COURTNEY & CLARKE COLLINS
Vows & Valor
In the Name of Honor
What would you risk to save someone you loved from a fate worse than death?
A half-elven princess, grieving the loss of one father and fearing for the other.
A loyal guardsman, torn between his oath to the king and her safety.
And a creature so bent on revenge, he’ll make the world kneel to hurt them all.
Of all the messages Dimitar’s carried, he now delivers the worst of all: vile Corrupted creatures have returned and murdered the king’s best friend. The king leaves to seek retribution, and gives Dimitar an order he doesn’t expect: guard the princess, Kaleela. When Corruptors then kidnap her father, she insists on rescuing him. Dimitar must break his vow to keep her safe in the kingdom, and together infiltrate the enemy’s lair… unless the Corrupted capture Kaleela first.
Fans of epic fantasy with romance will fall into this character-driven world and thrilling new adventure, where a rescue mission turns into a chase, and only the princess or the king can be saved.
in the name of pride
The one place she always wanted to be is now the one place she cannot escape.
After a lifetime of separation, Kaleela reconnects with her family inside the Sun'Din Forest as a beloved member of the royal family. But not everyone supports a greater union between the elven and human lands, and a fission cleaves the great forest.
Dimitar now serves as a knight in Blackburn, his lifelong dream come true. Everyone he cares about thrives, yet when he closes his eyes, phantom claws of past failures squeeze his throat. Only Kaleela's nearness keeps the torment at bay, their growing love a beacon.
When extremist exiles overtake the elven kingdom, Kaleela must ensure her family's safety, and Dimitar insists on protecting her. As unthinkable magic descends upon the forest, a power-hungry exile sets his sights on Kaleela's birthright, her desirability—and her unacceptable human-sympathizing ideals. Not only must Dimitar free Kaleela and her people from the grip of a rising evil, but also confront the shadows within himself, or they'll lose each other forever.
Courtney grew up two doors down from the local library and crushed every summer reading challenge. She's worked in libraries and bookstores before deviating into a higher education career by day and a burlesque dancer by night. She's published extensively in her local town newspaper. Her own queerness and mother-loss influence the fantasy world created alongside her husband. Courtney and Clarke live in central Vermont with their children and an abundance of forests, her happy place.
Courtney can be found at collinsauthors.com, including links to socials.
Photo Credit: Megan Elizabeth Photography
Clarke read The Hobbit at 10 years old and has lived in the world of fantasy ever since. When he’s not escaping into video games and tabletop realms, he’s working hard to improve healthcare. He earned a black belt in Shaolin Kung Fu and has faced more than his fair share of war hammers to the head while weapons training. He lives with co-author and wife Courtney along with his two children in the green hills of Vermont.
Clarke can be found at collinsauthors.com, including links to socials.
Photo Credit: Owen Leavey Photography