Travis Starnes

Center Stage - Chapter 4

After a day spent in LA, mostly just sightseeing, it was time to get started with the reason I was really here. Thankfully, the rehearsal phase of the tour was on the same lot where we had filmed everything, so at least it was easy to find my way around. I still had to go through the normal check-in procedures at the guard stand, where the guard seemed completely bored by it all.

Between that and how the Late Show had gone, it was easy to not get a big head. Of course, this was a studio...

Shattered Lands Concept Art - Character Portraits

Alyssa Whitton (1), Commander Baldwin (2), Serwyn's Private Study (3)

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 27

Kenna, Duchy of River Mark, Sidor

Aldric slid off his horse in the courtyard of the keep that sat at the center of the city, a feeling of warmth filling him. He hadn’t been back to his capital in almost a year, and he’d missed it.

It was good to be home.

Handing his reins to a stableboy that came running out, Aldric climbed the steps of the keep and through its large central doors. These were as they always had been, a reminder that life at home did not ...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 26

East of Cestralion, Lynese

William rode at the head of a long column, with the rest of his commanders, his army finally on the move again after being stalled for months in the Lysmir woods. The spread of the Elder Curse had been stopped, and almost all of the quarantined soldiers had been released by the Disciples. Thankfully, with the widespread quarantining and halting of the men, allowing the Disciples to do their work more efficiently, they’d managed to halt most ...

Country Road Concept Art - Characters

Jennifer Phillips/Hanna's Mom (Image 1), Seth Bell (Image 2), Tabitha Mercer/Lyla's Girlfriend (Image 2)

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 25

Starhaven, Sidor

Serwyn paced behind his desk, a scowl etched into his. While scowling was not unusual for Serwyn, this time it wasn’t in annoyance or petulance. This was a new version that Edmund hadn’t seen, at least at this level before. Serwyn was in a full rage.

The desk, normally completely empty, due to Serwyn’s disinterest in the more ‘boring’ parts of ruling, was covered in pages. Each was a report with details of assaults and incidents across t...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 24

Sidorian Lines, South of Port Belmar, Northern Lynese

A day after the battle, the field still lay strewn with the dead and the dying. The Disciples of healing picked their way through, trying to sort the two, but in many cases it was difficult to tell. Friends of the fallen men did the same, trying to find a comrade that never returned to the line after battle or who they saw fall in the chaos.

This was William’s third major clash, not even considering the dozen...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 23

Sidorian Lines, South of Port Belmar, Northern Lynese

The Sidorian cavalry rode through the tightly packed streets of the village, infantry following behind. They had to move quickly, since this level of movement would be impossible for the Lynesians to miss, but they needed to keep their men together, ready to fight when they got through the other side.

William wasn’t overly concerned that they’d manage the task. They were good men, battle-hardened and unders...

The Threads of Destiny - Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Fleeing South

Osric was exhausted. An hour had passed since they'd fled the cliffside, their hounds picking them up almost as soon as they started their run south. Without any tricks left, all they could do was run, barely staying ahead of the braying of the dogs, the flickering orange glow of torchlight in the woods behind them.

Talia looked as tired as he felt, and he knew they couldn't keep this up much longer. Even Cinder looked tired.

"Talia,...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 22

Sidorian Army Camp, South of Port Belmar, Northern Lynese

The commander’s tent bustled with activity as William’s officers filed in, all looking concerned. The last month had been difficult on the entire army, as their men lay dying, forced to watch the enemy that had been fleeing, on the verge of destruction, pull itself back together and reinforce, establishing new lines, extending the war even further.

Even Pembroke, who normally looked as if he was immune ...

Center Stage - Chapter 3

Finally, it was time to go back out to California. Riding with Mrs. Phillips, I was actually a little sad about it, which I know most kids my age would think was crazy. After a full month of just normal life, hanging out with my school friends and Kat, before she had to go back to school, and being normal, I’d started to fall into the routine of it again.

Maybe because I’d only had to miss a week and a half for the prelims and nothing for the finals, this felt different than when I ...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 21

Valemonde, Lynese

Isolde Montborne walked into her father’s office, her head held high despite the tension she could feel from the guards outside the lavishly carved doors, who were always a good barometer of how her father was feeling at that moment.

As was often the case when she was called before him, her father sat behind his ornate desk, his rotund frame sinking into the plush velvet of his chair. He was angry at her. She could plainly see that from the way his eyes follo...

Concept Music (Country Roads) - Backstage

And here's the second concept song (again, I'm not a musician, but I found it interesting). Tell me if you want more of this, or none of this.

Concept Music (Country Roads) - Country Road

Something I was messing with for a while, trying to figure out what some of Charlie's music would sound like. With note, I am not a musician (and the vocals are AI generated cause I'm also not a singer), but this is the first song Charlie made, Country Road.

Let me know if this is at all interesting to you. I will also, in a minute, put up his second song, Backstage.

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 20

Village of Quenby, Barony of Ambleton, Duchy of Kingsheart, Sidor

The late afternoon lull that had settled over the village of Quenby, as the work day neared it’s end and the end days meals had started to be prepared, was broken by the sound of hoofbeats and the large cloud of dust coming down the single road that lead to the village.

Ambleton, generally not near anything exciting, had for a long time being a quite barony, and Quenby was a quiet village in that ...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 19

Aldric stepped off the ship’s gangplank onto the bustling docks of Starhaven, taking a moment to appreciate the soaring spires of the palace and Grand Hall high above him, on the city’s third level, towering above the rest of the city below. Though he had seen the sight countless times, its beauty and grandeur never failed to impress.

He was just about to start toward the market road that led up from the docks to the city center and the palace when a messenger in the king’s livery...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 18

Village of Haxby, Barony of Lindenwood, Sidor

The barn was dank, smelling of dirty men and animals, reminding Tom of another barn he’d hidden in, not that many months ago, with many of these same men, plotting their defiance of the king.

The people and the location were where the similarities ended, however. For one, while many of the faces here had been present at that first meeting, many faces were missing, captured or dead. The mood was so much different than...

The Threads of Destiny - Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Watchtower

Osric ducked under a low tree, almost missing it in the fading light. They’d been walking for hours since leaving Silham, the air between them strained. He’d agreed that she could still go with him, in spite of the danger, but that hadn’t ended the issue, apparently.

Since they’d left the village, every time Osric tried to talk to her, she’d ended the conversation quickly, with muttering he couldn’t really hear, but knew were ...

Shattered Lands Concept Art

Sir Alistair Everwood (1), Horrace Haverhill (2), Tom Fletcher (3)

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 17

Starhaven, Kingdom of Sidor

Edmund stood beside the king’s ornate throne, his expression sour as he watched the doors to the audience chamber swing open. The throne room of the Grand Hall in Starhaven was filled to capacity, the crowds of ornately dressed nobles and courtiers packed shoulder to shoulder along the sides of the long gold and white carpeted central walkway.

All heads turned as the great doors at the end of the hall swung open. Colm Thranton walked ...

In the Shadow of Lions Cover Reveal & Title Page

Center Stage - Chapter 2

I woke up pretty late on Sunday after a very late night out watching the band that Chef had booked at the Blue Ridge the night before. They had been a straight rock number and were really good. Plus it had been nice to be just a member of the audience for the first time in a long time.

It was late enough that I was honestly shocked to find myself all alone when I finally got up and walked around the house. Kat was still asleep, which maybe wasn’t surprising since she’d been with me ...

In the Shadow of Lions - Chapter 16

Barony of Lindenwood, Duchy of Kingsheart

Tom Fletcher made his way through the small clearing where his men were camped, stopping to talk to this group or that, offering words of encouragement or just a sympathetic ear. These weren’t soft men. They were farmers and woodsmen, hunters and craftsmen. Men used to long days of backbreaking work.

They all now had a new appreciation for the endurance of soldiers, after days of marching, pushing from sunup to sundown f...

The Triumph of Venus - Chapter 36

Carthage

Ky walked through the ruined halls of the Carthaginian emperor’s palace, amazed by its sheer opulence. After a lifetime growing up in the spartan and utilitarian barracks and space stations, he’d always considered the Roman palaces and temples to be the most extravagant places in all of existence. Seeing this, he realized he was wrong.

Thanks to the Carthaginian Emperor’s decision to conscript nearly every adult male in the city and across the count...

The Triumph of Venus - Chapter 35

North Africa

“Consul, my analysis indicates nearly one hundred thousand soldiers in the Carthaginian army,” Sophus said.

Ky had been watching the Carthaginians approach for almost an hour, as his men set up defensive works as best they could. His scouts had come in contact with theirs the night before, and it was clear to everyone that this battle would be today. Ky let the enemy come to them, having his men dig in, putting in pits and trenches to slo...

The Triumph of Venus - Chapter 34

North Africa

The army was a bustling whirl of chaos around Ky and the other commanders. As they had every night for weeks, they stood in the center of the madness, in the open air, going over the day’s events and confirming the next day’s plan, not that there was much variety in their agonizingly slow march west toward Carthage.

As with Italy, they had been harassed the entire way, except these attacks had been more spread out, in the way of ambushes, than att...

The Triumph of Venus - Chapter 33

Carthage

“Say that again,” Imilcar demanded, staring down at General Hadar.

“I... great one... I regret to inform you that we lost the latest shipment from the TianYou. All of it is gone.”

“How did this happen? I thought we moved the path of these shipments to the Sea of Reeds specifically to avoid this situation.”

“We don’t know how the Romans learned of it, or got a fleet all the way around Africa, but their new ships and cannon appea...

The Triumph of Venus - Chapter 32

The Red Sea

Valdar was pleased. It had been a long and difficult voyage, but they’d finally made it to what the Romans called Sinus Arabicus, although he’d heard others call it the Sea of Reeds.

As they’d entered into the southern part of the sea where the old Egyptian charts actually picked back up, at least enough for him to navigate, he’d pulled his fleet away from the coast of Africa, choosing to sail up the center of the sea itself. He couldn’t see ...

Center Stage (Country Roads #6) - Chapter 1

There was one day left of winter break, and I was making the most of it. After most of the last semester living our relationship over video chat, Kat and I had been inseparable.

Well, mostly inseparable. Mrs. Phillips still had her rule of keeping out of each other’s rooms, which we abided by, mostly. For now, we were relaxing on the couch, cat leaning into me with my arms draped around her, watching some mindless reality competition show she seemed to like.

“So, what do you t...

The Triumph of Venus - Chapter 31

Carthage

The room, usually bustling with courtiers and petitioners, was eerily silent. Imilcar slouched against the gilded backrest, not even bothering to hide the lines of worry and fatigue any longer.

He could see the few courtiers and generals attending him looking concerned, but he didn’t know if it even mattered. The recent landing attempts by Roman forces so close to his capital had dealt a devastating blow to his already waning confidence. He had always p...