The Mysterium Series
The Darkest Lord
In the epic conclusion to Jack Heckel’s whimsical fantasy series, Dark Lord Avery Stewart must join the Company of the Fellowship in a frenzied war against Moregoth and the corrupt forces of Mysterium. . . and destroy the magical artifact fueling the interworld chaos.
In The Darker Lord, Avery Stewart learned a terrible truth about Mysterium: the home of his beloved university and the reality-center of the multiverse is not the world he thought it was. The true Mysterians, innately endowed with the power to manipulate reality, were displaced eons ago by the subworlders with whom they shared their magical teachings, and written out of the reality pattern of their own world. For years they have lived in exile in the subworld of Trelari, shielded from the Mysterian pursuit led by Moregoth and the Sealers. That is, until Valdara, the warrior queen of Trelari, reopened the subworld to the rest of the multiverse and challenged the Mysterium to a final showdown.
One year later, a violent war of worlds drags on, and Avery can’t help feeling that all of this is his fault.
But the good news (if you can call it that) is that Avery might hold the key—literally, a key—to ending the suffering and saving Trelari. For Avery possesses the Reality Key, a magical artifact with the power to bend reality to one’s will, often to the immediate detriment of neighboring worlds. . . and, if it falls into the hands of the Mysterian forces, much more. To protect his friends, save Trelari, and bring order to Mysterium, Avery will need to do the unthinkable: travel to the heart of Mysterium, destroy the Key, and rewrite Mysterium’s reality pattern to restore balance to the multiverse, once and for all.
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The Darker Lord
The second novel of Jack Heckel’s Mysterium series, The Darker Lord follows beleaguered former Dark Lord Avery Stewart as he is forced to take up his cloak and his Imp once again and travel the doors between realms in order to keep the fabric of the universe intact. More or less intact, anyway.
In The Dark Lord, Avery had an epiphany about the Mysterium. Only now he can’t remember what it was, no matter how much coffee he drinks or how many times he reads the novel published from his notes. What he does know is that he has become the most famous mage in the multiverse, and no one is happy with him. His fellow mages are upset at his rapid promotion, Dawn and Eldrin are tired of him spending his days on their couch watching bad TV, and Harold the Imp won’t talk to him.
Luckily, things can always get worse. And they do when the Administration’s enforcer, Moregoth, arrives at the first lecture of the semester to apprehend two of Avery’s new students for undoubtedly sinister reasons. In a fit of foolishness and heroism, Avery defies the university and flees with his friends into subworld. There, he reunites with his former allies from Trelari and thus begins a frantic race through the multiverse to escape Moregoth.
But as Avery’s amnesia begins to fade, he realizes his loss of memory is no accident, that he is caught in a conspiracy as terrifying as Mysterium University’s Student Records Building—and that his friends might not all be on his side.
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The Dark Lord
In this first novel of the Mysterium Series, a young man, Avery Stewart, travels into a dark and magical world, where dwarves, elves, and sorcerers dwell, to restore the balance between good and evil.
After spending years as an undercover, evil wizard in the enchanted world of Trelari, Avery hangs up the cloak he wore as the Dark Lord and returns to his studies at Mysterium University.
On the day of his homecoming, Avery drunkenly confides in a beautiful stranger, telling her everything about his travels. When Avery awakens, hungover and confused, he discovers that his worst nightmare has come true: the mysterious girl has gone to Trelari to rule as a Dark Queen.
Avery must travel back to the bewitched land and liberate the magical creatures . . . but in order to do so, he has to join forces with the very people who fought him as the Dark Lord.
Find out moreThe Charming Tales
The Pitchfork of Destiny
In The Pitchfork of Destiny, the second novel in the Charming Tales series following A Fairy-Tale Ending, Jack Heckel brings the hilarity of living in a magical world to readers looking for something beyond Shrek, Xanth, and Magic Kingdom for Sale: Sold!
Life in the Kingdom of Royaume has been happily ever for King William Pickett and his fiancée, Lady Rapunzel. But when Volthraxus, the Great Dragon of the North, returns looking for the love of his life, the Great Wyrm of the South, it becomes clear that some fairy tales never end.
After Volthraxus discovers his love was slain by the newly crowned king, he seeks his revenge by kidnapping Rapunzel. Once again, Will teams up with Edward Charming, the only man in all the kingdom with the skill, ego, and dashing good looks to fight a dragon. Our heroes’ fates depend on finding a weapon re-forged in dragon blood—the Pitchfork of Destiny.
But as the two set off after the dragon, Charming’s bride, Lady Elizabeth, falls into the clutches of a mysterious sorcerer known as the Dracomancer, who has his own plans for Royaume.
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A Fairy-tale Ending
Collected for the first time, A Fairy-tale Ending comprises two volumes of Jack Heckel’s Charming Tales: Once Upon a Rhyme and Happily Never After to become the first full novel in the Charming Tales series.
Prince Charming had one destiny: to slay the dragon and save the princess. Both have been achieved, except there’s a problem: Charming had nothing to do with either. A farmer named Will Pickett succeeded where royalty had failed—and this simply will not stand.
Thus begins an epic adventure that has Prince Charming and Will Pickett vying with each other for the throne by challenging trolls, outwitting scoundrels, and facing all manner of fairy-tale creatures. All the while a dark sorcery envelops Castle White, and Will’s sister Liz and her friend Lady Rapunzel uncover a threat to the kingdom.
The fate of Royaume hangs in the balance as Charming tries to salvage his reputation, and the clock is ticking…
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A Very Faerie Christmas
Jack joins award winning, USA Today and bestselling authors for a journey into the enchanted realm of the Fae with his first romantic novella. This collection of brand new holiday stories spans from humorous Regency and tender historical to quirky contemporary and gritty urban tales of faerie magic, human redemption, and the power of love.
Meara Platt – A Mistletoe Kiss: When Lady Imogen Fairchild wishes for a faerie godmother, her Christmas wish goes awry and she finds herself with Beogrin, a handsome Fae warrior, instead. Beogrin is duty bound to serve her and is not in the least happy about it. Neither is Imogen, for she cannot have a hulking, brawny soldier following her around. But will Imogen ever be able to release this Fae warrior from his obligation to her now that he has conquered her heart?
Avril Borthiry – Matthew’s Hope: Set in England’s rural north at the turn of the 20th century, Matthew’s journey from boy to man is plagued with challenges. Yet throughout, he never forgets the little girl who saved his life, the girl no one else could see. Was she real? Or had he imagined her?
As Britain and Europe descend into ‘the war to end all wars’, Matthew must face his greatest challenge of all. It is at his lowest point, his darkest time, that the girl he has never forgotten returns. Her name is Hope. Is she real? Because she is exactly what Matthew needs.
Jack Heckel – The Holly And The Ivy: By most measures, Malcolm has a great life, but nothing seems right, not even his perfect girlfriend. After leaving a party, he encounters the faerie Phaedra, but can her magic help him find true love in time for Christmas? And if so, is he willing to pay the price? A story inspired by the Christmas carol of the same name.
Ruth Vincent – Above Thy Deep And Dreamless Sleep: When the Fairy Queen tries to guilt-trip her changeling daughter, Mab, into returning to fairyland by transforming Mab’s loved ones into mannequins in the New York City Christmas store window displays, Mab must outwit the Fairy Queen’s tricks to save her friends and learn what it truly means to go home for the holidays.
Michele Lang – The Laws Of Magic: When a wicked army of Night Fae invades the small coastal town of New Castle, Connecticut, Ayna Cassidy, human chaos machine, must somehow overcome her painfully tangled past and stop them from ravaging her home. With the help of a magical lawyer, Rowan Royall, Ayna seeks both true love and salvation – but first she must unlock the secret magic hidden deep in her heart.
Bishop O’Connell – The Greatest Gift Of All: Wraith is a spell slinger, able to manipulate reality itself, but she’s been on the streets since losing her parents and her life has never been easy. Through all the darkness, she’s always tried to help the other children living at the fringes of society; the dejected, the ignored, and the forgotten. Now, the Fae court needs her help in finding a solstice child. If Wraith succeeds, the child will become a beacon of hope. If she fails, the child will become a monster, inspiring anger and rage. Wraith has faced all manner of terrors, both mundane and supernatural, and has never backed down from a fight. Can she save this solstice child and bring hope to the hopeless when she’s never had much of that even for herself?
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