One of my most exciting discoveries during the submission call for Die By the Sword was “The Tears of Blood” by M. Stern. This tale introduced Prince Ulxedomus, whose brother, influenced by a malicious sorcerer and alien entities, had usurped the throne of K’Zal. The vast creativity on display in Stern’s first sword-and-sorcery story drew comparisons to Jack Vance, Clark Ashton Smith, and Schuyler Hernstrom. A sequel followed in Die By the Sword Volume II, which offered a few more tantalizing glimpses of Ulx’s strange world. But there were more tales to be told in K’Zal, more lands to explore, more adventurers to follow…

This June DMR Books will proudly present M. Stern’s first collection, Kingdoms Trembling. All twelve of the tales in this book take place at various locales in K’Zal and the surrounding lands, and all of them are previously unpublished. A few of the heroes you will meet in Kingdoms Trembling include:

Fyrox, a barbarian pirate, his memory lost, fighting man and monster in search of the bizarre truths behind his berserk rages and the arcane sorcery that saved him.

A royal guardsman, Pektelemum, taking up his sword against ghastly threats, ancient and alien, infesting his kingdom and his cohort.

Aurodeomus the Gladiator, famously skilled with an unwieldy weapon, who discovers in freedom dangers more deadly than what the arena held.

Artisan instrument maker Vstadru, who finds her finest work is sought by malicious individuals with cryptic intentions.

Kingdoms Trembling is scheduled to be released on June 8 in trade paperback and digital editions. The cover art was painted by Matthew Skillern, whose distinctive work previously appeared on Die By the Sword Volume II. For those not yet familiar with Stern’s work, you can read “The Tears of Blood” in the free anthology, The Battle Rages On.