book 2 In the magical world of Khanerenth, there s a long way to go before Sasha and her dream prince, Jehan, can get to perfect. Jehan s deception has left her unable to trust him, and grimly determined to search for her missing father. Jehan only wants to protect Sasha from the dangerous undercover mission he s undertaken to heal the broken kingdom, but he knows she can t afford to listen to him not when he s the one living a lie. Enemies, allies and temptation make the ballroom floor as dangerous as pirate raids. In a world where love is danger and honor is difficult to define, the crown is not the only thing on the line for a wicked prince and a princess with a core of steel. There s a royal price for love."

Princess Flian finds herself the unwilling object of desire of three royals. Is the one she wants a villain--or a hero? Waking up in a strange place, Flian Elandersi at first doesn't know who she is. One wicked prince tells her she is secretly engaged to an even more wicked king who wants to marry her right away. But before that happens, yet another wicked prince crashes through a window on horseback to sweep her off her feet. Memory returns, and Flian realizes that all any of them seem to want is her considerable wealth, not her pleasant-but-ordinary self. She longs to escape the barracks-like, military atmosphere and return to civilization and her musical studies. Flian endures another abduction, this time in the middle of a poetry reading. Who is the villain? Prince Garian Herlester--languid, elegant, sarcastic? Prince Jaim--he of the dashing horsemanship? Or King Jason Szinzar, whose ambiguous warning might be a threat? Flian decides it's time to throw off civilization and take action. The problem with action is that duels of wit turn into duels of steel--and love can't be grabbed and galloped away. NOTE: this edition has gone out of print, and has been edited and reissued by Book View Cafe.

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. This young adult romantic fantasy adventure will appeal to fans of A POSSE OF PRINCESSES.

One of the longest-running debates about Jane Austen’s work has been the problematical ending of MANSFIELD PARK. Sherwood Smith feels that part of the problem is that the narrative stops abruptly in Book Three, Chapter XVII. Here the narrator takes the stage to issue a long summary of what happened, after all those brilliant pages of immersing readers in the minds of the characters and their world. When she read James Austen-Leigh’s memoir about his famous aunt in which he reported sister Cassandra begging Jane for a different ending, Smith gained the courage to join the host of other authors who love to play in Jane Austen’s world, and take up the story from that point and offer a new ending.

Wren and her friends, Connor and Tyron, assist Princess Teressa through civil war and assassination attempts and through enchantments, transformations, and other magicks that change their kingdom forever. Reprint.

The first summer of peace brings Wren on her weekly visit to the young Queen Teressa, where she encounters the derisive, upsetting Hawk Rhiscarlan riding in! Wren races to warn Teressa, to discover he's expected, which causes the girls' first argument. Tyron gives Wren a chance to leave Meldreth by sending her on a new journeymage project--to find Connor, who had wandered off to the Summer Isles. When Wren vanishes, her scry stone abandoned, Teressa veers between regret over the argument, worry about Wren, and the beguilement of attraction as Hawk skillfully upsets her court. Wren has just made friends with some young sailors when they are captured and forced on board a shady smuggler, where Wren learns all about the sea. When pirates attack, Wren does magic, which leads her straight to another confrontation with the villain she hates most, aided by the boy she . . . what do you call these feelings? Once again the four--Wren, Teressa, Connor, and Tyron--find themselves deep in adventure, as they try to navigate the treacherous waters of growing up.

Yearning for adventure, Wren journeys to find her family, but her travels are threatened by an assortment of shady characters, as well as by her traveling companion's preoccupation with magic. Reprint.

In 1799, all of Europe is at war. In Palermo, sixteen-year-old singer-in-training Anna Maria Ludovisi is married by her dying father to Captain Henry Duncannon, the Perennial Bachelor. Minutes after the wedding he sets sail. The threat of French invasion causes Anna to flee to Paris. At the end of the Revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte is transforming France; Anna must transform herself into a professional singer in order to survive. in 1805, Anna's opera company is traveling through Spain when events bring the long-missing Captain Duncannon and his forgotten wife back together again, as the English, Spanish, and French fleets converge for battle off the Cape of Trafalgar. For Henry Duncannon as well as Anna, everything the demands of war, the obligation of family, the meaning of love, and the concept of home. Can they find a new life together? A romantic Napoleonic-period historical from Sherwood Smith, author of DANSE DE LA FOLIE.