James Malcolm – författare

The blacksmiths quest fora phoenix feather andthe hand of the princessseemed simple enough at fi rst. Hepossessed the ruby necklace andhad the wizards spells to help himclimb from commoner to prince.Despite his confi dence, it was along way to Egypt, and he was illprepared for the strange world thatwaited beyond the confi nes of theisland. There was a dark side thatchallenged his reason, tested hismetal, and then there was Lilith.

When nine educated ants escape the confines of their ant farm and enter the natural world for the first time, they begin a naive adventure with enough chaos to last a lifetime. Their creative nature helps to minimize many of the unexpected trials and tribulations along their legendary journey. This eight book series explores the importance of family, the value of friendship and overcoming the struggles of survival in the wild. The keys to their success or failure depend upon their unity, determination and a belief that anything is possible.

This is James second ongoing self published series publication.Phoenix Quest; The Medallions, The Ring and The feather, is thefirst book of adult fantasy fiction trilogy released in 2011. Currently,James is finishing up a third series entitled the Undine Trilogy. Lifeis an adventure, enjoy the ride.

Leap of Faith It was late morning, the birds were singing and all but a few were still asleep. The colony had worked as hard as they played and the late night fun had taken its toll on everyone. The events of the day before were a huge success, with games and pageantry, along a few surprises thrown in. Digger, Luna and Cocoa had slept outside near the ponds and were joined by Amy, Austin, Ricky and Chord, who were the first of early risers. The cricket was very impressed by the ants. They were everything the rabbit had said they were. He was intrigued by their creative nature and fascinated with their determination. Id never been to a party like yours, until last night. I played so hard, and had so much fun, my legs are a little sore this morning, Chord admitted. Weve never had a party like that before, but I know what you mean. With all the running and dancing, my legs are tired too, Ricky replied. I may be the only one whos not exhausted. I guess its because I didnt have a dance partner, but my throat is a little dry from all my whistling, the rabbit shared. Digger told me you guys are looking for your queen, Chord said. We were, but weve got one now, Amy teased. What do you need a queen for? Youve already got everything you could possibly want. This might sound strange to you, but its the queen who needs us, Austin answered. Nothing is strange to me anymore, not after yesterday. I hadnt considered the queen needing you, but I see your point. We have a lot of knowledge to share, which would improve her colonies quality of life and possibly insure their survival. Every colony should have a queen and its the one thing we dont have, Austin explained. Ive seen ants along the creek and near the woods, several times, but I dont know where they come from, Chord admitted. Theyve crossed the meadow through my mushroom patch, too. I think the colony is somewhere along the fence line, Digger added. I appreciate all the information. We havent decided when well resume our search, but Im sure it will be in the very near future, Austin shared. The friends departed for home a short time later, before everyone else woke up. Life in the colony had changed forever. The city was as complete as it could be and the timetable of future projects was virtually nonexistent. They were proud of all they had accomplished in such a short time but now the challenge was missing for some of the educated ants. It wasnt that they were unhappy, for life had been good, but their desire had always been to find their queen. Having time on their hands gave them more thoughts about reaching that goal. They knew they had to resume their quest for a queen. They could feel the desire in their heart and soon, it would be time to leave again. The original nine ants met with Adam and James, in a private meeting away from the colony. It was their quest and they couldnt expect the rest of the colony to participate, since they hadnt missed having a queen and done quite well. This was personal and dear to their hearts. James would have to run the colony in their absence. Agnes was adamant about staying behind. She had experienced enough excitement for a lifetime just in reaching the barn and had no desire for the drama of a quest. She had everything she needed and wanted nothing more. Louise was still fulfilling her dream as a seamstress and there was definitely a need for her services. She wanted to go, but her heart was in her work. Christian wanted to stay where the food was. He didnt want to worry about his next meal. Besides, he couldnt think when he was hungry. Adam, on the other hand, wanted to go. Hed never been on a real adventure before and wanted to live it for himself, rather than hear the stories told through someone else. He begged his dad to let him go and James agreed, knowing

The Abduction Prince Aiden and Princess Ariana were busy making preparations to celebrate the wonder of their first anniversary. The year had flown by, fulfilling their every dream. Aiden had adapted well to the expectations and demands of royalty, along with fatherhood. Angus, two months old, was the pride and joy of the monarchy. The marriage and parenthood brought out the softer side of the blacksmith. His son looked much like him and he held his legacy as often as possible. Princess Camille loved being a first time aunt, spending as much time as she could with Ariana and the baby. The king and Gideon reflected their approval, but usually at a distance. Aiden had relocated his blacksmith trade inside the perimeter of the castle walls, training his two replacements, while using the forge from time to time, to satisfy a more creative nature. His travels had shown him a wide array of artistic applications for his craft and a use that had yet to be satisfied in the kingdom. Aiden designed plates, bowls, mugs and a variety of hand tools, most of which were given away after fulfilling the needs of the royal family. Surprisingly, hed given his cottage to a village family, whose child had told the best story at one of his weekly gatherings. The prince had become a farmer, as well, having recently harvested his first crop of corn. Hed dried kernels for the evenings anniversary festivities in the courtyard. It would be his first presentation of pop corn since his return from the quest. He could hardly wait to see the reaction his new treat would have on the children and the prince planned to hand kernels out to the villagers for the next years planting. Times were good and spirits high, in the realm, where the future looked promising for all. King Darian commissioned the kingdoms first ship. The vessel was built of the finest wood, with help from the Egyptian carpenters. It was a beauty to behold, equal in size to the Argo and the ship would open the island up to trade with countries in the inland sea. Jib supervised the raising of the ship and became the kingdoms first captain, through kings decree. The ship was christened the Phoenix, to honor Aidens quest and his daughters royal marriage. It was the first of six vessels commissioned by the king, with shipbuilding and global trade escalating the rapid growth of the small, inadequate anchorage. Scota sailed back to Egypt aboard the Phoenix on its maiden voyage at her fathers request and having lost any other reason to stay. Everything changed for her with the emotional loss of her husband at the hands of the Nordics. The princess carried the phoenix feather on the return to her homeland, fulfilling Aidens commitment to Queen Nefertiti. King Darian opened her old settlement up for villagers to recolonize and also began construction of a larger seaport capable of handling the increased demands of the realm. The new harbors location was near the mouth of a small river, less than a mile from the castle. While plans for the anniversary celebration were being finalized, Aiden went to the gatehouse to pay the wizard a visit. He hadnt seen Edric since just after his son was born. He took dried corn kernels, from the crop the wizard had helped him plant, to show the magician some of his own magic. Edric hadnt been as preoccupied with his magic mirror since the quest had concluded, spending much of his time grooming his own garden. When there was no answer at the door, the prince walked to the backside of the gatehouse, finding the wizard clipping roses from his prized bushes.

Uniting the five colonies was critical for the freedom fighters to overcome the dominance of the Black Queen. Standing together they had a chance to determine their own destiny, but apart there was little hope of escaping the tyranny of Casandras ghastly domination, and with Silver Citys queen lost in the storm, there was no one else who could convince the outlying colonies to stand against the two wicked sisters. The termite queen couldnt do it, since she was a natural born enemy and no other ant held a high enough rank to address such issues with ruling monarchs. Queen Amy had to be found before it was too late to prevent the looming annihilation of her colony or others and the freedom fighters were using every resource at their disposal to find out what happened to their influential queen, who was brave enough to defiantly stand against her own mother.

A few short years of peaceful cohabitation are once again suddenly interrupted by yet another kidnapping, but this time the intentions are far more brutal in nature and the hopes of a second liberation require the entangled spells of mortal and immortal alike, in a battle of wit and magic to rescue the monarch and others from a perverse fate worse than death itself.