The Sixteen Burdens (Book 1)
A secret society. An indestructible madman. And a strange young man cursed with powers to end the world. When Gray Studebaker discovers a pattern on the movie-star maps he sells on the street corner, he thinks he's solved Hollywood's biggest crime mystery of 1939. Instead, he stumbles into a secret world where society's greatest figures share a fiercely guarded secret: They're supernaturally talented. As a half-crazed circus strongman hunts them down, Gray realizes he's the only one who has the clues to find a mystical talisman that can stop the maniac. Gray embarks upon a wild, dangerous hunt through the gritty streets of Los Angeles, dodging cutthroat mafia bosses, Zoot-suited gangsters, and knife-wielding circus clowns. But the end of the search may force Gray to reveal his own secret, a mysterious power that will either save the society or destroy them all. The Sixteen Burdens is the first book in David Khalaf's historical fantasy series. If you like The Night Circus, The Paper Magician, or Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, then you'll love Khalaf's page-turning period-piece adventure with a fantastical twist. Named 2016 Editor's Choice (Historical Novel Society) and a Favorite Indie Book of 2015 (Self-Publishing Review). Buy The Sixteen Burdens to read the first in Khalaf's award-winning series today! |
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The Sixteen Burdens was selected as a 2016 Editor's Choice by the Historical Novel Society and long-listed for the 2017 HNS Indie Award. It was also named a Favorite Indie Book of 2015 by the Self-Publishing Review.
Houdini's Last Trick (Prequel)
The world's greatest magician has just one chance to pull off an illusion that will save the lives of everyone he loves. Harry Houdini has a talent unlike any other—and it isn't magic. The famous illusionist has escaped death countless times because of his supernatural ability to see potential outcomes. But when a mysterious man running from a deadly pursuer seeks out the magician for help, the only outcome Houdini sees is death. Now in possession of an ancient object that brings danger to its possessors, Houdini finds himself on a chase that extends from the speakeasies of Manhattan to the grand movie palaces of 1920's Hollywood. But a final confrontation will force Houdini to decide who can live and who must die. Houdini's Last Trick is the standalone prequel to The Sixteen Burdens historical fantasy series. If you like The Night Circus, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, or Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer, then you'll love Khalaf's page-turning period-piece adventure with a fantastical twist. Named a finalist for the Black Hills Press Summer Writing Project (2015). Get Houdini's Last Trick today to read the story that started Khalaf's award-winning series! |
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The Seventeenth Burden (Book 2)
There’s an indestructible, 500-year-old maniac on the loose—and that’s just the start of Gray Studebaker’s problems. It’s tough being the only one of his friends without a supernatural talent, especially when no one believes Gray that he’s having visions of Vlad the Impaler and his homicidal trail of destruction.
To protect his supernaturally talented friends known as the Sixteen Burdens, Gray must leave the familiarity of Los Angeles and venture east to the vibrant, gritty streets of Harlem, where he hopes to hunt down a killer of supernatural strength and save Elsie from a romance that’s not what it’s cracked up to be. But he has the unique talents of musician Louis Armstrong and inventor Nikola Tesla to help him navigate hidden speakeasies, exclusive nightclubs, tangled subway systems, and secret interrogation rooms filled with ruthless FBI agents.
Gray discovers what it means to be the Unknown Burden, and the revelation may cost him his life.
There’s an indestructible, 500-year-old maniac on the loose—and that’s just the start of Gray Studebaker’s problems. It’s tough being the only one of his friends without a supernatural talent, especially when no one believes Gray that he’s having visions of Vlad the Impaler and his homicidal trail of destruction.
To protect his supernaturally talented friends known as the Sixteen Burdens, Gray must leave the familiarity of Los Angeles and venture east to the vibrant, gritty streets of Harlem, where he hopes to hunt down a killer of supernatural strength and save Elsie from a romance that’s not what it’s cracked up to be. But he has the unique talents of musician Louis Armstrong and inventor Nikola Tesla to help him navigate hidden speakeasies, exclusive nightclubs, tangled subway systems, and secret interrogation rooms filled with ruthless FBI agents.
Gray discovers what it means to be the Unknown Burden, and the revelation may cost him his life.
Pancho Villa's Aztec Death Stone (Novella)
Pancho Villa is the Centaur of the North, the Cockroach that Cannot Be Killed, the hero of the Mexican people—and he's losing the Revolution. Short on soldiers and weapons, Villa makes a plea to Xipe Totec, the Aztec god of gold who seems to answers his request by way of a strange stone pyramid that has the power to raise the dead. Villa doesn't know what the stone is or where it comes, and he doesn't care so long as it helps him win the Revolution and protect the future of his newborn son, Panchito. But what Villa doesn't realize is that the Aztec gods are tricksters, and what they demand in return will destroy everything Villa has fought for.
Coming spring 2018!
Pancho Villa is the Centaur of the North, the Cockroach that Cannot Be Killed, the hero of the Mexican people—and he's losing the Revolution. Short on soldiers and weapons, Villa makes a plea to Xipe Totec, the Aztec god of gold who seems to answers his request by way of a strange stone pyramid that has the power to raise the dead. Villa doesn't know what the stone is or where it comes, and he doesn't care so long as it helps him win the Revolution and protect the future of his newborn son, Panchito. But what Villa doesn't realize is that the Aztec gods are tricksters, and what they demand in return will destroy everything Villa has fought for.
Coming spring 2018!
