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Okal Rel Universe Bookstore

Books from the Main Series

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The Courtesan Prince: Book 1

The status quo is shaken up when egalitarian Rire discovers the Sevolite Empire and exposes all to irrefutable proof that a commoner sword dancer is actually racist Sevildom's long lost crown prince, Amel. Relationships destined to influence history are forged, and the stage set for power struggles in Amel's name: Published 2005
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Righteous Anger: Book 2

Sevildom reacts with the threat of a crusade against Rire, pitting father against son in the influential House of Nersal and straining the moral authority of Okal Rel to keep conflict within bounds compatible with life in the empire. (Published 2006)
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Pretenders: Book 3

In the wake of tragic set backs, progressive leaders find the strength, through friendships, to establish a new order at court, negotiated by the apparently powerless Amel. One of them is the legendary Ameron, returned from time slip. (Published 2008)
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Throne Price: Book 4

Erien's returns to his homeworld to champion his Reetion foster father, and causes the collapse of the uneasy truce among Sevildom's leadership in a series of shocks that end in sordid horror for some but overall affirms the power of Okal Rel to keep the peace for all. (Published 2003)
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Far Arena: Book 5

Rire resists diplomatic relations with Sevildom by claiming the moral high ground, thus straining the patience of House Nersal and dragging Amel through intense public interest in him as a victim of Sevildom. (Published 2009)
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Avim's Oath: Book 6

Rejected by Erien, and challenged by Perry to realize the dream of making the Blue Demish a court power, Amel competes with Luthan to win Demora in a bizarre competition to identify which of them is ‘nicer’. Luthan struggles with her love of Erien and Vretla just wants to get pregnant by either Pureblood. When Amel’s new body guard, Alivda, chucks Vretla out of Amel’s bedroom, she joins Erien on a mission to rescue his young nephew, Leksan, who is kidnapped by a rival clan. Amel and Erien struggle to cooperate for the greater good while competing for love and for oaths. (Published 2010)
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Healer's Sword: Book 7

Amel must appease the League of Demish Women for the Betterment of Men, aided by Princess Samanda O'Pearl. Although Amel is making progress with becoming respectable, Midlord liege Ilse Marin, from a family long loyal to Ev’rel, is reluctant to swear to him. Instead, she gets involved with Erien's Academy of Science for Sevolites where she meets Horth Nersal. Erien’s work and Horth’s literal mindedness, get Horth and Ilse into big trouble with the Lion Reach Demish on a mission to bring staff for the Reetion Embassy to Gelion. Everything comes to a head at the first Cultural Exchange with the Reetions, on Barmi II. (Published 2012)
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Gathering Storm: Book 8

Amel's "Cinderella Ball" at which he must pick a bride, Sevolite prejudice against Reetion acceptance of homosexuals, and a persecuted order of peace-loving Nesaks stir the pot at Erien's first cultural exchange. Amel will be married before the exchange is done, Eler will be out of the closet as a playwrite, and the next war with the Nesaks will break out. Ilse Marin's attempt to flee her troubles only brings Horth Nersal calling, ending her attempt to deny her feelings and pitching her into even deeper trouble with her own kind. (Published 2012)
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Holy War: Book 9

Alivda must win twice to conquer and the space war might be the easiest... An entire world is at stake in the battle to hold off a rogue Nesak attack on Barmi II. Quinn, the mysterious Lorel, has the knowledge to save lives, including Horth’s and Amel’s, but it’s unclear whether he can be trusted in light of disturbing discoveries on Gelion. Samanda struggles to adjust to her new status as Amel’s wife, despite Eler’s mockery about her sexual innocence. Alivda takes the war to SanHome where she has a chance to lead the pacifist alliance to victory by the sword —If she can first win the right to duel, on a world where only men have status under sword law. And in the shocking conclusion, much depends on how Nesak priest Herver Glorian breaks the news to the Nesaks that more than just highborns have souls. (Published 2013)
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Okal Rel satellite publications published by  spacer

Kath

spacer Amel journeys to Monitum to see his first love, Kath, who shared the bittersweet adventure of parenting with him when they were little more than children themselves. The baby, now a teenager himself, greets Amel without knowing he is speaking to the father who risked his life to save him. But can Kath forgive Amel for what happened after? Will she even want to meet the Prince who was more useful to her as a commoner?

Mekan'stan

spacer What’s a girl to do when the man of her dreams comes from a culture where multiple lovers are acceptable? For Ann, the question is complicated by the need to track down rebels pedaling Reetion technology in the Gelack universe. Ann must enlist the help of the “other” woman, Perry D’Aur. Amel, the guy in the middle of the cross-cultural misunderstanding, ends up a hostage of the Gelacks in possession of the technology Ann is tracking down. Who will win the battle for Amel and who will win the battle for the weapons...

The Lorel Experiment

spacer Dr. Lorel partners with couples around the world to take humanity to the next level through the gift of genetically enhanced children with a sense of responsibility for their fellow man and the ability to take the long view in planning for the future. But people resent competing with ‘Lorels’ and when the philanthropic doctor is killed, his son, Damien Lorel, opts to dehumanize the products of the family business, Self-Evolved Limited. Damien’s Sevolites serve mankind as ‘flesh robots’. It takes another Lorel, named Sandrine, to uncover Damien’s long term plans — but will she be too late?

The First ORU Anthology

spacer Companion anthology for Part 1: The Courtesan Prince, in the Okal Rel Saga, this volume is the first to introduce the talents of other writers to the ten-novel series by Lynda Williams. Between its covers, readers see glimpses of ORU history up close and personal, from fresh perspectives. “The Okal Rel Universe is a lifelong labor of love, giving us the layers upon layers of societies, fantastic genetically enhanced lines of humanity, and the sparks of passion that make any planet go round” — Virginia O’Dine, co-editor The Okal Rel Universe Anthology 1 includes: Redemption by Adam Volk, Percentage Play by Rick Hoggarth, Arbitrary Attentions by Sarah Trick, Where Passion Rules by Elizabeth Woods, The Perry Affair by Amanda da Silva

The Second ORU Anthology

spacer Stories in the anthology reveal Horth’s introduction to the sword in childhood (The Number Three Blade by Craig Bowlsby); a good reason why the Sevolites destroyed Reetions ships on sight for two hundred years after the Killing War (For Amanda by Randy McCharles); the plight of a girl with a little too much Vrellish about her to be a Demish lady (Ladylike by Krysia Anderson); a spiritual tale from the Okal Lumens tradition (Return by Sandra Fitzpatrick) and a chilling glimpse of how the Lorels got a bad reputation with the Vrellish (Essential Differences by Patricia Crawford).  

The Third ORU Anthology

spacer The authors in this anthology have each approached the theme of 'Pretenders' from a unique and exciting perspective. The characters you are about to meet choose to hide or misrepresent their status, abilities, education, ambition, sexuality, spirituality, intentions or their past. It's not just the main characters either; nearly every character is hiding something or wishing to be perceived in some way. Stories include: Blind Stitches by A. M. Stickel, Sword Crossed Paths by Elizabeth Woods, Nestors Gap by Hal Friesen and Pennies in the Well by Amelia Shackelford. This anthology also contains sketches of characters by Richard Bartrop.  

The Fourth ORU Anthology

spacer The fourth anthology of stories set in the Okal Rel Universe, honoring the theme of secrets rooted in the past that emerge to perturb people’s lives. Like other Okal Rel anthologies, the theme is drawn from one of the main saga novels; in this case Throne Price, in which Erien’s return to court upsets the balance of power between Ameron and Ev’rel. The choice of theme comes from co-editor Shelia Flesher who recognized the “skeleton-in-the-closet” issue as one that could be productive for short stories. Contributing authors are: M. Alexis Pakulak, Krysia Anderson, Nicole Kapphahn, Mell Farrow and Hal Friesen.  

The Fifth ORU Anthology

spacer Sandra Fitzpatrick provided the idea for Opus 5 when she wondered what impact Reetion cats would have on the Gelack court after Horth scores a bunch of them, in trade, at the end of Part 5: Far Arena, in the Okal Rel Saga. Cats have long been extinct in the Sevolite Empire, so the new arrivals would be high status possessions. But as prospective authors discussed possibilities, variations from other times began to arise. There have always been cats on the empire side of the universe after all, just tightly controlled by the Lorels who would sell only non-breeding specimens. The resulting anthology is a romp through history by authors Hal Friesen, Jennifer Lott, Christina Rundle and Elizabeth Woods, connected by the presence in the story of a cat. Meoww.  

The Sixth ORU Anthology

spacer Contributors to Opus 6 were tasked with portraying failure, but not necessarily in a bad way. After all, the inspiration for the topic was Amel's multiple failures in Avim's Oath, Part 6 of the Okal Rel Saga, and Amel comes out ahead in the end. One suggestion to sum up the theme was fail better. Paula Johanson took on the job of editor. Author Randy McCharles looked at planned failure in a story set during Erien's childhood on Rire. In Passion Past, Elizabeth Woods tackles a miscarriage of romance. The story by M. Alexis Pakulak deals with a grim situation from a time when Lorels were earning their bad reputation with the rest of Sevildom, while Angela Lott takes a humorous perspective on Perry D Aur's failure to cope with her little granddaughter who is -- after all -- Alivda. So it s hardly Perry's fault.  

Guide to the ORU

spacer Thousands of people around the world enjoy the complex cultures, dramatic plots and well-developed characters of the Okal Rel Saga by Lynda Williams, produced in trade paperback format by Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing. The Guide to the Okal Rel universe deepens this pleasure for fans of the series, provides a background for beginners and acts as a reference for potential creative contributors to future anthologies. The guide covers concepts, characters and places featured either in the saga or any of the additional works of the Okal Rel Legacy Series published under the Absolute XPress imprint of Edge under the direction of Lynda Williams as series editor. It also introduces the reader to the unusually long, diverse and deep creative history of this well-loved series and the thematic ideas about the tensions between idealism and reality which animate it.  

Horth in Killing Reach

spacer Stationed in a neglected area of space known as Killing Reach, Horth Nersal, a verbally challenged master swordsman, is beset with problems which threaten to end his career on the battle-wheel Avenger. As an officer he must prove to Liege Bryllit that he is worthy of responsibility and promotion. But Horth's own straight-forward approach, sense of honor and naivete seem only to entangle him in the designs of others.  

Misfit Leaves Home

spacer Hiding her obsession with fencing and space ships was hard enough for Princess Victoria before the arrival of the scandalous, but ever so fascinating, Pureblood Prince Amel who has come to stay with her family to learn how to interact properly with nice Demish families. Amel is lovely to look at and still fresh enough from his upbringing as a commoner to mix and mingle happily with Victoria’s friend, Rebecca, the family maid. But he also incites the anger of Victoria’s brother, Salvador, and stirs up trouble by succumbing to Victoria’s pleas to teach her how to fly a rel-ship. Tight corsets, snooty neighbours, fatal duels and an accidental caffeine overdose all contribute to the panic and the humour as the heroine of the short-story “Ladylike” in Opus 2: An Okal Rel Universe Anthology, rides again in her first novella.  

Misfit On Gelion

spacer What's the use of being on Gelion, at the center of the Sevolite empire, if you are supposed to wait around for a tardy chaperon to show you the sights? An impatient Victoria D'Ottawa strikes out on her own, instead.  She never intended to break every rule her chaperon, Amel, laid down for her before he left.  She just happened to wind up visiting the UnderDocks and bothering the lieges of Fountain Court.  But that was all because of Eler -- the fourteen-year-old brother of the formidable Liege Nersal -- whom she happened to run into proclaiming poetry in a pub. Eler's love of the literary arts makes him as much a misfit on Gelion as Victoria, but for different reasons, and they quickly prove to be a very bad influence on each other.  

Other publications

For information on purchasing these titles, email the webmaster.

Mythspring Anthology

spacer The MYTHSPRING anthology introduces readers to proof that the Canadian landscape of legend and literature is every bit as exciting a spring board for inventions as any older or larger body of lore. Lynda's story "The Harpy" is based on the Robert Service poem of the same name.

Circlet Anthology

spacer Lynda was surprised and pleased that Cecilia Tan decided to include "Bride's Story" in her Best of Circlet Press 1992-2002 anthology, Erotic Fantastic. This story originally appeared in the nineties, and was Amel's first appearance in print. The story is set during his courtesan period. (This sale to Circlet pre-dated contracts with Edge and Windstorm.)

Selected Stories from Scroll in Space: 2003-2013

spacer ORU collectors will find an excerpt from Part 6: Avim's Oath in this anthology. The excerpt was published in Scroll-in-Space at least a year before it came out from Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy.

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Book Excerpts

  • Ann felt huge beside them, although the milk toast medic out-massed her considerably and even the woman was a little bigger. She felt like a sun contemplat

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