SIEGE & SACRIFICE Is out TODAY!

Today is the day! The third and final book in the Numina trilogy Siege & Sacrifice, is out today!

(Do NOT read the blurb beneath the book if you don't want spoilers!)

Sandis has finally freed herself from her master and his plans to use her as a vessel for the ancient beast Kolosos. But her master has found a new, impossible vessel: Sandis’s brother, Anon—a brother she long thought dead.

Kolosos is ancient, massive, and seemingly unbeatable. Fortunately, Sandis has her own monster—an ethereal fire horse that she can summon at will. In addition, she and Rone may have discovered the secret to defeating Kolosos: ancient lore that details the creation of magic. It could be the key to victory and the key to saving Anon.

The price is steep, and Sandis is willing to pay it. Rone is not, and his attempt to save her only pulls them apart. As both are tested in ways they never expected, Sandis and Rone will need to determine the sacrifices they are willing to make. If their efforts are not enough, their city will fall…just as the ancient city beneath it already has.


I've been able to find (and legally use) amazing art for this book as well--you've seen it if you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

I'm so thrilled to be able to finally share the full story with you! If you haven't started the series, you can find book one, Smoke & Summons, on Amazon, B&N, and on my website. My quick pitch? It's Pokemon meets magical fidget spinners.

Numina book 1

Numina book 2

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone keeping reading and stories alive! I hope you give this one a chance. <3

SOLD: SPELLBREAKER Duology!

The contract is signed, the ink has dried, and we can finally talk about Spellbreaker. And how it’s book 1 of a two-book deal sold to 47North!

Spellbreaker and its sequel, Spellmaker, are adult historical fantasies in the same vein as The Paper Magician. Clean reads, late Victorian era, and of course Charlie’s signature romantic flare.

So what is Spellbreaker about? 

In Victorian England, there are two kinds of wizards: those rich enough to make spells and the rare few born with the ability to break them.

Elsie Camden is a spellbreaker who can pull apart enchantments like the threads of a knot—a fact she learned when she started a workhouse fire at the age of ten. Now twenty-one, Elsie divides her time between serving her beloved employer tea and secretly breaking spells that oppress the common man—she always did love the tale of Robin Hood.

When her clandestine activities are uncovered by a maddening-yet-handsome Barbadian spellmaker named Bacchus Kelsey, he cuts her a deal—work for him on the side and he won’t report her illegal spellbreaking to the authorities. Elsie agrees. Meanwhile, the world of magic is in an uproar over the theft of magicians’ opuses—the priceless spells left behind upon a spellmaker’s death. Working for one spellmaker and falling for another, it won’t take long before the murderous bandit strikes too close to home, and Elsie discovers a shockingly personal connection to the crimes.

Cover Reveal! THE WILL AND THE WILDS

My fantasy romance standalone, The Will and the Wilds, has a cover! This book releases January 21, 2020. You can preorder it on Amazon and add it to your Goodreads list. :)

Want to see it?

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A spellbinding story of truce and trickery from the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Paper Magician series.

Enna knows to fear the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. When one tries to kill her to obtain an enchanted stone, Enna takes a huge risk: fighting back with a mysting of her own.

Maekallus’s help isn’t free. His price? A kiss. One with the power to steal her soul. But their deal leaves Maekallus bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Only Enna’s kiss, given willingly, can save him from immediate destruction. It’s a temporary salvation for Maekallus and a lingering doom for Enna. Part of her soul now burns bright inside Maekallus, making him feel for the first time.

Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, but her small sacrifice won’t last long. If she and Maekallus can’t break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely—and Enna’s soul with him.

What do you think?

THE WILL AND THE WILDS Preorders Are Up!

HEY GUYS!

The third installment of the Numina series, Siege and Sacrifice, will release September 17th! (You can preorder it here.) Right after that comes my romantic standalone, The Will and the Wilds. And it's finally available for preorder!

What's it about? Here's the unofficial copy (aka what I used to pitch it to my publisher):

Enna knows much of the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. After they killed her mother, her father gifted her a stone that senses their nearness. When one mysting tries to kill her to obtain it, Enna takes a huge risk: fighting back with a mysting of her own.

Maekallus’s help doesn’t come free. His price? A kiss. But even the most naïve mortals know Maekallus’s kind use kisses to steal souls. Drawing upon a power unknown to her, Enna persuades Maekallus to commit to much less. The bargain struck, he goes to destroy Enna’s mysting—but in the ensuing fight, he’s bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Compelled to help by the magic enchaining them, Enna gives Maekallus a kiss—the only thing that can save him from immediate destruction. But Maekallus’s temporary salvation is Enna’s lingering doom. Part of her soul now burns bright inside of him, making him feel for the first time. 

Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, and even the sliver of her soul she sacrificed won’t heal either of them for long. If he and Enna cannot find a way to break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely—and Enna’s soul with him.

I've seen early cover copies too, so a cover reveal will be in short order. <3 The book will release January 21st, 2020.

Add Siege and Sacrifice to your Goodreads list!

Add The Will and the Wilds to your Goodreads list!

Announcement! Introducing TypeCast RPG--Authors Roleplaying Live

Salt Lake City, UT

A group of successful science fiction, fantasy, and gaming writers are preparing to launch a new universe together—in a format they’ve never tried before! TypeCast RPG will be an ongoing role-playing game that streams live on Twitch every Tuesday night from 7-10MST.

The members of TypeCast RPG will adventure in a world they’ve collaboratively created named Vaeron. Throughout the sessions, the dungeon master and five game players will make use of the Dungeons and Dragons 5^th edition rule system to take their characters through a dark and heroic world in which cities have been built on the backs of slumbering eldritch monsters, stone-age dangers lurk in the lands below, and sky-ships plunder both land and air!

The cast includes:

• Dan Wells will serve as the Dungeon Master for the group.
• Notable Works: I am Not a Serial Killer, the Partials series, the Writing Excuses podcast. Twitter – Facebook – Website
• Charlie N. Holmberg will be playing Fleeda, a Stone Age human druid with complicated family problems.
• Notable Works: The Paper Magician series, The Numina Trilogy. Twitter – Facebook – Website
• Alan Bahr brings forth Seggrwyrd, the gentlest (and biggest) Jotunnblut barbarian you’ve met.
• Notable Works: Founder of Gallant Knight Games, Creator of TinyD6 RPGs and more. Twitter – Website – Gallant Knight Games
• Robison Wells is Grummund, a scoundrel sky dwarf pirate you’ll cheer for.
• Notable Works: Variant, The Warning co-written with James Patterson. Twitter – Facebook – Website
• Mari Murdock is Grisk, a half-orc rogue torn between profit and faith, and willing to switch allegiances for the right reward.
• Notable Works: Legend of the Five Rings Contributor, RPG Writing, Whispers of Shadow and Steel. Twitter – Facebook – Website
• Brian McClellan is Krustov, the kleptomaniac necromancer cleric and atheist (yes, it’s that confusing).
• Notable Works: The Powder Mage Trilogy, Gods of Blood and Powder, Uncanny Collateral. Twitter – Facebook – Website

After the livestream wraps up, video viewing will be available on YouTube, as well as a podcast intended to launch on Thursday afternoons. Various bonus content such as interviews, industry discussions for both fiction writing and gaming, and guest stars will be part of the live stream and other formats!

The authors combine for a direct social media reach of over one hundred thousand, with three million books sold in more than thirty languages. They’ve hit the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon Bestseller lists. Their awards include a Hugo, a Gemmell, an SSYRA, multiple Parsecs, Whitneys, and Stabbys, as well as finalists in the RITA and Goodreads Choice Awards. They have worked on major Hollywood IPs, have multiple film options as well as a very successful podcast with sixty thousand listeners, and even an award-winning movie on Netflix.

TypeCast RPG begins April 23^rd, 2019. They are actively looking for sponsors. For more information, email dm@typecastrpg.com. You can find TypeCast RPG on Twitch, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Patreon, Youtube, and their website. For weekly updates about the show, join their mailing list.

MYTHS & MORTALS Releases Today!

Today is release day for Myths and Mortals, the second installment in the Numina series. (The first book, which I so lovingly forgot to post about, released February 1st!) Myths and Mortals is available in hardcover, paperback, audiobook, and ebook. Signed copies will shortly be available on my website, charlienholmberg.com.

Sandis has escaped Kazen's grasp, but she finds herself unmoored, reeling from her thief friend Rone's betrayal.

Kazen has been hurt but not stopped, and he'll do anything to summon the monster that could lay waste to the entire world. Sandis knows she must be the one to stop him, but with her own trusted numen now bound to another, and finding herself with no one she can trust, she is in desperate need of allies. Rone seems determined to help her, but Sandis has no intention of letting him get close to her again. What she doesn't know is how much Rone gave up to protect her. Or how much more he is willing to give up to keep her safe.

As chaos mounts, Sandis must determine whom to trust. After all, the lines between enemy and ally have never been less clear...and corruption lurks in the most unlikely of places.

~*~

As a human vessel for an ancient spirit, Sandis lives no ordinary life. At the command of her master, she can be transformed against her will into his weapon - a raging monster summoned to do his bidding. Unlike other vessels, Sandis can host extremely powerful spirits, but hosting such creatures can be fatal. To stay alive, she must run. And in a city fueled by smoke and corruption, she finds a surprising ally.

A cunning thief for hire, Rone owns a rare device that grants him immortality for one minute every day - a unique advantage that will come in handy in Sandis's fight for freedom. But Sandis's master knows how powerful she is. He's determined to get her back, and he has the manpower to find her, wherever she runs.

Now, to outwit her pursuers, Sandis must put all her trust in Rone and his immortal device. For her master has summoned more than mere men to hunt her down....