Prince Torc

The Atheling
bk1 of The Last Legacy Quartet

atheling: ath-uh-ling (a as in cat): Anglo-Saxon for prince or heir.

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2047 AD. Two worlds far apart in space and time: a dying Earth and idyllic Phrynis in the Pleiades system. Through the Hesikastor, elderly leader of a European sect, come visions of Phrynis and clips from its past. As the alien tales unfold, the race is on to find that world - and the means to reach it. Pitar Ellisen, Earth leader, pits himself against space magnate Manfred Hengst. On Phrynis, as heir to the Gnangar throne, Prince Torc goes on a token retreat to the holy city of Rm. Because of his sexual indulgences on the way, he arrives late and to get another slot has to extend his stay. As a result he evolves into an idealist unfit for the situation to which he returns. The ensuing struggle between him and his younger brother mirrors the struggles within Ellisen as he wrestles with his own conscience and the fate of war-torn Earth. The Earth drama covers the four books. Torc's story is complete. The cover picture shows his conversion from barbaric prince to philanthropic mystic.

The Orborgon
bk2 of The Last Legacy Quartet

(orborgon: monstrous bane proscribed by Emperor Gar I.)

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After Torc's death, his brother Gar seized the throne and became Emperor, wreaking havoc across the Known World, bringing death and betrayal in the highest places. A millennium later, at the peak of this dark age a woman is born in a remote northwestern settlement. This scorder (healer), weaver, and scribe hides a secret which will bring her summary execution if found out.  The winter that her grand-child is born the secret is out. She flees with the child, meets with merchant Brocan of the Gurdn clan - and her destiny.

Hesta Gurdn

The Hesta
bk3 of The Last Legacy Quartet

(hesta: hest-uh; n.; Prynisian for avatar &/or spiritual leader .)

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The Earth allies still struggle to keep both their enclave's location and that of distant Phrynis from industrial magnate Manfred Hengst. In his orbiting satellite, STI, Hengst still pressures the Hesikastor for the star charts. At the same time, Hesta, the dormant baby in The Orborgon, is now ten years old. Ignorant of her heritage, she is kept in the safety of faa-aron-Ramoni until disaster strikes and she is forced out into perilous places. As she struggles to get back home, Gunther, a brilliant young physicist and the star of Hengst's research team on STI works to wrest the Hesikastor from Hengst's deadly grip and take him down to safety. You will find greater detail right now about this book, its prior volumes, The Atheling and The Orborgon, and much peripheral material on http://www.gracechetwin.com

Deathwindow

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Midport: a small town in the Adirondacks. Helen Clayton, English widow of a native, spends the summer there to sell the family estate. Next door is Lake House, home of a reclusive old woman, Cecily Matthias and her companion Miss Binmore, of Beacon Hill, Boston. As Helen works to sell her place, people start dying suddenly, and for a time each death seems either or accidental. But the bodies pile up, and fear mounts. Despite her wish to stay aloof, Helen is caught up in events and races to stop the  killer before she herself dies a very nasty death.

Tabitha Mornay:back cover inset

The Burning Tower

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A single parent, Tabitha Mornay lives on Long Island's North Shore. A sculptor, she spends summers in her houseboat. Her daughter Tess falls for a bad dude and moves out. On the eve of Tabitha's first art show, Tess goes missing, the studio's trashed, murder, drugs, poison pen letters all flood in. The Burning Tower, le Feu  de Ciel, a major tarot card, is often called The House of God - medieval term for a hospital. An expert, Case, notes that it signifies the Tower of Babel. Christian calls it the "lightning-struck tower", says it denotes ruin, punishment of pride, the downfall of any spirit that tries to learn the mysteries of God. He also takes it to indicate bad luck. Crowley, Douglas, Gray, Usher, Waite all agree the Tower is not the best card in the pack. Tabitha is right to worry the night she picks it for her key card.

The Burning Tower tarot card