Elise Carlson – författare

All roads lead to war.Tarlah's first nonbinary heir, Ruarnon, is determined to prove their worth to Tarlah's perfect King. But when Ruarnon's parents are abducted, they're left ruling Tarlah alone, in the shadow of impending war, with absent allies.Neighbouring King Kyura has no intention of invading. But his warmongering subjects long for the glory of expansion. When Kyura rejects their calls for war, assassins threaten his family and mutiny threatens his reign.Across the ocean, lost Aussie and feisty history-nerd Linh seizes her only chance to get home; sailing with Ruarnon's allies.Monsters at sea threaten everyone. Linh's learnings could save Kyura's people and clear her homeward path of them. If she risks her life aiding Ruarnon.But to secure peace with Kyura's unruly subjects, Ruarnon's ultimate test as heir risks betrayal and Tarlah's bloody defeat.

Ruarnon thinks of their father as the perfect king, setter of incredibly high standards, which Ruarnon strives to live up to. But Urmilian was different as a youth. And his youth coincided with a major event in Tarlahn history; the night this story takes place on.Everywhere he looks, 15-year-old Urmillian sees his people suffering under foreign rule. He longs to join his father's uprising and free his people, despite father's orders to protect the family home. When the uprising gets hairy and Urmillian's younger brother calls for aid, Urmillian risks both their lives by joining his older sister on the front line.Rebellion is Due is an action-packed YA Fantasy short story (7500 words).

Secrets lie across the seas. With the damars vanquished, Heir Ruarnon thought they'd secured Umarinaris' eastern seas. But Nartzeer's murderous creatures are back, their handlers are more worrisome and both bar Ruarnon's path to allies needed to recover their abducted parents. The handlers are Linh's chance to confirm her gateway home (to Australia) —and that sorcerers able (and hopefully willing) to operate it— lie in Umarinaris' dangerous West. Pursuing allies and answers, Ruarnon and Linh clash with evolving, ever more dangerous damars. They learn magic is still wielded on Umarinaris, some of the Sorcery War's deadliest weapons survived and Nartzeer has plans for them. Friendship and teamwork become crucial to their success and place them in ever greater danger.

Myth says the Guardians ended the Sorcery War by draining sorcerers of their powers (or killing them). Then the Guardians vanished —and so did magic. The myths are wrong. Sorcerer King Nartz is recruiting sorcerers who lived on in hiding, in a world that hates and fears their power. Terrorised by Nartz's pre-emptive strike, Ruarnon's Guardian-descent-claiming allies set sail to annihilate Nartz. Ruarnon hopes to free their family from Nartz's clutches first, but Ruarnon's uncle won't abandon the army he commands to slavery. Meanwhile Linh is using her role as Ruarnon's envoy to potential allies to track down sorcerers to open her magic gateway home. She learns that Nartz is rallying a sorcery army, while his neighbours mobilise against him, and that sorcerers Nartz's ideology undermines, the dreaded God Kings, are stirring. With sorcerers on all fronts marching towards mutually assured destruction, Linh and Ruarnon race to reach Nartz with the truth of magical ancestry and allegiance, hoping to unite people who are not so different, before they utterly destroy each other.

For Rarkin, getting into Sythe School means monsters, the chance to contain ones that stray into human occupied zones, an escape from his abusive father, and the opportunity to do something his father hasn't; something meaningful with his life.Rarkin seizes his chance at his dream job with everything he's got, forcing down traumatic memories to focus on work he knows he could love. But it's a dangerous time to be holding everything in, to have little contact with friends like brothers, or to be keeping new friends at arm's length.Sythe's nemesis, Organised Crime is no longer playing by the 'rules,' and Rarkin and his classmates are on the front line. Organised Crime's bold new tactics tear at the bandages of Rarkin's unhealed wounds and his unresolved CPTSD.To be the person Rarkin doesn't believe people saying he can be, he must change his toxically masculine approach to emotions, and break the cycle of violence in his family. If he doesn't make peace with his past and stop fighting EVERYTHING, he's on the road to self destruction. In working for Sythe; Rarkin is Walking the Knife's Edge.This is book 1 of an intended 4 book SciFi-Fantasy crime series, with mystery and political thriller elements, a queer (especially asexual) cast and neurodivergent rep.Content Warnings: can be viewed on the author's website: https://elisecarlson.com/sythe-series/

To succeed in his Monster Containment career and team, former lone wolf Rarkin knows he must learn to trust his teammates, and let them in. It's more daunting when a brand-new classmate, with her own secrets, joins the team. And when his class learn to craft magic, the destructive potential of which Rarkin's afraid to touch. But the only way is forwards, so he'll give it his best shot. Even when monsters turn up in places they shouldn't. And when Rarkin finds himself in over his head, and resorts to reckless bravery and autistic bluntness, somehow successfully navigating situations in ways that win him great acclaim. Then it's time to confront how child abuse in his past still impacts his self-worth. Because his character, experiences and capacity are drawing attention not only in the highest ranks of the institution he works for, but of a powerful vigilante. And she's working with a familiar crime boss. Said crime boss is still at large, is as clever and capable as Rarkin suspects, and less than half as rational. In countering him, Sythe's resources are stretched thin. Rarkin finds his team on missions at the edge of their monster containing and fledgling magical capabilities. If he doesn't start trusting his team to have his back, and actively value himself while confronting danger beyond his abilities; he's going to get himself killed. This is book 2 of an intended 4 book SciFi-Fantasy Crime Series, with mystery and political thriller elements, a queer (especially asexual) cast and neurodivergent rep. Subplots include exploring queer and neurodivergent relationships and gender identities.Content Warnings: can be viewed on Elise Carlson's website or on the copyright page.