Highmage's Plight Free on Kindle Today!

Highmage’s Plight, the first book in my Epic Fantasy Series with a Sci-Fi twist…

is my featured novel today with a related prequel free story offering for this month.

I worked on this novel for years before it got published. I began writing the Plight in college and rewrote draft after draft for more than 20 years before George’s story made its way into the world. This story taught me the first harsh lesson of publication—rejection is part of the life of a writer.

I was graduating college when I sent a core story of what would be this novel to a science fiction and fantasy magazine. I’d mailed the story in the days when mailed submissions were the only way to submit—along with a self-addressed, stamped return envelope. I’d just graduated when that self-addressed envelope came back in the mail. I opened it with dread, saw the zeroxed rejection letter and was crushed. I don’t even remember sticking the letter in a my files. But I expanded the story into the novel and submitted it to publishers—and the rejections continued.

I rewrote and rewrote, but stopped seeking publication. It would be years after having expanded the tale into more stories and novels. I wrote unrelated short stories, but I didn’t try to get them published, not wanting any more rejections. Over time, life happens—and I thought to myself, this novel is really good.

But fear of rejection is a powerful thing. One day I was straightening up, going through my files and happened to open that old file, thinking time to clean it out. This time something about that rejection letter caught my eye. The editor had written a personal note at the bottom, “Fascinating blend of elements. Keep at it.”

I stared at those words. The editor had liked the story enough to comment? Why hadn’t I noticed that?

So, I looked to get a short story published in an ezine with a contest. I won. I submitted another story. It won and that ezine published it too. I looked at the Plight. Emailed the submission (the days of mailing manuscripts long gone). Months passed. Response from the publisher was a contract… That was fourteen years ago.

Plight is now a completed seven book series with a four book companion series. The most recently published story set on that world is Of Deeds and Steeds, a story I’d written to be backstory for some new characters, who were caught up in pivotal events of the series. I’d submitted it on a short story anthology call for a anthology that never ended up happening, then in the rush of writing other things lost track of it. I found it going through my files earlier this year, rewrote and expanded it at the suggestion of my editor, and am offering it as this month’s free story.

Of Deeds and Steeds and the other free stories can be found in this month’s promo featuring it, Free Sci-Fi & Fantasy - December 2025. So, check it out!

Oh, and if you’re looking for a great read for the holidays, check out Particular Passages: Closed for the Season, where you’ll find one of my stories, https://books2read.com/u/bzBxG2.

Dare 2 Believe,

D.H.