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Neuschwanstein Castle in the springtime. The trees are full green, the clouds blue-gray, the facade dazzling white.

Stephen Guides Castle Tours

The latest issue of my newsletter went out to subscribers today. In this issue of A Peregrine’s Path, you’ll read about how a Tennessee boy left the island of Crete for the castles of Bavaria.

Follow Stephen’s next adventure on
A Peregrine’s Path
EXPLORATION—DISCOVERY—ADVENTURE

Peregrine are travelers with whom we cross paths and share stories.

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Blue Flame, Tiny Stars: Now Available on DriveThruRPG

If inspiration for everything I write comes from a source, this book is about the source.

 

“Stephen’s delightful memoir makes you want to travel upstream to your own formative D&D headwaters, dig out your old graph-paper maps and worn dice, and rediscover the gateway to what the author calls ‘the fantastic path.’”
—Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms

“A vibrant recollection of what it’s like to encounter Dungeons & Dragons for the very first time.”
—Dan “Delta” Collins, author of Book of War and co-host of Wandering DMs

 

Book cover, Blue Flame, Tiny Stars

 

Warning: Reading this book will make you want to play D&D!

Now Available on DriveThruRPG in Paperback, EPUB, and PDF

 

Thirteen-year-old Stephen is growing up in a mundane world until, during one fateful week in 1982, he discovers a new kind of game. It’s called Dungeons & Dragons, it’s a role-playing game, and under his best friend’s tutelage, he learns to play it. Now, he enters a world of medieval fantasy, where knights in shining armor perform heroic deeds, where monsters lurk in the shadows, and wizards wield powerful magic, where fabulous treasures lie hidden behind cunning traps, and deadly pitfalls await the unwary. In this game anything is possible, and by week’s end, Stephen knows it will change his life forever.

 

Praise for Blue Flame, Tiny Stars

“I recommend this book not just to fans of ‘Holmes Basic’ but to anyone who enjoys playing Dungeons & Dragons. The author’s clear prose captures the excitement of those early, half-remembered adventures when everything about the game was new and awe-inspiring.”
—Zach Howard, author of The Ruined Tower of Zenopus and archivist at Zenopus Archives

“From his first glimpse of those strange dice, Stephen paints a picture of a young gamer’s friendships and adventures as he finds his way into a new world. The book is both a wonderful narrative and a personal history.”
—Tony Dowler, author of How to Host a Dungeon: The Solo Game of Dungeon Creation

“Stephen’s essays take me right back to those heady days. You will recognise many of the moments in this book, from figuring out weird dice, employing outside-the-box tactics, inventing new spells and monsters and magic items, drawing sprawling maps—but, most of all, you’ll remember the freshness of a completely new kind of play.”
—Michael Thomas, author of BLUEHOLME

“A celebration of dice, maps, friendship, and, above all, imagination—the very stuff from which the hobby of role-playing is made.”
—James Maliszewski, author of Grognardia: Musings and Memories from a Lifetime of Roleplaying

 

Now Available on DriveThruRPG in Paperback, EPUB, and PDF

 

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Littlelot and the Rescue of Gwenevere

The First Story of LittlelotIn 2016, I published my second book. The first in a series, its title is The First Story of Littlelot. Neophyte self-publishers tend to accrue regrettable decisions. Either by careful choices or dumb luck, I am fortunate to have few of these regrets.

One of them, though, is that title—a small one, as far as regrets go in the self-publishing world. One advantage reserved for self-publishers, on the other hand, is the power to change a title at will. With that power, I am making the necessary amendments at vendor sites. The new title should be available at retailers within a few days. Once the process is complete, I will pull the old title. The story will live on under a new name, but it will no longer be available as The First Story of Littlelot.

Changing a book’s title makes a new edition. While editing the package, I could not resist a few small revisions to the text where I saw opportunity for improvement. But the story is the same. The First Story of Littlelot becomes Littlelot and the Rescue of Gwenevere.

Littlelot and the Rescue of Gwenevere - cover e-book

The first story in the Littlelot series of adventure books
for children and the grown-ups who read to them.

Available in paperback and e-book wherever you buy books.

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Soulstitch

Sunrise on Soulstich

As a child the word for me was imbued with mysterious and profound meaning. I understood that it was the longest day in summer and the shortest in winter, but I thought there must be something more to it. And I still do. So on this, the shortest day of the year, I wish you all Happy Soulstitch.

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Bookshop Gift Cards

Looking for a gift for a book lover? It’s difficult to know what book they might enjoy. Plus, most book lovers already have a whole slew of titles on their To-Be-Read list. A gift card is often the best solution.

Now you can send a gift card and support independent bookstores with Bookshop gift cards!

Bookshop gift cards never expire and have no hidden fees. All book sales made through Bookshop directly benefit independent bookstores.

A Peregrine Reads is Stephen’s storefront on Bookshop. When you click through and make a purchase from Bookshop’s extensive catalog, Stephen earns a commission. What’s more, you select which independent bookstore gets the profit from your purchase. Thank you for your support.

Bookshop Gift Cards

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AVMP Bonus Material

The list of bonus material for A Very Muddy Place is, I think, complete. Feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions you might have about any aspect of the book. I’m happy to reply, and maybe the exchange will make a spark.

Thank you for reading A Very Muddy Place: War Stories.

 

 

Hardcover edition available in December

A Very Muddy Place
Buy on Bookshop

All book sales made through Bookshop directly benefit independent bookstores.

Also available at these retailers.

A Very Muddy Place
WAR STORIES

An intimate account of a soldier’s experience in World War I, A Very Muddy Place takes us on a journey from a young man’s rural American hometown onto one of the great battlefields of France. We follow Private B. F. Potts with the 137th US Infantry Regiment through the first days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. We discover a personal story—touching, emotional, unforgettable.

In 1918, twenty-three-year-old Bennie Potts was drafted into the US Army to fight in the World War. He served with the American Expeditionary Force in France. At home after the war, he married and raised a family, and the war for his children and grandchildren became the anecdotes he told them.

A century later, a great grandson brings together his ancestor’s war stories and the historical record to follow Private Benjamin Franklin Potts from Tennessee to the Great War in France and back home again.

Available in hardcover, paperback, and e-book.

More about A Very Muddy Place

 

Disclosure: This page and linked pages contain affiliate links to Bookshop, Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. As an affiliate of those retailers, Stephen earns a commission when you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

 

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Armistice Day Veterans Giveaway

Dear Veterans,

I want to give you a copy of my book.

If you’re an armed forces veteran of any country, tell me what unit you served in, and I’ll send you an electronic copy of A Very Muddy Place: War Stories.

Look for “Email Me” below in the page footer or send me a private message on Facebook or Twitter.

The book is available in MOBI for your Kindle, EPUB for other e-readers, or PDF for reading on your PC. This giveaway is not time limited. It starts today and goes forever. Feel free to share this message with veterans you know.

Thank you for your service.

—Stephen


“A vivid and deft mingling of anecdotes, history, and dramatic fiction—captivating and historically important.”
—Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story

“A VERY MUDDY PLACE is an insightful combination of historical narrative and fictional recreation that brings the Great War to life.”
—Steve Ruskin, PhD History, author of America’s First Great Eclipse

“A poignant, stirring, and ultimately remarkable account, interspersed with personal anecdotes and a keen sense of empathy—a unique, triumphant work.”
—LTC Kevin Ikenberry, USA, Ret., author of The Protocol War series

 

A Very Muddy Place: War Stories
Buy on Bookshop

All book sales made through Bookshop directly benefit independent bookstores.

Also available at these retailers.

Disclosure: The links above go to Bookshop and to Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. As an affiliate of those retailers, Stephen earns a commission when you click through and make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

An intimate account of a soldier’s experience in World War I, A VERY MUDDY PLACE takes us on a journey from a young man’s rural American hometown onto one of the great battlefields of France. We follow Private B. F. Potts with the 137th US Infantry Regiment through the first days of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. We discover a personal story—touching, emotional, unforgettable.

In 1918, twenty-three-year-old Bennie Potts was drafted into the US Army to fight in the World War. He served with the American Expeditionary Force in France. At home after the war, he married and raised a family, and the war for his children and grandchildren became the anecdotes he told them.

A century later, a great grandson brings together his ancestor’s war stories and the historical record to follow Private Benjamin Franklin Potts from Tennessee to the Great War in France and back home again.

 

Praise for A VERY MUDDY PLACE

“A VERY MUDDY PLACE is one of the most fascinating books I’ve read about the humble soldier’s point of view. It focuses on the experiences of the author’s great grandfather, Benjamin Franklin Potts, who fought with the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. The book is a vivid and deft mingling of anecdotes, history, and dramatic fiction, enriched with historic photographs, documents, and detailed maps. This is a captivating and historically important work. I highly recommend it!”
—Douglas Preston, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story

“Far too many histories of the First World War languish in private letters and forgotten family records. In A VERY MUDDY PLACE, Stephen Wendell constructs a narrative with his great grandfather’s stories to open a window on the horrors of that distant war. Using primary source material, he brings the Great War to life in the person of Benjamin Franklin Potts. This book is a delight, an insightful combination of historical narrative and fictional recreation, and we are better for it.”
—Steve Ruskin, PhD History, author of America’s First Great Eclipse

“Stephen Wendell crafts a poignant, stirring, and ultimately remarkable account of his ancestor’s service in the Great War. His attention to detail and depth of research is commendable. Interspersed with personal anecdotes and a keen sense of empathy, A VERY MUDDY PLACE is a unique, triumphant work of the highest merit and a tribute unlike anything I’ve ever read.”
—LTC Kevin Ikenberry, USA, Ret., author of The Protocol War series

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