Author's Note In my last published novel, Minos, I divided the plot into two parts of one continuous story. Part One of Minos follows the exploits of Adam St. James and his family when he and his brother Rod were thirteen years old and helping their father, Dr. Edward St. James, in solving a murder/kidnap mystery on the island of Crete in Greece. Part Two follows that same storyline after Adam turns eighteen and returns to Crete and the Minos Valley alone after the adventures concluded five years earlier. This novel, a sequel to Minos in an alternate universe, along with Minos, also in an alternative universe, is a prequel to the Cryptid Trilogy written by my son and co-author, Jacob Roff. There are three sequels to the Cryptid Trilogy soon to be available in wide distribution. DER, June, 2023

ABOUT THE BOOK The mystery in Central and Van Buren has been solved and the worlds of Will Scott and his son Josh are returning back to normal a year later. Their house mother, Maria Garcia, has watched as the deck re-shuffles in their lives; her daughter and Will’s part-time girlfriend, Teresa Garcia, has left for Washington, DC to get away from her past. There she meets and falls in love with a wealthy British diplomat from an old European family. She decides to come home on assignment one last time, and that’s when her story and her background begin to unravel. At the same time, Carol Simmons, Will’s experiment in unrequited love, also returns to Phoenix at the same time. Will thinks she’s finally come home and, more importantly, come home to him. However, she also returns home to Phoenix with a new friend, the beautiful and exotic Erica Xue. Have wires been crossed, signals mixed and wrong messages sent? What should have been a homecoming to remember soon turns sour. As the players begin their courtship anew, new players enter as old players exit. Why did the women show up when they did? Is there a connection between Carol and her friend and an FBI investigation headed up by Teresa Garcia? Mystery and intrigue build as new revelations come to light. Angela di Benedetto has also reappeared and, with the approval of her grandfather, Frank Scarlatti, has taken up with Will. The aging mobster has gone straight and has become great friends and a client of Will Scott. Will also became an instant billionaire when both his friend Jack Peterson, and his wife, Marla, died and left everything to him. As more and more characters get involved in the intrigue, the CIA suddenly makes an appearance and Will becomes a target of international intrigue. Always wanting to protect the family he loves, Will gets involved with the FBI, the CIA, the mob and … Russians. The novel is beautifully set in Phoenix, Arizona in the mid-nineties at the end of the Cold War. Teresa Garcia is a thriller of epic proportions.

About the Book Adam St. James is back again in another exciting sequel of the Cryptid Trilogy Series! Adam returns to a new alternate universe with new characters and a new dilemma as his family, friends and associates puzzle through the odd series of events, murders, and assassinations that have gripped Adam’s life. His family has seemingly gone insane, abandoned him without explanation and forced him to leave home and relocate to New York City. His long-time love, Misti Alarcon, has broken off their relationship abruptly and disappeared; Adam is sure his family knows why, but after the murder of Misti’s father, retired Seattle police Sergeant Carlos “Carlito” Alarcon, she goes deep underground. Adam, unable to deal with family and personal betrayal, goes into a deep funk that takes years to overcome. When he does, he meets Lola Romano and her family; he proposes to Lola only to lose her in an explosion at her family’s restaurant. With the Romano family murdered shortly after meeting with Misti Alarcon and the Suarez family, Adam returns to Barrows Bay to confront his own family about their knowledge or involvement in those deaths. Adam soon begins spiraling down from a severe bout of depression at his loss and betrayal; he heads to San Diego, California to enter a treatment program at the prestigious Tolan Clinic. He meets and becomes close to Patsy Murray, a highly respected genealogist, as the mystery of his family background begins to emerge, causing a cascade of consequences for both Adam and Patsy as they are both pursued, but for vastly different reasons. A historical mystery of immense proportions, unsolved for hundreds of years, becomes central to the plot, its characters and the resolution of long-held family secrets. Nothing is as it seems and the twists and turns of this adventure tests all cunning and courage that Adam can muster. Old characters from the Cryptid Trilogy emerge, but with different personalities as the Many Worlds Interpretation of the cosmos begins to play out. The action picks up, the chase and mysteries are on, and once again Adam faces love, lust, danger, and betrayal as he unlocks the mystery of old enemies and rivals now on planet Earth. Are they there to help, hinder or confuse? Follow Adam as he confronts dangers from all beings now having a stake in his life and the outcome of the struggles against the dangerous forces arrayed against him.

About The Book They live among us! Independent journalist Beatriz da Costa is on her way to a secret meeting with a clandestine environmental group having vital information to share about a biotech company and its covert activities in the mountains just east of Seattle, Washington. As she arrives in the mountains and starts to hike into the wilderness, she makes a wrong turn and is attacked by birds, ravens and crows, as she ascends to the summit. A large black bird swoops down, seeming to attack her. The young woman loses her balance, falling into a ravine, crashing into a fallen tree rendering her unconscious. She wakes up in the care of a strange family, the family of Xander Corvid, the President and CEO of a large international biotech conglomerate. Rather than treat her as a trespasser, she is welcomed by the tall, handsome man and his entire family. She remains on the mountain under their care until circumstances begin to cause her to wonder why she is being treated for injuries she doesn’t have. She senses something is amiss; the Corvid family senses something peculiar about her. By the time Beatriz leaves the mountain, her brother and father have become entangled in the intrigues and maneuverings of the Corvid family and their top-secret projects. Who are they and what do they want with Beatriz and her family? Enter Emily Cho, journalist for a major west coast newspaper who is following a story about the CEO, his family and his company. Complicating the matter, Emily was once romantically involved with Xander Corvid. As these groups hurtle toward revelation of their existence to humanity, Xander Corvid must walk a tightrope between protecting his own species and uniting with ancient foes to protect all hybrid species from extinction. As common threats are understood, a pan species meeting is called to confront common challenges and plan a defense against a new and even more ancient and evil enemy only recently discovered has been freed from confinement and captivity. The plots are thick, the players are many and the outcome is uncertain. The challenges can only be overcome through unity. Can Xander succeed where all others have failed? In the final battle, who will win? They walk among us, unseen and unknown.

About the Book The Curse of the Minotaur? Eleven archeologists have been kidnapped and two detectives murdered at a remote and newly discovered ancient dig site. Teen genius Adam St. James has traveled to the remote White Mountains of Crete with brother Rod Suarez and father Dr. Edward St. James to investigate. He is soon joined by the mysterious Greek beauty Athena and her equally enigmatic guardian Stefano. They offer to help in solving this mystifying puzzle, but do they have a hidden agenda, one that could spell death for Adam and his family? What do this pair really want, and what part does the ancient and historic Minoan civilization play in events as they unfold. Athena is as spoiled as she is beautiful, and she finds herself trying to manipulate the brothers; Rod is fascinated by her narcissism, but Adam isn’t buying it. Is it the Curse of the Minotaur, or something else far less mythical and far more insidious, and closer to home? Adam is thirteen years old, and already a budding computer genius, when his father receives an urgent request from the Greek government and his old friend, fellow archeologist Spiro Antiacos, to assist with a confounding mystery. Antiacos, curator of a major national museum of antiquities in Athens, tells Edward that eleven anthropologists at a new dig on the island of Crete have discovered evidence of a massive find related to the Cult of the Minotaur, and the late King Minos. That’s the good news; the bad news is that they have all disappeared, one by one, while at the same time two Greek detectives from the national police have been found murdered. After months of investigation, little has been revealed about the missing anthropologists, and the local residents seem unable or unwilling to help. Oddly, they also claim to be the direct inheritors of Minoan civilization, which flourished three thousand five hundred years earlier. They claim that the disappearance of the men and women has been the result of the desecration of their homeland, the Minos Valley, and because of the Curse of the Minotaur. No object from the many temples and sites in the Minos Valley may be disturbed without earning the strongest rebuke possible: death. Dr. Edward St. James arrives at the dig site with his sons, his on again off again girlfriend, field archeologist Desiree “Dez” D’rq, his forensic colleague, Dr. Kirsten Branch, and his two security experts, ex-SAS Brits, Peter and Archie Benson. Joining them are fellow forensic anthropologist Max VanCamp and his wife, adventurer and thrill seeker, Eene “Enya” Svensson. As they arrive in Athens on the way to Crete, they are tracked by two shadowy figures, both shady antiquities dealers well-known for walking up to, and occasionally crossing, the legal line of the criminal underworld of stolen and looted antiquities. As the group make their way to the dig site in the remote White Mountains of Chania prefecture and settle in, they begin to assess the state of affairs and determine how to proceed, using advanced technology and cutting-edge forensic techniques. Not knowing who to trust, they rely only on themselves and begin to solve the mysteries of what is, and is not, possible. Edward discounts the Curse in favor of a criminal conspiracy reaching into the highest levels of the Greek government, law enforcement, and academia. The relics are priceless, but where are they, if they even exist? The group is stymied; the criminals and their kidnap victims have seemingly disappeared without a trace. The plot twists and turns as friend is foe, and foe is friend. This story is a fantasy with all the mystery of the myth and legend of ancient Minoan civilization set against a background of Adam’s coming of age and his budding relationship with beautiful and temperamental young Athena. The action is exciting, the characters compelling, and the plot intricate as murder, betrayal, and intrigue dominate the pages of Minos. Buckle up reader; you’re in for the thrill of a lifetime!

About The Book This is the eighth book in the series, the Chronicles of Mattias. The war against the Xeneid immortal invaders is over and the gods have returned Mattias Denson and Lady Morona to life back at the Compound in the Southern Kingdom. Five years have passed of peace throughout the Seven Realms. Some grow weary of peace and look to Mattias as the source of new adventures. His wives and children seem to be enjoying the quiet, while in the background, new plots are hatched by characters thought to be dead. The Anorans and the Farai have risen to prominence and as all this foment, three travelers show up at his lodge. One is a Bjerne maiden. One is an avian maiden. One is a Lesti maiden' The three are able to transform, to shapeshift. The Lesti girl claims to be the hereditary Queen of the Lesti. The Lesti Queen opens a new series of novels beginning at the conclusion of the Xeneid Wars and opening a new series of adventures with new characters and challenges. Mattias will venture into new lands, find new challenges and new deceptions. The gods have decreed that the Mattias has not finished his task of bringing peace to the world, freeing the slaves under the Covenant, uniting all factions in peace and harmony. And Mattias has a new task bringing him closer than ever to what the gods really want and what his task has been all along. What do the gods want? Who or what do they fear? The saga continues.

About the Book Dark passions, family secrets, twisted love, polyamory, betrayal, and pansexuality weave their way into a new novel by Canadian-American author Douglas Roff in his new novel Five Years in Her World: Betrayal and Deceit. This second book of a three novel arc opens the story with James McKenzie, Maria Castellano and her sister Conchita Castellano off to the Greek Island of Crete for a one year hiatus from the events of the past five years in Merida, Mexico. The plan is for James to continue to write his novels in seclusion with his two Spanish muses, but things go wrong right away. This leads to a new series of catastrophic events engineered by Diego and Luna Castellano; Conchita winds up in a hospital as her mental state begins to decline. Their world is rocked, and the sisters and James part ways. James later reconnects with his old friend and lover, now a famous actress, Mirabella "Mira" Montoya. He journeys to New York City where she now lives and visits his agent who has now brought him to a publisher and many new opportunities. With Mira is a new figure, Kimberly Aronson, with whom James is instantly connected. Mira has shocking news as her world reconnects with the Castellano sisters, setting off new challenges. James has a new project in the Yucatan near Progreso on the coast. He may have partners in the venture, but can newcomers Geoffrey and Santana Byrne be trusted. Can the Castellanos? Old nemesis Shawna Fraser reasserts herself and her influence as the mental health of Maria Castellano spirals downwards after her separation from James. Conchita is now herself in mental pain and anguish. James wants no part of the women, but his obsession with them is stronger than his desire for peace and quiet. An agreement is reached between James and Luna Castellano to manage the two sisters, but is James the solution to the sisters' mental health declines? Darkness becomes the norm as richly twisted fantasy worlds are revealed, woven into the final dramatic moments Five Years In Her World: Betrayal and Deceit .

ABOUT THE BOOK The War of the Western Pagans was over. Mattias Denson has withdrawn to his home in the Compound in the Southern Kingdom and exercises sovereignty over the Seven Realms, including the Memmet Valley and the entirety of the northern plains. His wives and consorts have likewise settled down, and he is once again a father - many times over. Life is peaceful and happy. Yet ... Not all of his wives are content with the quiet life and, like Mattias, seek relief from the boredom of peace and quiet, remembering the thrill of conflict, battle and war. They are still young, and their lives are not yet fulfilled. Like Mattias, they see further adventure. That opportunity comes in the form of a call from a mysterious western queen seeking his help in ending a possible foreign and civil war. She seeks his aid as mediator and more. Though knowing little of her or her kingdom, he readily accepts the invitation to visit Frijia, the kingdom to the west of the defeated Kingdom of Dar Galan. With his wives and children reluctantly following him, he first visits Galana Prima, the capital of Dar Galan, where he encounters the warlock prince, Lord Mestin Marlat. He first encounters wiccan arrogance and betrayal, then treason from his own witches, causing a rift in the family. From that point, Mattias and his family have each made fateful decisions. They part ways in anger, with Mattias moving west to the Kingdom of Frijia to meet its queen, Lady Freyja, while Mattias's family returns to the Compound. Conflict with the warlock east in Mortem, capital of the ancient caste warlock empire, begins with the first issues arising between Mattias Denson and Emperor Q'in. Mattias continues west as new trouble, as yet unknown to Mattias, foments in the east. Treason and betrayal, war and conflict litter the pages of Freyja Thorsdottir, as matters culminate and redefine the direction of the Chronicles of Mattias. The novel twists and turns, ending with the conclusion of another great war: the Wiccan Wars. How will it end?

About the Book Behind Her Eyes: Domination/Obsession is the first novelette in a three arc series tracing the adventures of novelist James Masters as he meets the Meadows family, sisters Sophie and Alexandra, and he begins his journey into the secret world of the wealthy sexual elites. James has two sisters who have supported his efforts to transform from poor student to a self supporting novelist while trying to accommodate his obsession filled life. Through his relationships with new characters who pass through his life and bed, we begin to discover not only more about James, but his sisters, their friends and the enigmatic Meadows sisters. James is looked down upon by the women who nonetheless crave his approval, wealthy and arrogant as they are, but at some point his obsessions become theirs. Darkness is revealed on these journeys of discovery, and the gravitational pull of the Masters family ebbs and flows as psycho-sexual proclivities of the actors slowly become known. The secret lives of the wealthy and privileged, of indolence and self-absorption are discovered and laid bare. Worlds and paths diverge, setting up the conflicts that must be resolved when obsession overtakes reason. He wants to save her, but can he? Will she let him? Who really controls the two families that matter? As worlds collide, how will the first part of the journey end? Does he feel love, or just lust and obsession, desire and control? This is where we will begin, but not end. Join us on this journey.

About the Book Queen Persephone is the tenth novel in the series, The Chronicles of Mattias, and concludes his journey in search of what the gods want from him. Will this task, once completed, finally mean that Mattias can retire to one of his lodges and enjoy life with his wives, children and grandchildren? Or is there more that the gods will demand of him? The novel opens up with Mattias and his army perched at the opening of the corridor between his new conquest of Partha and a new kingdom located in a long valley called Tarshan. He is there to meet with the queen and her royals as he continues his task of freeing Lesti and Bjerne slaves, this time in a new place with new characters, some of whom want to help him and some who want to destroy him. These royals are very odd, and Mattias soon suspects evil and foul play from a source but not what that source is. The gods are intervening now more than ever, and the goddess Hel, goddess of the underworld, has taken a liking to Mattias who seemed very taken with the Lady, who is both difficult and arrogant beyond all measure. He enters the kingdom, expels the royals, and discovers hard truths not only about this small kingdom, but all of the kingdoms of the Tarshan Valley. He soon sets about understanding his new conquest as well as the structure of the Krais that crisscross and checkerboard the entire two thousand mile length of the wide valley, sandwiched in between two vast mountain ranges. Mattias' family arrives and with it old disputes about who decides and what is decided. After conquest and the submissions of many new lands, Mattias sets out again by himself, only a few true believers with him as he takes new territory and frees more and more Lesti and Bjerne. They stumble upon a new kingdom, a vast and beautiful kingdom, that regularly engages in slaving and not just the Lesti. Mattias meets and becomes friends with new creatures who are freed by Mattias; ancient steeds and shapeshifters are discovered, along with thousands of trapped souls and life essences brought back to the land of the living. Mattias seeks out Seth and Xerxes, always one step ahead. Aurelius is returned to his sister and father, and ends his association with the Queen of Asan. Fire Jade has been sold in direct contravention of Mattias' orders; it seems Seth and Xerxes have acquired quantities and are selling it in the Tarshan Valley and beyond. Mattias stays in his new kingdom for two years then goes off on the final leg of his decades long journey. He solves the riddles of the Key, and makes his peace with the gods. Or does he. Will his journey end, or is there more he is tasked with. His origins are finally revealed, and his people identified. Where will this new history take him next? Has he discovered whom the gods fear? Perhaps, or perhaps Mattias never understood the makeup of the heavens, and the beings who watch the mortals from above.