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      • Stiletto Rose - Chapter 35
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Kill the Gods - Official Release

5/15/2021

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Title: Kill the Gods
Series: Lake of Dragons Series #3
By: E. Michael Mettille
Publication Date: May 15, 2021
Publisher: TMR Books
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
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Genre: Epic Fantasy
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Druindahl’s forces have been decimated by a vengeful hero while the castle at Havenstahl lies in ruin, toppled by a violent and angry god. Both great cities desperately need the protection of their heroes, but those heroes are damnably absent. Maelich remains trapped in a fantasy concocted by his own wounded psyche, while Cialia has determined her role is to defend all creatures of Ouloos.

Perrin’s search for her precious Geillan takes her deep into the heart of the place where the maps don’t go, and even deeper into peril. Her journey toward becoming a warrior of the trail will take her to places she can barely imagine and force her to do things she can scarcely believe.

Reinforcements begin docking in Biggon’s Bay, more ships, more Trogmortem, and more terrifying giants. However, their forces are in disarray. Maomnosett Bom, son of Bok, challenges his grandfather’s campaign against the cities of dwarves and men. Ott considers Bom’s behavior an act of war against his own kind. Lucky to make it out alive, the young giant departs with a small group of like-minded warriors to seek an unlikely alliance with the men of Havenstahl.
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The next battle looms on the horizon as a loose Dragon, born of both the Lake and men, hunts her prey on her campaign to kill the gods.
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By the time Tiegran made it up near the main gate, hundreds of men had already formed into tight columns in front of it. Daritus ranged up and down the ranks shouting out the glory of Druindahl and Havenstahl. Even limping the man appeared invincible.

Tarturan grabbed a hold of Tiegran’s arm and tugged him into the formation shouting, “You are with me. We fight until we have no fight left.”

The columns grew as men poured in from every direction. By the time the steady current of bodies rushing up the hill or from the castle or the trees surrounding the road up to the main gate slowed, more than three thousand men stood ready to fight with at least one hundred more on horseback. Some were grizzled men with years of battle reflecting in their hardened stares. Others were green, new recruits with fear in their eyes and innocence in their hearts. Tiegran thought back to his first battle. It had not been that long ago, and he remembered the feeling all too well, the fear in the eyes of those green recruits. It was nothing like what he felt standing in front of the gate at Havenstahl next to Tarturan. A chill of excitement shot up his spine. I have goosebumps. He nearly laughed out loud.

He looked over at Tarturan whose smile was just as big and shouted, “For Havenstahl!”

It nearly brought tears to his eyes when the group of soldiers formed up with him replied, “For Havenstahl!”

“For Druindahl,” he shouted back at them.

“For Druindahl,” they answered.

Tarturan let out a war cry as his heavy hand gave Tiegran’s shoulders a stiff pat. The crowd responded in kind. Tiegran hoped the giants could hear them. He hoped they knew Havenstahl would never surrender. As long as one man drew breath, they would fight until the Lake called them home.

Tiegran finally caught Daritus’ eye through the crowed. The general, the legend, gave him a wide smile and nodded. Tiegran shouted with all his might, “For Ouloos!”

The crowd answered, “For Ouloos!”

Then Daritus called the command, “Charge!”

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Amazon US: bit.ly/KTGKindleUS
Amazon UK: bit.ly/KTGKindleUK
Amazon CA: bit.ly/KGKindleCA
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/KTGBandN
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Amazon US: bit.ly/KTDKindleUS
Amazon UK: bit.ly/KTDKindleUK
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/KTDBandN
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Amazon US: bit.ly/KFKindleUS
Amazon UK: bit.ly/KDFKindleUK
Amazon CA: bit.ly/KTFKindleCA
Barnes & Noble: bit.ly/KFBNSoft
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E. Michael Mettille is the author of Kill the Dragon (Lake of Dragons Book 1), Kallum's Fury (Lake of Dragons Book 2), Kill the Gods (Lake of Dragons Book 3), and Hell and the Hunger (as Mike Reynolds). Mike has also written numerous screenplays, short stories, and poems. He has spent the last twenty years in direct marketing, print, and communication. Mike is fascinated by history, belief systems, the human condition and how all of those things work together to define who we are as a people. The world is a wonder and, based on the history of us, it is a wonder we have a world left to wonder about. Mike lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife, Shelia and their dog, Ziggy Stardust.

Social Media Links

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/themikereynolds
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/15294773.E_Michael_Mettille
Twitter: @MikeReynoldsAut
Website: themikereynolds.com 
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Kill the Dragon - Official Re-Release

5/15/2021

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Title: Kill the Dragon
Series: Lake of Dragons Series #1
By: E. Michael Mettille
Publication Date: May 15, 2021
(originally released as Lake of Dragons May 26, 2005)
Publisher: TMR Books
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
Genre: Epic Fantasy
​
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Maelich has trained as a warrior under the strict tutelage of Ymitoth since he was old enough to lift a sword. This training is all he has known his entire life. At the end of his twelfth summer, everything changes. Attacked by nightmare creatures from the darkest places of man’s imagination, Maelich is left abandoned and confused.

With no one left to guide him, the young warrior embarks alone on his journey to find truth. Along the way, he learns of a prophecy in which he is the savior who slays the last dragon and frees Ouloos from the terror that great power represents. Not all he encounters believe in the prophecy. There are those who would see him ride the dragon against the god he has worshipped his entire life. Blasphemy.
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Before reaching the goal of his quest, the terrifying dragon who wields the greatest power on Ouloos, he will come to question everything he has ever believed. What is truth? He must find the answer to that question in his own heart and decide which path is his.
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Uneasiness swept over him as he neared the main gate of the small village. It was too quiet. There should have been something, a child playing or a man coming home late for the feast. Something. Anything. There was nothing. The entire town appeared asleep. Warily, he continued.

As he approached the first hut within the main gate, he noticed the door had been smashed in. He slowly strode inside. The stench of rotting flesh hung in the air. It seized him immediately when he entered and tugged at his attention while he quickly surveyed the room. One body, the body of a man of relatively large stature, lay sprawled out across a table occupying the center of the room. A large chunk was missing out of the poor bloke’s neck. The wound was rather dry and the corpse’s skin quite pale as if the body had been drained of all its blood. ‘Amatilazo’, he thought. A woman’s body lay curled around that of a small child in the corner. Her head lay a few feet from the rest of her. Her face grabbed his attention. It was frozen in a look of terror like none he’d ever seen in his short life. He looked back to her body still clinging to her baby’s lifeless carcass. He considered their embrace for a moment, frozen in death. She died trying to protect her own. Perhaps she could have escaped as her husband was being drained of his life’s blood, but she didn’t. Instead, she gave of herself in a desperate attempt to save her child. It was a completely selfless action. How strong must be the love of a mother.

His thoughts drifted to his conversation with Ymitoth about his own mother. He learned early on she died shortly after he was born. He didn’t have any details about her demise, but he knew he spent no time with her. He wondered if she had ever held him the way the courageous woman lying in front of him clung to her child. Did she ever cradle him in her arms, brush his hair back and sing to him? Ymitoth said she had a song sweeter than a chorus of songbirds. Had he ever heard that song? If he had he would never be able to recollect, as he would have been but a babe. A strange emptiness began in his belly as if there were a hole right through his mid-section. His head swam as dizziness swept through it and he thought he might lose his feet. He stumbled out of the hut and fell to the ground in a heap. If only there were someone to embrace him, someone to tell him everything was all right. His eyes burned as they filled up, but he fought back the tears. He struggled back to his feet. ‘Feeling sorry for yourself won’t do any good,’ he thought. He pushed back against the hopeless, empty feeling threatening to consume him and forced himself to move on.

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Amazon US - ​bit.ly/KTDKindle
Amazon UK - bit.ly/KTDKindleUK
Barnes & Noble - bit.ly/KTDBandN
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Amazon US - bit.ly/KFKindleUS
Amazon UK - bit.ly/KDFKindleUK
Amazon CA - bit.ly/KTFKindleCA
Barnes & Noble - bit.ly/KFBNSoft
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Amazon US - bit.ly/KTGKindleUS
Amazon UK - bit.ly/KTGKindleUK
Amazon CA - bit.ly/KGKindleCA
Barnes & Noble - bit.ly/KTGBandN
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E. Michael Mettille is the author of Kill the Dragon (Lake of Dragons Book 1), Kallum's Fury (Lake of Dragons Book 2), Kill the Gods (Lake of Dragons Book 3), and Hell and the Hunger (as Mike Reynolds). Mike has also written numerous screenplays, short stories, and poems. He has spent the last twenty years in direct marketing, print, and communication. Mike is fascinated by history, belief systems, the human condition and how all of those things work together to define who we are as a people. The world is a wonder and, based on the history of us, it is a wonder we have a world left to wonder about. Mike lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife, Shelia and their dog, Ziggy Stardust.

Social Media Links

Facebook Author Page: www.facebook.com/themikereynolds
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/author/show/15294773.E_Michael_Mettille
Twitter: @MikeReynoldsAut
Website: themikereynolds.com/
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Kill the Dragon Cover Reveal

5/1/2021

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Title: Kill the Dragon
Series: Lake of Dragons Series #1
By: E. Michael Mettille
Publication Date: May 15, 2021
Publisher: TMR Books
Cover Design: Mayhem Cover Creations
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Picture
Maelich has trained as a warrior under the strict tutelage of Ymitoth since he was old enough to lift a sword. This training is all he has known his entire life. At the end of his twelfth summer, everything changes. Attacked by nightmare creatures from the darkest places of man’s imagination, Maelich is left abandoned and confused.

With no one left to guide him, the young warrior embarks alone on his journey to find truth. Along the way, he learns of a prophecy in which he is the savior who slays the last dragon and frees Ouloos from the terror that great power represents. Not all he encounters believe in the prophecy. There are those who would see him ride the dragon against the god he has worshipped his entire life. Blasphemy.
​
Before reaching the goal of his quest, the terrifying dragon who wields the greatest power on Ouloos, he will come to question everything he has ever believed. What is truth? He must find the answer to that question in his own heart and decide which path is his.
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CHAPTER 1
CHILDHOOD'S END

Maelich leaned against the mighty oak crowning Keller’s Hill. The spot was a favorite of his, a place to ponder both days gone by and days yet to come. This particular occasion was similar to most. After a full day of rigorous training his mind often had a tendency to chase concepts rather than relive memories or form new ideas. Of all the concepts he mulled over while leaning against the rough bark of the great oak, mother earned the lion’s share of his attention. Of course, he knew what the concept meant. He simply had no experience with one. His died shortly after he was born. All he had were stories, and they were vague at best. There was something about a young woman and a great power. None of it was anything tangible. Nothing more than loose concepts and generic ideals.

“Hey there, lad,” Ymitoth’s voice shattered the quiet. “It be time for your feeding.”

Maelich waved his response, collected himself, and tromped on down the hill. Pink clouds caught his attention, painted by the sun setting behind him. He must have lost track of the hour. His stomach grumbled loudly as if to confirm the idea. He quickened his pace down the hill.

Admiration swept through Maelich as Ymitoth glanced back at him. His stern mentor looked like he had jumped right off a painting Maelich had seen once. It was an image of valiant men standing tall against a horrible dragon. Ymitoth could easily stand among heroic men like that. He was massive, a half-head taller than most and broad about the shoulders. The wind caught hold of his hair. It danced about the breeze glinting like rusty gold in the failing light of the setting sun. He was every bit the hero in Maelich’s eyes. There wasn’t a man who stood mightier.

Then something about Ymitoth’s expression changed. It was odd and unfamiliar. It resembled a smile the way it parted his beard from his mustache and plumped his cheeks out, but it didn’t quite fit, like a dwarf seated on a giant’s throne. Normally the sharp lines of his face looked like something that could cut stone. Accompanying the strange smile-like thing twisting up his beard was an uncustomary wave. The warrior almost looked…happy.

Maelich grinned and quickened his pace all the more. He puzzled only briefly over Ymitoth’s odd behavior as he worked to catch up to the man he had grown to know as father. There was a concept far more readily available to him. Ymitoth had always been very clear about the fact he and Maelich shared no blood. However, as far as Maelich could tell, his teacher, mentor, and trainer accepted him as a son. And, of course, Maelich loved and admired Ymitoth as he imagined any lad would love and admire the one teaching him to be a man. Ymitoth wasn’t one to fall victim to bouts of affection and show anything which might be construed as weakness. There were times, though, times when the rough and tough would crack just enough for Maelich to catch a hint that Ymitoth cared for him. The odd smile combined with the awkward wave equaled one of those times. Those brief moments were enough for Maelich. They had to be.

Every day was the same for him. Rise with the sun, take in the morning feeding, run the pastures with Ymitoth—who seemed to get slower as Maelich grew—and then bathe in Yester’s Pond. All those things were considered by Ymitoth to be, “the warm-up.” After the warm-up came sword training. Sword training always seemed to last forever. By the time it was finished he could barely lift his sword. He didn’t mind too much as he was but a lad of twelve summers and already close to being Ymitoth’s equal. The fact made him feel powerful. Stories of his master’s conquests spread as far as Maelich had ever been.

After sword training was complete it would be time for the midday feast, the nucleus of the day. Every other activity was planned around it, even the short nap that followed. Maelich’s workday ended with his book lessons, when he learned about how the world came to be and how to make your way through, “The great journey of life,” as Ymitoth called it. Once all his daily tasks were complete, Maelich was allowed a bit of time to himself before the evening feeding, which brings us back to where we began.

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Amazon US: ​https://bit.ly/KFKindleUS
Amazon UK: https://bit.ly/KDFKindleUK
Amazon CA: http://bit.ly/KTFKindleCA
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Amazon US: bit.ly/KTGKindleUS
​
Amazon UK: bit.ly/KTGKindleUK
​
Amazon CA: bit.ly/KGKindleCA
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E. Michael Mettille is the author of Kill the Dragon (Lake of Dragons Book 1), Kallum’s Fury (Lake of Dragons Book 2), Kill the Gods (Lake of Dragons Book 3), and Hell and the Hunger (as Mike Reynolds). He has also written numerous short stories and poems. Mike has spent the last twenty years in direct marketing, print, and communication. He is fascinated by history, belief systems, the human condition and how all of those things work together to define who we are as a people. The world is a wonder and, based on the history of us, it is a wonder we have a world left to wonder about. Mike lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife, Shelia.

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Social Media Links
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/themikereynolds
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8344778.Mike_Reynolds
Twitter: @MikeReynoldsAut
Website: www.themikereynolds.com
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