The Lazarus Men by Christian Warren Freed

SPSFC 2024

You know the story. Wrong place at the wrong time. Gerald LaPlant has spent his life with his head down, struggling to make in a menial job on a dying planet. Nothing ever went his way. In fact, if not for his boss, he doubted anyone would even know he existed. At least until he witnesses a murder in broad daylight. Fleeing from the scene in shock and horror, Gerald discovers an alien artefact in his jacket pocket. It is the key to a forgotten treasure and everyone wants it. Gerald is forced to leave earth behind to escape. In doing so, he finds himself at the mercy of the shadowy Lazarus Men, ruthless agents who will stop at nothing to get their way. Gerald must use all his cunning and resourcefulness to stay alive and outsmart his enemies. But with half the galaxy after him, the odds are stacked against him.

The Children of Never by Christian Warren Freed

SPFBO10

FEAR NO DARKNESS! The War Priests have defended the world against the vile Omegri for generations. Staunch defenders of the Purifying Flame, the lone light capable of preventing the darkness from creeping in, they stand the watch for 100 days each year. It is the Burning Season. A time of strife where their power is sorely tested and there are constant dangers let loose in the world. In the Duchy of Fent the Grey Wanderer has been spotted moving through the mist. Where he goes, bad things follow. Children soon begin to disappear. Whispers of the dead returned to life spread. The Baron is beset by evil and forced to turn to Castle Andrak for aid. Brother Quinlan and his squire are deployed to Fent in the hopes of solving the mystery of the missing children and stopping the evil from spreading. What he discovers stretches him to the edge of sanity, for evil is never satisfied. The Omegri will have this world and all within it should the War Priests fall. The Children of Never is the follow on novel to the L Ron Hubbard Writer's of the Future Contest 4th place winner The Purifying Flame.