Over the centuries since its founding, the landlocked and iron-poor realm of Galesia has developed a social and religious horror of Mechanical devices. But the modern world is creeping through the mountain passes. Farm machinery and the printing press have already arrived; steam engines and repeating rifles are on the way. How will these backward people cope? And in this realm, so removed from the rest of its world, we find Aleria, equally out of touch with her society. Born into a Ranked family, she has no interest in the mannerly social world of her classmates. All their activities seem...

The possibility of a normal life dangles its tempting bait under Aleria's nose, but her penchant for finding danger snatches it away. Her rage at her ultimate degredation leads her to an act of revenge that pushes her even farther away from the traditional life of court society. While she still feels the same, the attitudes of everyone else towards her have changed. No one knows quite how to treat her. And when social conventions threaten her relationship with Mito, she decides it's time to straighten out the lot of them.

Nobody messes with a Dalmyn wagon train. That is the credo of Dalmyn Cartage, and their drivers and guards are up to the task of keeping it that way. Until Aleria anDalmyn goes out on her first assignment as wagonmaster and runs into a simmering quarrel involving an ancient boundary dispute and forbidden Mechanical weapons. And a Ghost Beast from an ancient tale, which Aleria would prefer not to believe in until the mutilated bodies persuade her otherwise. Trapped in the suffocating depths of a crumbling mountain fortress by an ambitious and relentless foe, Aleria struggles to survive as her...

Their love could only happen if their world was turned upside down

Discovered as a child living alone in the forest, and growing up an orphan of mixed parentage, but under the protection of the king's youngest son, Zoe is appreciated for her own merit by everyone, from the royal family to the lowest kitchen wench. But her secure nest is shattered by conflict in the king's family, and soon she will have to decide where her loyalty lies. She flees to her former home in the mountains, where she finds many answers, but not to the questions she is asking. Then she is offered the chance to visit Kyabra, the home of her grandfather, to learn about that ancient...

Jameta anDennal is a quandary to all who know her. How can someone who is so pleasant and polite get away with doing the things she does? Jameta isn't sure herself. One thing she does know; everyone is always trying to figure her out. Which puzzles her, because all of them are so easy to decipher. In fact, she has to be careful, because people get very upset when she knows things about them that she really shouldn't. But reading people isn't much use if you can't get them to do what you want. Especially Erlon, the handsome guard Captain. He acts like he loves her, but he seems afraid to do...

In the second book of the "Sword Called Kitten" series, racial tension and rebellion threaten the shaky social fabric of Inderjorne. Kitten is forced to groom an unlikely leader - Eirlin the Healer - for the difficult role of Protector of the realm and its people. But Eirlin's new Magic Scalpel, Excisor, is turning out to be more than a handful, and her romance with Ostersund the Magician has lost its magic. Kitten just can't get the Healer to focus on the task at hand. The Sword is desperate to develop talents she didn't know she had - and some that she definitely doesn't have - but she...

The second book of tales from the ElderStory Project, which recorded family stories from Canadians of all backgrounds and ages to bring the generations together through storytelling. This book contains tales from specific occupations, and some stories from our younger contributors.