Also, scroll down for information on an upcoming online Date Night hosted by Alyssa Cole, featuring me and (the two ladies who are) Kit Rocha!

Don’t forget that I have maps available on my site! And as always, thank you for reading — I hope you love Lizzan and Aerax as much as I do… and Aerax’s sabertooth snow cat!

Happy reading!
Milla

Milla Vane returns to a world of kings, magic, and passion in her exhilarating A Gathering of Dragons series, as a great alliance forms to stand against an evil warlord intent on their destruction.

Danger lurks in the western realms. The Destroyer’s imminent return has sent the realms into turmoil as desperate citizens seek refuge—but there’s no safety to be found when demons and wraiths crawl out from the shadows. Even Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is besieged by terrors spawned from corrupt magics.

When Lizzan leads the Kothan army against these terrors, only to see her soldiers massacred and to emerge as the only survivor, she is called a coward and a deserter. Shunned from her home, Lizzan now wanders in solitude as a mercenary for hire, until she encounters a group of warriors seeking new alliances with the northern kingdoms—a group that includes Aerax, the bastard prince of Koth, and the man who sent her into exile.

Though they were childhood friends, Aerax cannot allow himself to be close to the only woman who might thwart his treacherous plan to save their island realm. But when a goddess’s demand binds them together, Lizzan and Aerax must find a way to overcome their painful pasts. Or there will be no future for the western realms…

Indiebound • Powell’s • Loyalty Bookstores
Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Apple Books

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING

“This series is PERFECT for readers who love a delicious blend of romance and fantasy, with extensive world-building, action, and storyline to keep pages turning, and a scorching romance to tug at heartstrings.”
—Alia@One Way or An Author

“[Milla Vane] takes Lizzan and Aerax from the extremes of isolation and hopelessness, to deeply and happily in love, to all is lost before they get their happy ending … She murdered me with beauty and emotion, and I liked it.”
—Emmalita@Cannonball Read

DATE NIGHT WITH ALYSSA COLE!

Where does it fit in the series? 

Chronologically, the novella takes place just before the events of A Heart of Blood & Ashes (Book 1), but they don’t share any characters and do not spoil each other. It doesn’t really matter which one you read first.

There are spoilers for The Beast of Blackmoor in A Touch of Stone & Snow and A Dance of Smoke & Steel. Although you won’t have trouble following the main storyline if you don’t read the novella, The Beast of Blackmoor contains events and characters that are explicitly mentioned in Books 2 & 3. And speaking of Book 2…

A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW is only two weeks away! I can’t wait for you all to meet Aerax & Lizzan. But that’s for later. Today, I hope you love Kavik & Mala’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Always,
Milla

AVAILABLE NOW!
THE BEAST OF BLACKMOOR

A Gathering of Dragons Novella

A warrior princess must tame The Beast of Blackmoor to earn a place among her people. When she arrives in Blackmoor, however, she finds a land cursed by a demon and ruled by an evil warlord…and discovers that the beast isn’t a monster, but a barbarian warrior who intends to do some taming himself.

Amazon • Apple Books • Kobo
Google Play • B&N

Prefer print or audio? Click here.

COMING JULY 21ST!
A TOUCH OF STONE & SNOW

THE LOVE OVER HATE AUCTION IS LIVE!

I’m so proud today to be participating in LOVE OVER HATE, an auction to benefit organizations that are fighting systemic racism. Over one hundred romance authors have come together to stand in solidarity with the demands for change happening worldwide and to promote causes that are dedicated to affecting that change. This auction will benefit Fair Fight 501(c), an organization created by romance author and politician, Stacey Abrams, to fight voter suppression. The other 50% will go to the Color of Change. All donations will be made in George Floyd’s name. Black lives matter.

My donation today is a full set of signed Iron Seas paperback books, but there are so many more amazing prizes available!

We hope you’ll be inspired not only to support the auction, but to consider individual donations to our organizations and/or use the following links as helpful resources. Thank you!

FAIR FIGHT: https://fairfight.com/about-fair-fight/
COLOR OF CHANGE: https://colorofchange.org

AUCTION: https://www.32auctions.com/loveoverhate

We’re also only a little more than a month away from the release of A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW, the second book in the Gathering of Dragons series. I can’t wait for you all to read Lizzan and Aerax’s story!

Series Reading Order

The prequel novella for this series was actually released years ago, but I know that the re-release of the novella in ebook now might be a little confusing regarding reading order — and you should be fine reading it either before or after A HEART OF BLOOD AND ASHES! That book barely references any of the events that happen in the novella. A TOUCH OF STONE AND SNOW refers to the novella a little more, but you won’t be lost if you don’t read it and the prequel isn’t necessary to understand the overall story arc (but as with any series, you will probably enjoy recognizing characters from old stories when they pop up.)

COVER REVEAL!
The Beast of Blackmoor (Prequel Novella)

Dive into the world of beasts and barbarians in this prequel to the exhilarating Gathering of Dragons series by Milla Vane.

A warrior princess must tame The Beast of Blackmoor to earn a place among her people. When she arrives in Blackmoor, however, she finds a land cursed by a demon and ruled by an evil warlord…and discovers that the beast isn’t a monster, but a barbarian warrior who intends to do some taming himself.

Please note: This story was originally released in print and ebook in the NIGHT SHIFT anthology, featuring stories by Ilona Andrews, Nalini Singh, and Lisa Shearin.

Pre-Order! Available in ebook on July 7th

A Heart of Blood & Ashes (Book #1)

A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil—until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents’ murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king’s daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surprising is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones—because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own…
Available Now in Print & Ebook!

A Touch of Stone & Snow (Book #2)

Milla Vane returns to a world of kings, magic, and passion in her exhilarating A Gathering of Dragons series, as a great alliance forms to stand against an evil warlord intent on their destruction.

Danger lurks in the western realms. The Destroyer’s imminent return has sent the realms into turmoil as desperate citizens seek refuge—but there’s no safety to be found when demons and wraiths crawl out from the shadows. Even Koth, a northern island kingdom left untouched by the Destroyer a generation past, is besieged by terrors spawned from corrupt magics.

When Lizzan leads the Kothan army against these terrors, only to see her soldiers massacred and to emerge as the only survivor, she is called a coward and a deserter. Shunned from her home, Lizzan now wanders in solitude as a mercenary for hire, until she encounters a group of warriors seeking new alliances with the northern kingdoms—a group that includes Aerax, the bastard prince of Koth, and the man who sent her into exile.

Though they were childhood friends, Aerax cannot allow himself to be close to the only woman who might thwart his treacherous plan to save their island realm. But when a goddess’s demand binds them together, Lizzan and Aerax must find a way to overcome their painful pasts. Or there will be no future for the western realms…

Pre-Order! Available in Print & Ebook on July 21st!

COVER REVEAL!
A Dance of Smoke & Steel (Book #3)

As Anumith the Destroyer’s army draws nearer to the western realms, an alliance is forming to stand against him. The heir to the throne of Krimathe embarks upon a quest for the goddess Vela—a quest that the goddess has promised will give her strength enough to defeat the Destroyer.

All that Laina must do is to stay silent…and serve a man she has sworn to kill. A man who helped destroy her family.

The son of a demon warlord and only recently freed from years of torture, Saxen seeks to make amends to his people before facing the justice of the Krimathean queen’s blade. When a mysterious, silent woman who wears a questing cloak joins his small band of warriors, he only wishes to rid himself of her.

But she isn’t so easy to get rid of—and fulfilling her quest might come at a far higher cost than Laina could imagine. For she might gain the strength to defeat the Destroyer…but what she needs from Saxen will destroy him first.

Pre-Order! Available in Print & Ebook on December 1st!

Tomorrow’s the release day for A HEART OF BLOOD AND ASHES!

The last time I released something as Meljean or Milla was 2014. If you’ve been following my blog, you know some of the struggles I had getting the Blacksmith out (and with my barbarian story taking longer than I expected.) I talk a little bit about burnout and depression in my interview with AAR — along with some information about my new book and series, a ramble about alpha males in the #metoo era, and also why I won’t be spending a lot of time on my big bad guy in this series. And there’s a giveaway, too!

Today ended up being kind of a rough day. I’d planned to post a bunch of reviews and links, but last night our 26-year-old kitty passed, and I’m still in the process of trying to get a book to my editor, so to put it mildly…I’m a bit wrung out. So that’ll probably come tomorrow with the release post.

But today can be happier for you, because free books are always awesome! Berkley also has a couple sweepstakes going on — just click on the images to enter!

So just a heads-up and if you are a reader who appreciates content warnings, I do have some non-spoilery ones on my site: Milla’s content warnings. If you read and enjoyed “The Beast of Blackmoor” in the Night Shift anthology, you’re probably good to go.

February 4th, 2020 – A Heart of Blood and Ashes

A generation past, the western realms were embroiled in endless war. Then the Destroyer came. From the blood and ashes he left behind, a tenuous alliance rose between the barbarian riders of Parsathe and the walled kingdoms of the south. That alliance is all that stands against the return of an ancient evil—until the barbarian king and queen are slain in an act of bloody betrayal.

Though forbidden by the alliance council to kill the corrupt king responsible for his parents’ murders, Maddek vows to avenge them, even if it costs him the Parsathean crown. But when he learns it was the king’s daughter who lured his parents to their deaths, the barbarian warrior is determined to make her pay.

Yet the woman Maddek captures is not what he expected. Though the last in a line of legendary warrior-queens, Yvenne is small and weak, and the sharpest weapons she wields are her mind and her tongue. Even more surprising is the marriage she proposes to unite them in their goals and to claim their thrones—because her desire for vengeance against her father burns even hotter than his own…

• Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2KnDlf0
• B&N:  http://bit.ly/2KqIHpV
• BAM:  http://bit.ly/2rNKGy9
• Apple Books:  https://apple.co/33UNh7y
• Google Play: http://bit.ly/33QH7Fj
• Kobo:  http://bit.ly/2OgEkyU
• Add it on Goodreads:  http://bit.ly/2NOxMbC

July 7th, 2020

(Description slightly truncated to avoid spoilers for Book #1)

Shunned from her home, Lizzan now wanders in solitude through the lands as a mercenary for hire, until she encounters a group of warriors seeking new alliances with the northern kingdoms–a group that includes Aerax, the bastard prince of Koth, and the man who sent her into exile. Though they were former childhood friends, Aerax cannot trust the woman whose failure led to the fall of a kingdom. But when a goddess’s demand binds them together, Lizzan and Aerax must find a way to overcome their painful pasts. Or there will be no future for the western realms…

• Amazon:  https://amzn.to/2MgjUq1
• B&N:  http://bn.com
• Indiebound:  http:indiebound.com
• Apple Books:  https://apple.co
• Add it on Goodreads:  http://goodreads.comC

More in 2020?

I have the title and cover for Book #3, but I’m not yet sure what the release date for it is! Might be 2020, might be 2021.

A couple of people have asked about whether “The Beast of Blackmoor” will be released as an individual ebook, and I’m not sure about that, either! Right now, it’s available in Night Shift.