Not out of books yet...rural fantasy

Awhile back I tried a series of stories in a genre I call rural fantasy. You are all familiar with urban fantasy, I am sure. Rural fantasy is similar but it takes place out in the more remote areas. It is still mostly contemporary and still involves paranormal, otherworldly or fantastic elements. but the setting is the farms, ranches and wilderness, not city streets.

I actually wrote five stories in this ongoing series and hope in time to do a few more.  I ended up calling the series The Thin Green Line. There was the thin red line back in the days of the Crimean War, those red-coated British soldiers who stood against the encroaching forces from the east. Well, my heroes are all members of the US Border Patrol but a new element of that organization that has been started to resist the invasion by out-of-this-world baddies. No one is even quite sure how they are entering! All the agents have special powers which they use in their jobs to apprehend and overcome or drive out forces of darkness and evil. Most of the present day Border Patrol agents wear dark green military style uniforms so I kept my guys in similar attire. Thus the thin green line.

The five stories are, in order of publication, Beyond the Shadows. Wings of Love, Runes of Revelation, Runes of Redemption and Druid in Drag. I believe I did write a bit about the first one a few posts back so I will move on to the Runes pair which really comprise one tale, that of Clay Chiles who is the head of the new department and Arondel, the Elvish male who comes to help him and gives him some surprising and shocking news about his own heritage. Runes of Revelation is  story of secrets uncovered while Runes of Redemption is a tale ofrrors set right and bridging chasms in ways that heal. These were close to my heart in some ways since I am a big fan of Tolkein's Elvish folk and Clay is a kind of awkward tribute to a special friend from years ago. He also had gray eyes and although he had no Elvish blood--at least I do not think he did!--he certainly could have. He was that kind of person. Tomorrow I will feature Wings and Druid.

Here are the blurbs and the two covers--which I realy like--for these tales.

Revelation:

As head of the Border Patrol’s Paranormal Operations Unit, Clay Chiles has found a place where he can function and a surrogate family to replace the one he never truly had. He keeps hidden a lot of secrets, and both fears and longs for the day he may be able to take that one long step out of solitude and darkness into love and light. Before he can do that, however, he has to face some surprising facts about himself and deal with some horrific enemies. Although not a weak man, he’ll never have the strength alone to confront all those demons. But who can help him there?

Arondel Wanderer is a son of the ancient Elven royal clan, but far enough from the throne to be expendable. He obeys his queen’s orders to visit Earth and find what is going wrong there. One task he faces is to contact and recruit a human keystone in the desperate effort to stop an invasion of ancient evil that could corrupt the elves’ original home beyond redemption. Aron, a loner and solitary emissary from Elvenheim, never expected to find his soul-mate on this mission, but surprises, both good and bad, have always been part of his long and adventurous life. He’ll take anything good he is given, and once he sights the partner he’s always wanted, the most extreme danger is not enough to deter him...

Redemption:

As head of the U.S. Border Patrol’s Paranormal Operations Unit, Clay Chiles has found a place where he can serve with honor and a surrogate family to replace the one he never truly enjoyed. When he meets Elven warrior Arondel and begins to build the partnership he had never hoped to find, life seems good. Still, for two lifelong loners to merge their lives, hearts and minds, an occasional conflict is bound to arise.

Clay’s discovery he has not only a father but a half-brother on Arondel’s home world of Elvenheim creates new and different challenges. Can he accept and trust relatives so different from all he has known? Can they accept him?

Finally, faced with incredible tasks and dangers, Clay and Aron are torn asunder. Will the strength of their still-fragile bond be enough to bring them through hell and back to one another’s arms?