Dan Koboldt – författare

Service at the Red Rooster Inn leaves much to be desired. The innkeeper, Darin, has a scowl for every new face. The homebrewed ale seems to grow less palatable with each new batch. The barmaid, Evie, only seems to work when wealthy young men are around, and the old witch Seraphina ensures that's not too often. As for Big Tom, well, everyone learns right quick to stay on the bouncer’s good side. But there’s a reason everyone at the Red Rooster crew bad is at their job. By night, they’re the best team of con artists in the Old Queendom.When a stranger shows up offering a hefty sum to steal a shipment of imperial dreamwine, Darin knows he should refuse. But thanks to a string of bad luck, he owes money to the Gray Dame, the local crime boss. The pay-out from this job will get him square and then some. It might leave enough to explore the promises of power that silver whispers to him. Of course, they’ll have to steal the dreamwine first. It’s the most precious substance in the Old Queendom. Never duplicated, never stolen.But there’s a first time for everything.

Four inhabitants of the Jewel Empire find themselves summoned for an audience with the empress. Each one knows why: Kane, the ambassador of the Jewel Empire, who is surely being blamed for some of the chaos that has plagued his home. Captain Yasira, who's certainly in trouble for her crew losing a shipment of dreamwine.Mervi, whose addiction to silver got her cast out of the palace despite her rare talent for metallurgy. Val, who has helped too many imperial laborers escape across the border. When they arrive, the four are surprised to find that they are not, in fact, being called to the gallows as each had assumed. Instead, the empress has brought them together for an impossible and probably lethal mission. They are to rescue the regional imperial governor (also the empress's favorite niece) from a group of mercenaries from Ganar, a region to the South. They are grateful for the chance to escape punishment for their crimes, but first, they must succeed. If they do, each will get what they desire most. If they fail, the consequences could be deadly. What seems like an easy mission at first soon grows more challenging as countless obstacles mar their path. The only way for them to make it through is to work together and use their unique skillsets for good. The only problem is that, for a bunch of criminals, working as a team doesn’t come easily… The Jewel Empire is an accessible fantasy with familiar tropes like heists and unlikely friendships that will appeal to many non-genre readers.

Genetic engineer Noah Parker has at last landed the job he's long coveted: director of dragon design for the Build-A-Dragon Company. With a combination of genetic engineering and a cryptic device known as the Redwood Codex, he and his team can produce living, breathing dragons made-to-order. But sales of dragons have plummeted, and the Build-A-Dragon Company will have to find new revenue streams if it hopes to stay in business. A contract to develop dragons for the U.S. military promises a much-needed lifeline. Yet the specs are more challenging than anything Noah has ever designed. Worse, he learns that a shadow company headed by former CEO Robert Greaves has stolen the dragon-making technology to make a competing bid. Noah’s dragons will face off against those of his old adversary. It’s a head-to-head design competition, with the ethical future of domesticated dragons hanging in the balance.About Domesticating Dragons:“Koboldt delivers a funny and immersive look at the world of genetic engineering. . . . With characteristic verve, Koboldt contrasts the playful adventure plot with eerie dystopian setting and a seering examination of corporate greed and ambition. Fans of inventive speculative fiction are sure to be pleased.” —Publishers WeeklyAbout Dan Koboldt:“. . . very readable and highly enjoyable. . . . Characters that are more than the sum of their parts, a world that has so much to offer, and a story that races along apace . . . ” —SFF World on The World Awakening