Take a journey east with Rayden Valkyrie as she undertakes one of her most harrowing adventures yet! Prowling the Darkness is the latest release in the Rayden Valkyrie Tales!
A return to hard-hitting, gritty sword and sorcery with an iconic and inspiring main character, the Rayden Valkyrie Tales are a growing collection of stand-alone novellas that will elate fans of the genre!
About the Book
Dark rumors and whisperings of unholy sorcery bring Rayden Valkyrie to the remote city of Sereth-Naga.
There she finds a populace cowering in fear of the city’s ruthless, mysterious rulers, who remain behind the high walls of their citadel.
An even greater mystery surrounds the city.
Something is prowling the darkness.
Something that has kept the enigmatic rulers for centuries from escaping Sereth-Naga to spread their wickedness to other lands.
Prowling the Darkness is a stand-alone novella that is part of the Rayden Valkyrie Tales.
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About the Author
Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author and filmmaker based out of Lexington Kentucky. His works include the Rayden Valkyrie novels (Sword and Sorcery), the Rising Dawn Saga (Cross Genre), the Fires in Eden Series (Epic Fantasy), the Hellscapes short story collections (Horror), the Chronicles of Ave short story collections (Fantasy), the Harvey and Solomon Tales (Steampunk), and the forthcoming Faraway Saga (YA Dystopian/Cross-Genre).
Stephen’s visual work includes the feature film Shadows Light, shorts films such as The Sirens and Swordbearer, and the forthcoming Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart TV Pilot.
Stephen is a proud Kentucky Colonel who also enjoys the realms of music, martial arts, good bourbons, and spending time with family.
Guest Post
Telling the Tale of Rayden Valkyrie
Prowling the Darkness is just one story in a much larger tale; the tale of Rayden Valkyrie.
Ever since Rayden Valkyrie first manifested within my mind about six years ago, I have embarked to tell her life story through novels, novellas, short stories, and even TV/Film projects.
Currently, I have a growing collection of stand-alone novellas, in which Prowling the Darkness is the latest title, as well as a trilogy of novels that is about to be completed with the release of When Shadows Fall in a couple of months.
In addition, I have an original storyline in the screenplay for the independent TV Pilot Rayden Valkyrie: Saga of a Lionheart (released to YouTube just over a week ago, you can watch the full TV pilot here).
Collectively, they tell many stories from various points of Rayden Valkyrie’s lifetime, and I am gradually revealing, bit by bit, her full biography.
Rayden is a character with a lot of dimension that I am confident can connect in a profound way with a lot of readers.
She weathered major tragedy at a very young age and faced great adversity all throughout her life. Despite all of the hardships and cruelties, Rayden has not lost a moral compass or sense of honor. She is compassionate and has empathy, while still being a fearsome warrior who has to kill often during the course of her widespread adventures.
By the time that she set out from the Gessa tribal lands where she grew to adulthood following the tragic loss of her family, Rayden is a balanced figure whose inner strength matches, and I would argue even surpasses, her exceptional outer strength.
Her adventures take her far across her world. She is a restless traveler, who never tarries long in any one land. This has a lot to do with the fact that she has a deep longing for a true home, something that has been absent in her life ever since she lost her own home and parents in a brutal fashion at a young age. She does not know her exact destination, only that she will recognize it when she comes upon it.
Being exposed to all kinds of cultures, religions, and lands, Rayden does not have fears of encountering the unfamiliar or new. She looks at people as individuals who are accountable for their own actions and choices, and she holds herself to account first and foremost.
In my view, we need a lot more Rayden’s in our world. No matter the odds, she stands up for her convictions and does all that she can to defend those who are weaker or without influence. The trappings of wealth and power do not sway her. She truly cannot be bought and is not intimidated in the slightest in the presence of a king, queen, or emperor.
Rayden is that rare kind of individual who has proceeded far toward their full potential. She is not perfect. She makes mistakes and has some regrets, but she manages to pick herself after a fall and continue to grow as a person, learning from the failures and mistakes along the way.
Placing a character with this kind of depth and dimension in a wide range of scenarios and situations is fertile ground for creative expression, and the stand-alone novellas have provided a great outlet for me in telling Rayden’s story. I am able to visit different periods of her life, explore different parts of her world, and illuminate experiences that have had profound effects on her.
Prowling the Darkness is a prime example of this, and I invite readers to try this story out and meet a great new friend in Rayden Valkyrie along the way. Explore Rayden’s world and discover new aspects of her life in each of these novellas. If you enjoy them, you can look forward to a lot more to come!
Thank you very much for letting me visit on your blog! Really enjoyed writing the post for you! :)
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