Cover Reveal: Hela’s Bane

I’m excited to reveal the cover of my upcoming novella: Hela’s Bane! The novella is another prequel to my Dragon-Myth Cycle series, which begins with Enoch’s Device. Here’s the new cover and a brief description of the book:

What Terrors Come on Witches’ Night?

A.D. 775. The village of Ellryk harbors a terrible secret. One that threatens the lives of three young women. But Maugis d’Aygremont, a knight of Charlemagne and master of the arcane arts, is hellbent on saving them.

The village is bracing for Hexennacht—Witches’ Night. The night each year when Hela descends from the mountain, as she has done for as long as anyone can remember, terrifying the villagers.

Many fear she is Loki’s daughter, the goddess of the dead. A being half human and half corpse-like who rides in on a wave of fog. Yet is there a deeper mystery behind her origin than the legends suggest?

The lives of Maugis and the women he is trying to save may hinge on the answer to that question…

Where does it fit in the Dragon-Myth Cycle?

Hela’s Bane is set two years before the events in The Fae Dealings, so it’s a prequel to that story as well. In fact, I’m turning the prequels into their own series, with Hela’s Bane becoming Book 1 and The Fae Dealings being Book 2. I plan to write more prequels in the future.

When will it be released?

Naturally, the book will launch on Hexennacht. When is that, you might ask? Hexennact is more commonly known today as Walpurgis Night or St. Walpurga’s Eve. It’s a night much like Halloween, celebrated in Germany and other parts of Europe on April 30.

In German folklore, Hexennacht is the night when witches meet in the Harz Mountains, near its peak called the Brocken, to hold revelries with the Devil. The German poet Goethe even featured Hexennacht and the Brocken in Faust. Hela’s Bane is my take on the old legends. I think you’ll enjoy it!