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Erica Lindquist
Loose Leaf Stories
Published in
5 min readNov 11, 2023

400 Horsepower of the Apocalypse

A full-tilt road trip. The end of days. Can they escape the highway to hell?

Jasmine “Jaz” O’Neil wants out of Kansas fast. But escaping her dead-end mechanic job seems just as outlandish as her haunting apocalyptic visions. So when a hunky biker named Leo with a misbehaving machine offers her an out, she ignores her fears and takes it. But they’ve barely begun their trip when they find Leo’s gang supernaturally slaughtered.

Reeling from the bloody sight, Jaz discovers she and her sexy companion share the same prophetic nightmares. On the run from forces they don’t understand, the mechanic makes a startling revelation: meeting Leo has brought the world one step closer to annihilation.

On opposite sides of an inevitable battle for humanity, can Jaz and Leo defeat their inner demons before their road trip becomes a highway to hell?

Whisperworld

Their voices are all that remain.

Julia has never seen what lies beyond Angel City. And why would she? The Wrath of God destroyed the old world, leaving only endless deserts and terrible sandstorms that can flay the skin from any human caught outside the city walls. Only the Tear, a vast, strange black sphere at the heart of her home, protects the people of Angel City. No one knows what it is or how it works, but if Julia listens closely enough, she can hear the Tear whispering…

But now the sphere is failing, falling silent, and not even the Gardeners who care for it know why. And when one of those Gardeners is murdered, Julia and her partner, Zach, are summoned to investigate why.

Their search for a killer will take them from Angel City’s crumbling skyscrapers to the salt flats of the Pacific Desert. But what they find goes far beyond the murder of one man and threatens to wipe out the last remnants of civilization. Perhaps Zach and Julia can save their city — but first, they have to save themselves.

In the House of Five Dragons

Thirty years have passed since the bloody battle of Njorn Pass, since Rikard Mazrem traded his life away to the Alterra to save his dying men. Defeat became victory and an empire was born. For decades, the people of Carce have revered Rikard as a hero.

But now Rikard has returned to find the world changed. Or perhaps he is the one who has changed…

Crucible of Stars (The Reforged Trilogy #1)

A chance for escape becomes a chance for redemption.

Maeve Cavainna is running and her wings won’t save her. The infamous bounty hunter, Logan Coldhand, chases close behind her and intends to drag Maeve back to the planet of Axis to collect the high price on her head. When he finally corners her, the long chase seems to be over… until a frightened alien girl stumbles into their fight and begs for their protection. Maeve and Logan call a reluctant end to their battle and promise to help the girl, but they have agreed to far more than they know.

Can the fragile peace between hunter and mark hold long enough to save the lives that depend on them?

Sword of Dreams (The Reforged Trilogy #2)

Death isn’t done with them.

For a church dedicated to the worship of death, the Cult of Nihil stubbornly refuses to die. When word reaches the bounty hunter who calls himself Logan Coldhand that the Central World Alliance is willing to pay for members of the congregation, he takes the job. Perhaps chasing death will help him recapture the thrill of the hunt, lost ever since the mark that got away.

Halfway across the galaxy, Maeve and the rest of the Blue Phoenix crew are still struggling to rebuild their lives after a devastating encounter with the Nihilists. But when Captain Myles agrees to take on what should be a simple job — flying a team of archaeologists to the remote planet of Prianus — they find themselves pitted against old enemies and ancient terrors.

Forged (4 Reforged short stories)

Before Maeve and the crew of the Blue Phoenix make their desperate bid to reforge the galaxy, each of them were first forged themselves in the crucible of galactic events.

  • Purity: Maeve Cavainna was once a knight of Arcadia. How did she fall so far?
  • Little Hawk: A story of honor and childhood on Prianus.
  • Beauty By Night: An art thief seeks to recapture his humanity.
  • Songs and Sigils in Space: Tiberius hires a destitute fairy and the crew of the Blue Phoenix has a deadly — but profitable — encounter with the Nnyth.

Hammer of Time (The Reforged Trilogy #3)

Time heals all wounds. And brings new ones.

Duaal Sinnay may have banished Xartasia and the Devourers from Prianus, but they’re not gone. Maeve has gone to warn the Central World Alliance, but they have no interest in fairy tales and stories of monsters. So when rumors start of a mysterious White Queen promising the return of Arcadia, the Alliance takes no notice.

Now it falls to the crew of the Blue Phoenix to discover what is happening. Maeve has little doubt that Xartasia is this White Queen, but if that’s true, then how can Devourers help her to bring back the kingdom that they themselves destroyed a century ago? Whatever the answer, it promises nothing good for the rest of the galaxy…

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Erica Lindquist
Loose Leaf Stories

Writer, editor, and occasional ball of anxiety for Loose Leaf Stories and The RPGuide.