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Overview: I am a longtime professor. I am also a lifelong reader of science fiction and fantasy. My kids are grown now, and I find myself with an abundance of time to write. I plan to release many books in my science fiction series (The Voided Man) and my fantasy series (The Clock and the Candles) in the coming years.
Genre: Fiction > Sci-Fi/Fantasy

The Clock and the Candles (#1)
Roland, the Keeper of the Clock, and Gwen, the former crown princess of the Lands, are separated by 46 feet of stone. After seizing the throne from her father, King Adolphus had the Prison Maximus constructed around Gwen. She lives in a cell with no door that measures eight feet on every side, and which is centered in a structure that measures a hundred feet on every side.

One day in the seventh year of Gwen's imprisonment, Roland returns home from his duties tending the Ebony Clock to find that someone has entered his cabin and left an unsigned letter on his table. The letter reads:

Dear Roland,
Consider five statements. Three of them are true. Two of them are lies.

1. You are the last of your kind.
2. King Adolphus is an immortal being.
3. The creatures who walk the Lands after sunset serve no master.
4. Gwen's prison was not constructed according to specifications.
5. The Ebony Clock is not connected to anything at all.

Sort the truth from the lies, and you will be free.

With the help of allies that come to include an old friend, an elderly chemist, two disgruntled members of Adolphus' guard, and an elf, Roland tries to make use of the new information in the beginning of a new epic from Anthony Dean, author of the Voided Man series.

The Clock and the Talisman (#2)
The eastern wall of the Prison Maximus has been reduced to rubble, but new challenges await the companions who engineered its downfall.

Gwen, Roland, Xerx, and a new conspirator must locate the Ebony Clock's master system in a cave deep below the surface.

Meanwhile, Celeste, Morris, Penny, and Benjamin must retrieve an ancient talisman from the area of the Anan Mountains beyond the Blood Falls.

Madfish, drow elves, extreme temperatures, and incomplete maps are among the hazards that must be navigated if the quests are to be successful.

Can the companions complete them both before the Ebony Clock strikes midnight?