Books by V.J.O. Gardner

A group of refugees stranded in the hostile snow covered north divide up hoping to find shelter on this world they call Asculum. All of the dragons and some of the people fly south in search of warmer climates while the rest of the people face a journey they are ill prepared for. They are lost and freezing as their leader urges them forward through the blizzard into the mountains for as a seer she knows that they will find temporary shelter there. They manage to stumble out of the snows into a paradise created by a ring of active volcanoes. Their magical talents become vital in building a city they name Glynis.

As they begin to settle into their new home their leader sends out small scouting parties to discover who inhabits this world. They find that while the people of Asculum look very much like them, they are a short lived primitive people. The people of Glynis learn what they can from these people without revealing that their past and magical abilities. They begin to make wagons and carriages for cargo and people. They even learn to make and use swords along with bows and arrows they’ve seen the people of Asculum using. As the people of Glynis search for a new home away from the volcanoes that could destroy their valley their past is forgotten.

It is in this environment that the Tales of Asculum are set. Each book is meant to be a standalone book involving a particular region of the planet and the characters that inhabit that region.

When the tyrant King Burkhart is overthrown most wanted both him and his infant daughter dead, but the new king has a different plan. King Langward decides to offer both a punishment and a blessing. Burkhart must raise his daughter alone while living in a small village. To leave seals their deaths, but will they survive the wrath of the villagers the first night there?

The last Lord of Dracona is a lonely man with a dark past who is thrust into unexpected responsibilities. He lives alone in an empty castle in the center of the deserted town of Dracona. He faces tasks that he has no hope of accomplishing on his own and no one to turn to for help. Lord Dracona’s story includes a nation in search of the answer to an ancient riddle and another nation in the grip of a tyrant king. When he falls in love with a mysterious woman he goes from desperate for companionship and purpose to overwhelmed by new responsibilities as new citizens begin to arrive.

Sonje is the crown princess of her people, but with the crown comes a big problem. The volcanoes that protect her kingdom from the encircling snows will soon destroy the lush valley they created. While she and her parents are searching for a new home for their people, Sonje’s mother is killed by a king greedy for more citizens and territory. While in hiding Sonje’s father is bitten by a snake and near death when help comes from an unexpected source. When the handsome Lord Dracona demands Sonje come to live with him little does she know exactly what she’s found.

The new King of Burton is in search of a wife but is dissatisfied with the spoiled princesses sent by neighboring kingdoms to court him. At a dear friend’s funeral he falls in love with a beautiful servant girl that had a life of slavery and abuse. Through their love and perseverance they are able to unite several kingdoms in peace.

In the dying kingdom of Mannton women are not treated as people. They work for scraps of food and sleep on woven mats that will become their burial wrappings. This all changes after Li is purchased by the king to provide him an heir. He soon finds that she is no ordinary woman.