Sufferborn
3 primary works
Book 1
Dorhen was born to a grievous fate. Who can break his chains of torment?
An elf’s name is branded to their soul at birth and defines them for life. After Dorhen’s mother gives him a forbidden name which dooms him to exile, it doesn’t take long for his peaceful childhood to crumble. His father loses his mind to black magic, his mother vanishes, and his home is devoured by flames. For years, Dorhen wanders the land of Kaihals with only a cold, unfeeling fairy specter as his companion...until he meets Kalea.
Kalea is a novice vestal patiently awaiting the day she will take her vow of chastity. The comfort and complacency of her humble routine is shaken to the core when she witnesses an angry mob threaten to kill Dorhen for stealing food. Kalea rescues him, and a precarious romance begins to blossom between them.
When sorcerers raid her convent and kidnap the other novices, Kalea discovers a treacherous plot to bring all of Kaihals under the sway of a sadistic cult with shocking ties to the family Dorhen lost. She manages to escape with Dorhen's help, but he disappears during the attack. Determined to rescue her sisters and the elf she loves, Kalea sets out on a perilous journey across a land rife with magic and festering with an unknown evil. Can she save Dorhen from the fiendish sorcerers and the shackles of his dark past? Even if she can, what about the bleak future thrust upon him by his devious family?
Sufferborn is the first installment of a sprawling dark fantasy with interweaving plotlines, multiple points of view, and sensual elements. This gritty tale of heartache and courage under fire is not for the faint of heart, and will appeal to fans of Terry Goodkind and Elizabeth Haydon.
Book 2
Her love was lost. Now she risks losing herself...
Kalea's desperate journey to find Dorhen and rescue the kidnapped novices is cut short when she is caught in the whirlwind of a rising Darklandic deity: the violent yet seductive Wikshen.
Danger stalks Kalea across an untamed land, from a lost city in a poisoned forest where she must seek the aid of a treacherous stranger, to the very hive of Wikshen's sinister cult. But as startling revelations and harrowing events challenge her faith, her purpose, and her very identity, Kalea discovers the greatest perils of all may lurk in her own heart.
At Kalea's side, Gaije searches desperately for his sister, who is held captive by the sorcerers responsible for the corruption infiltrating the Lightlands. Back in Norr, Gaije's grandfather, Lehomis, struggles to save his clan from extinction. Even if Gaije returns safely with Mhina, he may not make it home in time before the woman he loves marries someone else.
As the new, reluctant figurehead of the Wikshonite cult, Dorhen finds himself trapped in an endless struggle for control of his own body as the pixie Wik grows stronger within him. If Dorhen succumbs, he may become someone Kalea no longer recognizes-someone with a thirst for conquest and the power to bend the entire continent to his will.
Can Kalea resist the temptation of this reborn pettygod? Or will her devotion to Dorhen crumble under the influence of Wikshen's dark allure?
Unwilling Deity is the second book in the Sufferborn series, an epic fantasy adventure designed for intelligent readers and deep-feeling souls. This is not a light and fluffy read! If you yearn for a dark, thought-provoking story in which characters are pushed to the very limits of their comfort, endurance, and sanity, J.C. Hartcarver hears you.
Book 3
The God of Darkness rises…
Kalea has found Dorhen at the heart of a strange cult that worships Wikshen as a living deity. There, he dwells in a euphoric haze, enthralled by witches clamoring to receive his blessing. If Kalea fails to free him from this poisonous society, Dorhen may lose not only his identity to the sinister entity possessing him, but his life…even his very soul. Yet Kalea’s own divided loyalties put him at greater risk when she, Bowaen, Del, and Gaije resume the search for Mhina and the missing novices.
Back in Norr, Lehomis’s suspicions of corruption within the Desteer grow deeper and more disturbing. Members of the enigmatic order are supposed to act as spiritual guides for his people, but the Desteer maidens are imposing strange new rules and rituals that go against ancient custom. Soon, even Lehomis himself begins to crack under the pressures of leadership, and it may be up to Tirnah to steady him despite the nagging secret she harbors.
Meanwhile, Kingsorcerer Lamrhath grows more powerful, yet more crippled by pain every day. His desperation drives him to seek a cure for his debilitating illness even as his plans to conquer the continent accelerate. With an army of sanguinesent demons summoned to do his bidding, the kingsorcerer intends to recapture Wikshen once and for all. For even though Wikshen may believe he is a god, Lamrhath knows—as do the witches—that he’s simply a weapon to be wielded by those with true power.
And out in the Darklandic wilds, a weathered wanderer journeys toward the Ilbith stronghold. Although he wears a hood with the word “mercy” scrawled in paint across the front, he seeks vengeance for all he has lost…