Volume 1: Pickpocketing Living in secret and stealing to eat is a hard life , but it's all Kuro has ever known. Fear and necessity honed him from a young age into the finest young thief in in the wizard kingdoms. Nobody can hide forever, though, and a run of poor luck lands Kuro in a place where his quick hands and quiet feet count for nothing: Avalon Academy, school of magic. Out of his depth and unable to escape, can Kuro find a place among the other misfits at the school, or will his past return to ruin the one chance he has to leave his life in the shadows?

Federation takes close encounters to a whole new level. A galactic empire of a quarter of a million worlds stumbles across the Earth. Their philosophy on life is totally unexpected. With the help of intelligent automatons, they've turned a reviled political system into a utopia for the masses, but are they a force for good or evil? A Daragnen university graduate, Yol Rummy Blin Breganin, discovers that Earth failed in its attempt to join the Federation, and, for some unknown reason, members are forever banned from visiting or contacting the planet. Rummy had never heard of a whole world being outlawed. Perhaps it would be sensible to leave well enough alone but no, he decides to investigate... FEDERATION is the first in a series of near-future, hard science-fiction novels by Tony Harmsworth, the First Contact specialist. Submerge yourself in humankind's cultural and economic dilemma by reading Federation today. (c) Tony Harmsworth 2019

On the run from the Earth government and military forces, wanted former terrorist Maddy Hawthorn seeks a new life on Mars. When she discovers plans for another terrorist attack, her only hope to prevent a global catastrophe is to seek the help of other insurgents. But everyone wants her dead, including the people she is trying to save. With the help of a runaway Elite teenager and a band of renegade slaves, Maddy fights to save the very government system she despises. Nothing lasts forever. Although it alludes to events in the previous Maddy Hawthorn book, "Days of Iron", this is a separate story and is designed to be read and understood independently. Cover art by BeyondBookCovers. www.beyondbookcovers.com