Choose Your Weapon -- Espionage

Arcane, set in the League of Legends universe, Ekko is on a spy mission of deadly concern. 

Happy Holidays, everyone!

For the final post in the Choose Your Weapon series, I want to explore one of the most complex, and possibly most intriguing weapons at an author's disposal- Espionage.

espionage

/ˈɛspɪənɑː(d)ʒ/

noun

noun: espionage

The practice of spying or of using spies, typically by governments to obtain political and military information.

By this definition, the usual arsenal of the spy ranges between futuristic weapons al la Bond, stealth vehicles and the key to it all, information.

Yes, information becomes the weapon. If you aren't convinced, consult Sun Tzu.

The Art of War

The Art of War, by Sun Tzu (circa mid-5th Century), is the oldest known military treatise and a classic study of rivalry and competition. It has 13 chapters, each devoted to a different set of warfare-related skills. For today, it's the 13th chapter that interests me the most - The Use of Spies.

Sun Tzu said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand men and marching them great distances entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on the resources of the State... Hence the use of spies... This is called "divine manipulation of the threads." It is the sovereign's most precious faculty. 

The First Spy-Fi Novel

Even though Sun Tzu wasn't writing fiction, there are subgenres devoted to this style of storytelling. For example, The Spy by James Fenimore Cooper, published in 1821, is considered the first spy novel. It's set during the American Revolution and based on the exploits of Harvey Birch, an American secret agent. 

But the first Fantasy spy novel is considered to be "The Princess and the Goblin'', published in 1872. Complete with intrigue, camouflage, trickery and twists, Spy-fi is defined as media that centers around the adventures of a protagonist working in secret to gain hidden information. Usually, these adventures involve defeating a rival superpower or singular enemy in a fantasy or futuristic world setting--outer space, undersea, alt history/time and/or Shagrala-esk locations in the world.

Contemporary Spy-Fi

Little has changed over the last two centuries of Spy Fiction, other than writing style and the increase in female, or even non-gendered main characters. The essential ingredients remain the same: a combination of Fantasy, Mysteries and Thrillers, and some form of espionage as the main weapon wielded.

Consider the titles below and thank you Silvana Reyes Lopez for your insights too!

Incendiary

Set in a world inspired by the 15th-century Spanish Inquisition, Incendiary is a great example of espionage.

Renata has a magic ability that makes it easy to steal memories from people. She has lived a thousand lives. Yet, she only wants to live freely on her own.

Part of a rebel group, Renata now has to infiltrate the royal court in order to rescue the leader of her unit. But the palace harbors difficult memories for her, and the prince inside those walls is ready to have her blood. 

Judgment Night by C. L. Moore 

Moore’s novella begins with an ironic meet-cute.

Juille, the princess of a galactic empire, is incognito on a pleasure planet, where she meets Egide, the similarly incognito leader of the space barbarians (yes, space barbarians) at her father’s proverbial gates. Their dance of will-they-or-won’t-they-topple-each-other’s-domains twists through double crosses, divine audiences, and the use of ancient superweapons, but the book ends by asking why a galactic empire should even continue to exist.

On the way to answering that question, Moore gives us an array of “high fantasy” prose that keep us riveted in the genre. For example, the ship came to a velvety stop; the worldbuilding is neatly bound up in deep time with immense scale; and a female anti-hero who’s strong, complex, and sympathetic. She's also bad to the bone...

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

In this brutal world inspired by ancient Rome, Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who rebel.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, she is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy...

Dragon by Steven Brust 

Over the years, Brust’s antihero Vlad Taltos has been involved in a lot of espionage and trickery, but in the eighth book we get that epic fantasy classic: a war

The beauty of Dragon is how petty, small, muddy, and unimportant that war is. Vlad, the supremely competent assassin and sometimes mafia boss, has to pretend to be a normal foot soldier in order to get close to an enemy. He’s utterly out of his element: uncomfortable, bored, and terrified. As the story wraps up, it expertly combines the satisfaction of a plot well-executed with dark satire and just a touch of sadness at such a useless loss of life.

All this is told in Brust’s spare and almost Hammett-like first-person prose, which describes epic fantasy figures and eldritch magic weapons as though they’re everyday nuisances...

Warcross by Marie Lu

Emika Chen is desperate for some quick cash to pay her rent, so she decides to hack herself into the global sensation Warcross, a video game that took the world by storm. She soon realizes she just hacked herself into the opening game of the international Warcross championship, making her an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to get arrested, she’s surprised when she gets a call from the game’s creator, the young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, offering a deal she cannot refuse. 

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Care to share your favorite Spy-Fi book or film? We'd all love to hear about it.

xxKim :)

***

The Complete Choose Your Weapon Series 2024

Poison

The Perfect Storm

The Sword

Firearms

Ranged

Spells

Unarmed

Curses

Time Travel

Invisibility

Espionage

***

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2025.

Kim can be found on AKWilder Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and KimFalconer.com. 

Throw the bones, read your horoscopes or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site See you there!

A Farewell to Our Year of Villainy & Its Grand Finale

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Yep, it's a wrap on our recent Grand Finale and the Year of Villainy in Fantasy -- chiefly fantasy books, although I think a few outliers may have crept in from film and shows. :D

I include the full list of Year of the Villain posts below -- but I've particularly enjoyed the recent Grand Finale and joining with AK Wilder and Amanda Arista to feature a villain from each of our writing.

Just to recap, the three posts were:

AK Wilder & Rhiannon in Curse of Shadows

Rhiannon tells herself she commits her villainy "for the good of the realm."

Kim's wonderful 'Amassia' series

And then we had:
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Amanda Arista & Spencer Haverty in Diaries of an Urban Panther

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Spencer, yeah well -- he slithers into our heroine's life in the guise of a lie...

Amanda's fun & feisty 'Urban Panther' series

Then finally, I gave you:
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Helen Lowe & Arcolin from Daughter of Blood

Arcolin is evil with a human -- and handsome -- face.

The dark & magic-laden 'Wall Of Night' series

And that's the wrap -- three takes on villainy, rolling up the Year of Villainy in style, with some 'Fun With  Friends' along the way.

I'll leave you with that 'Compleat' List -- from 'go' to 'whoa':

Previous “Year of the Villain” Posts:

January:      Ushering in 2024 -- & the Year of the Villain

February:    The Year of the Villain #1: The Lord of The Rings Pantheon

March: The Year of the Villain #2: Ursula Le Guin & “Earthsea”

April: The Year of the Villain #3: Tigana and Brandin of Ygrath

May: The Year of the Villain #4: Elidor and Formless Evil 

June: The Year of the Villain #5: When the Hero Is Really A Villain

July:  The Year of the Villain #6: When the Author Messes With Your Mind

August:  The Year of the Villain #7: The Evilest Of Them All

September: The Year of the Villain #8: Secret Villains

October: The Year of the Villain #9: Once Were Heroes

November: The Year of the Villain #10: Villainy Among Friends

December: The Year of the Villain #11:  A Grand Finale of Villainy --

Rhiannon in Curse of Shadows  
 
Spencer in Diaries of An Urban Panther

                         Arcolin in Daughter of Blood

~*~

About Helen Lowe:

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.

Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

A Grand Finale of Villainy #3: Arcolin in "Daughter of Blood" by Helen Lowe

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On December 1, I promised you a Grand Finale of Villainy -- and I hope you've enjoyed the wonderful posts by Kim Falconer and Amanda Arista as much as I have. 

USA

Today it's my turn to bring you the third feature post in our Grand Finale. You may recall, in my contribution to Villainy Among Friends on November 1, that I discussed how the villains in The Wall Of Night series -- and the evil they practice -- shift from demonic and relatively monolithic force, to wearing a more human face as the series evolves.

Arcolin, a Darksworn mage-warrior who makes his first appearance in The Gathering of the Lost, returns to play a more central part in Daughter of Blood. His encounter with the street urchin called Faro also reveals more of his character -- in which respect, I leave you to draw your own conclusions. :-)

UK

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Arcolin in Daughter Of Blood by Helen Lowe
(The Wall Of Night #3)

So much blood, Faro thought numbly, as Arcolin let the other boy’s body fall: so much blood…

Smiling, Arcolin wiped the knife clean, his blue gaze fixed on Faro—whose brain was screaming at him to get away, but the best he could manage was a leaden crawl toward the door. Pain and tears blurred his gaze and snot was trailing from his nose—like a crying baby, but he could see no point in wiping it away. Over his shoulder, he watched his killer's catlike approach. 

Faro did not need the lightning’s glow to see the fine, black leather boots or the gleam of mail beneath the long black cloak. He did not need to hear above the thunder either, because Arcolin’s voice spoke inside his head. “Does one blunt a good blade on a rat? I think not. One just kicks it to death, against the wall.”

Instinctively, Faro curled tight, even though he knew it would do no good. He was aware, in a small, detached recess of his mind, that he hated Arcolin—loathed his handsome face and vividly blue gaze—as much as he feared him. But he was far beyond the pride of trying not to scream as the first kick landed hard against his drawn-up knees. Outside, lightning seared simultaneously with the thunder’s crack, drowning his scream as the boot connected again, and then again, each blow precise and almost leisurely. “Let’s see,” the voice inside his head said, “if we can’t kick you apart like a chest full of wormwood.”

Another kick landed, this time against Faro’s arms, wrapped close about his head. His body jerked and the next kick drove into the small of his back, booting him away from the protection of the wall. Arcolin laughed as Faro shrieked, the sound torn out of his throat and lost against the boom of the storm—then laughed again, delivering another, harder blow. Pain and darkness exploded across Faro’s mind as well as his body. He could almost see the thin line that was his cry, spiraling out beyond the hall and the door with the ship’s prow above it, until it reached the next fork of lightning, flickering between heaven and earth.

The lightning answered, tearing the sky apart in a blue-white blaze that leapt down the path of his scream. The ship’s prow exploded as the strike tore through the head and neck of the mer-horse—and the door disintegrated, every nail in it hurtling outward. Faro shrieked again, his mind and body on fire as the smell of melting metal and burning flesh assaulted him. I’m dead, he thought, I’m dead. When the dazzle of the lightning faded he let his mind follow, down into darkness. 

~ from © Daughter of Blood, The Wall Of Night Book Three – Chapter 3, Against The Wall

The Wall Of Night series

~*~

About Helen Lowe

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.

Previous "A Grand Finale of Villainy" Posts:

• Announcing a Grand Finale of Villainy -- & Moar Villainy Among Friends
• A Grand Finale of Villainy #1 -- Rhiannon in Curse of Shadows by AK Wilder
• A Grand Finale of Villainy #2 -- Spencer Haverty in Diaries Of An Urban Panther by Amanda Arista

A Grand Finale of Villainy #2: Spencer Haverty in "Diaries of An Urban Panther" by Amanda Arista

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On December 1 I promised you a Grand Finale of Villainy -- in which I'm delighted to be rejoined by Kim Falconer and Amanda Arista, expanding on their wonderful posts in Villainy Among Friends. 

Amanda is today's featured author with post #2 in our Finale, and she's taking an upclose and personal look at an archvillain from Diaries of An Urban Panther.  

-- by Helen Lowe

"Diaries of an Urban Panther" Series

Amanda's Introduction

Last month, I mentioned there were two sorts of villains in The Diaries of an Urban Panther, Haverty Senior -- a mustache twisting devil with nothing but power on his mind -- and Spencer Haverty, his son. Spencer's villainy was twice as hard for Violet to defeat because similarities tied them closer together. As the one who infected Violet with the shifter magic, he constantly pulled their connection as her maker, invading her life and later her dreams.

In the excerpt below we can see how he slithered into her life under the guise of a lie and what happened the moment Violet saw through his slick facade.

by Amanda Arista

Spencer Haverty in Diaries of An Urban Panther 
by Amanda Arista (The Urban Panther Series #1)

Deep golden irises reflected the sporadic flash of the disco lights. I gulped and suddenly felt him surround me, enveloping me within his borders. He was panther. He smelled like stormy night air and a sharp plant scent so exotic I couldn’t name it. Bile rose in my throat when I realized where I knew that smell from: my bedroom.

“Spencer,” I whispered and my fight was renewed, the adrenaline adding to my strength as I pushed and kicked for freedom.

He held me, both arms around my waist. I couldn’t get out of it, could barely breathe. Couldn’t kick, could only wriggle.

“Let me go,” I cried out. Desperate, I looked around at the computer engineers and investors who all kept dancing to the “Shout” throwing their hands up madly in the air.

“But I want you.” Sincerity sounded sinful in his smooth voice. “I’ve wanted you since you threw that hussy across the bar.”

“It was you!” I gasped. “You and your mutts have been stalking me.”

He smiled and, for the briefest moment, I glimpsed the malevolence behind the perfectly crafted façade.

Spencer lunged forward and pressed his mouth hard against mine. The kiss was more bruising than breath-taking and more possessive than passionate. The panther stirred in my chest as he grabbed the back of my head and forced his tongue past my lips. He tasted like the Scotch he had been nursing at the table, and something else. Something dark and heady.

For all that I wanted to fight back, the part of me that was pure animal didn’t. His power felt natural against mine, one in the same. My panther arched into his energy as though it was a welcome caress. A deep purr rumbled in my ears. It made me feel sick when I realized it had come from me.

Desperate for air, I bit down his lower lip; the metallic taste of blood was instantaneous. A small part of me was satisfied at having drawn his blood for a change of pace.

He jerked back, dropping his hand from my head. Blood pooled at the corner of his mouth, which curled up into a smile, but he didn’t release his hold on me. He leaned in again to repeat his sin, his arms tightening around me, but I arched away from him. To everyone else on the dance floor, it probably looked like a dip to the Latin rhythms now mashed together over the loud speakers.

He jerked me back to our previous position, and our eyes locked. “We should be together.”

My mouth felt bruised from the trauma, and I desperately wanted to wipe the taste of him from them. “No.”

“I need you, Violet. With you, God, the two of us could destroy my father and revel in the chaos.” He ducked his head beside mine and nuzzled his nose behind my ear, taking in a lungful. My entire body tensed up and then a wave of cool goose bumps ran down my skin. “The two of us together. You can feel it too, can’t you?”

“No,” I growled the lie. I could feel it, how easily it would be to open up to him and run his panther past mine. But this was the bastard who attacked me in a back alley. This was the bastard who had trashed my lair. This was the bastard who used my best friend to get to me.

He ran his hand down the side of my face, then grabbed my chin, fingers digging into the bone. “You look just like your mother,” he smiled. A flash of white pressed down on his bloody lip. “I could have never imagined that Saturday night leftovers could be such a blessing.”

“Flatter all you want, I’ll never be yours.”

His jaw clenched and the feel, the smell of him, grew so intense it permeated the air around us. Surely the people around us had to feel it? But they danced on not seeing anything abnormal here. Many other couples had paired up to salsa to Suavamente.

Arm still around my waist, he hit me with a wall of energy. Thick as cement, it crept over my skin, the cool gritty feeling touching my skin through my clothes. Then it drove into me, like a spear through my midsection. He blasted through the paper-thin protection I held around me like a cannon ball through dry wall.

My cat screamed out at the sudden attack as his power rammed through me. I’d felt this a week ago at the barn. Like he was trying to rip out the cat within me. I felt nails digging into flesh. I didn’t know if it was my cat digging in her claws to stay where she was or if it was my own claws piercing his perfect pectorals.

“I made you, Violet Jordan. You’re mine. Willingly or not,” he growled and his eyes blinked back to normal.

Also from the "Urban Panther" 'verse

~*~

About Amanda Arista

Amanda was born in Illinois, raised in Corpus Christi, and lives in Dallas, but her heart lies in London. Good thing she loves to travel!

Amanda is the author of the Diaries of an Urban Panther series and The Merci Lanard Files. A graduate of the SMU Creative Writing Program, she now teaches other aspiring authors and loves discussing craft, character, and structure.

You can usually find Amanda curled up on her couch with a tiny human or a dog, writing away, or otherwise on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pantherista/ Find out what she's currently doing on Instagram: @pantherista

~*~

Previous "A Grand Finale of Villainy" Posts:

• Announcing a Grand Finale of Villainy -- & Moar Villainy Among Friends
• A Grand Finale of Villainy #1 -- Rhiannon in Curse of Shadows by AK Wilder

A Grand Finale of Villainy #1 -- Rhiannon in "Curse of Shadows" by AK Wilder

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Yesterday, I announced A Grand Finale of Villainy -- in which I'm delighted to be rejoined by Kim Falconer and Amanda Arista, expanding on their wonderful posts in Villainy Among Friends. 

Kim, who writes her YA "Amassia" series as AK Wilder, is launching our grand finale with a closer look at a villain from Curse of Shadows (Amassia #2) --  enjoy!

-- by Helen Lowe

Rhiannon in Curse Of Shadows by AK Wilder 
(The "Amassia" Series, Book Two) 

by Kim Falconer

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Last month, in Helen Lowe’s post of Nov 1, 2004, I explored evil-doing characters in Fantasy fiction. From subtle trickery to outright genocide and a few atrocities in between, I showed how villainous actions can depend on perspective. In other words, the villains have their reasons.

To illustrate this further, I offer an excerpt from Curse of Shadows, book #2 in the Amassia series. Please meet Rhiannon of Baiseen, the treasurer’s daughter and recent widow of Petén Adicio, Magistrate of Palrio. You may never feel sorry for her, but it does become clear: In her mind, she has taken lives for one reason, and one reason only - the good of the realm.

being this cold in Baiseen. It makes me think there could be truth to some of the stories of the  Second Sun. Brogal explained that day by day, it barrels toward Amassia at the speed of lightning, melting ice caps, shifting currents, flipping the weather on its axis. Rubbish, most likely, but I’d be a fool to dismiss even a remote possibility. And I’m no fool.

The thought has me smiling. 

I am the Magistrate of all Palrio, holder of the phantom throne of Baiseen. Woodcutters carve the likeness of my beautiful Chrysel into the left arm of the chair as we speak. She will stand out against all the previous phantoms immortalized there. Her image will be magnificent. This day is magnificent!

Not so much for Petén, though.

“No, love. Not so much for him.” I suspect I’ll miss the man, as much as I could miss any. 

Don’t say that in the eulogy.

“Good advice.”

The speech I have prepared, been preparing since our first kiss, in fact, isn’t particularly honest, but I will lie to the people for their own good. However, I must be scathingly candid with myself. I won’t miss Petén past the potential he offered and maybe a few tricks he had in bed. But his purpose was served. He did his part. Peace be his path.

I could never have gained the throne through Marcus, not with his massive phantom, and Ash glued to his side. She’s a snake, that one. Analyzing everything. Watching everyone. 

I like her.

“Nonsense. She’s nothing.” 

At first, I entertained the idea of their father, Jacas. It would have been possible, though his advisors may have questioned the alliance, especially once his health started to fail. Too risky...but Petén was perfect, and for what he has given me, I am grateful.

For the realm.

“Yes, love. For the realm!”

Jacas was a strong ruler but not immortal. He wouldn’t live forever, and his time was running short. Between Marcus with his unmanageable phantom and Petén the non-savant, Palrio would have crumbled under a continued Adicio rule. My father saw this, peace be his path, and I did, too. We would have succumbed, if not to Tann’s advancing armies, then to the next power-hungry warlord from Gollnar or Sierrak. I’ve done them all a favor. My rule will see the realm not just survive, but prosper. 

We reach the cremation grounds, the pyre built high and ready to light. At least the blaze will warm me up. I dismount and hand my horse to the stablemaster. All of Baiseen is present, from the youngest child of the harbor district to the oldest black-robe from the norther caves. Perfect. 

Master Brogal catches my eye and I nod for him to begin. The speeches will take time, and no doubt be tedious, but the occasion marks my first public address as Magistrate. I’m going to make it one they will never forget.

As I take up my torch and walk to the pyre, flanked by Brogal, U’karn, and a dozen black-robes, I smile at the synergy. Peace be your path, husband, and yours, too, Marcus. It is fitting you brothers should leave the world on the same day.

Are you certain they will?

“I am, little love. All is set in motion. The Bone Gatherer will reach Asyleen, but sadly, the Baiseen troops will be too late to protect him. With Atikis lying in wait, he and his party will not see another dawn.”

For the realm? my lovely phantom asks, a little uncertain.

“For the realm!”

* * *  

Curse of Shadows

Wilder, AK, (2022). Curse of Shadows. Entangled Publishing, LLC. pp. 80-82

~*~

About Kim Falconer

Kim Falconer, currently writing as A K Wilder, has released Crown of Bones, a YA Epic Fantasy with Curse of Shadows as book 2 in the series. Currently, she is working on the third book, out in 2025.

Kim can be found on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Or pop over to throw the bones or Raise Your Phantom on the AKWilder.com site

Announcing A Grand Finale of Villainy -- & More Villainy Among Friends!

 
w00t-w00t! Tis December 1 -- which means it's not only time to complete the "Year of the Villain in Fantasy" post series, but to wrap up in style with a Grand Finale.

A Grand Finale of Villainy, no less -- and better yet, even moar Villainy Among Friends!

Grand Villainy ...

Last month Amanda Arista, Kim Falconer (who also writes as AK Wilder), and I joined forces to talk about Villainy in Fantasy  

Kim Falconer, also writing as AK Wilder

Between us, we not only explored villainy in genre terms, but with  a weather eye to how villains, as well as heroes, drive our own storytelling. 

Amanda Arista

Now we're back for A Grand Finale of Villainy! 

Over the next few days we'll be taking an upfront (and sometimes personal!) look at a villain from one of our books -- being Very Villainous, of course! 

But also illustrating those genre and storytelling themes discussed last month.

The first of our three features will post tomorrow, December 2, with Kim as our author-of-awesome in the spotlight. 

Previous “Year of the Villain” Posts:

Meanwhile, if you're new to Villainy, Supernatural Underground-style, or just keen to reread, here's a compleat list of all the “Year of the Villain” posts to date:

January:      Ushering in 2024 -- & the Year of the Villain

February:    The Year of the Villain #1: The Lord of The Rings Pantheon

March: The Year of the Villain #2: Ursula Le Guin & “Earthsea”

April: The Year of the Villain #3: Tigana and Brandin of Ygrath

May: The Year of the Villain #4: Elidor and Formless Evil 

June: The Year of the Villain #5: When the Hero Is Really A Villain

July:  The Year of the Villain #6: When the Author Messes With Your Mind

August:  The Year of the Villain #7: The Evilest Of Them All

September: The Year of the Villain #8: Secret Villains

October: The Year of the Villain #9: Once Were Heroes

November: The Year of the Villian #10: Villainy Among Friends

~*~

About This Post's Author

Helen Lowe is an award-winning novelist, poet, and lover of story. With four books published to date, she is currently completing the final instalment in The Wall Of Night series.
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Helen posts regularly on her “…on Anything, Really” blog, monthly on the Supernatural Underground, and tweets @helenl0we.