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A rogue Duke, a beautiful woman, and a deadly mission.

Weyland, the best archer in the king’s army, wants revenge for the slaughter of his family. But when he stumbles across a murdered man with a secret and he saves a duke’s life in battle, he finds himself entangled in noble intrigues of the worst kind. A copper coin, a princess, and a beautiful tavern girl push Weyland’s skill and loyalty to the limit. Now Weyland has to survive long enough to fulfill his promise to the Duke without getting so deeply ensnared in noble intrigues that he cannot escape.

This novelette introduces the new adventure series Archer of the Heathland. Book One of the series, entitled Deliverance, picks up the story of Weyland’s son, Brion, and his desperate flight into the heathland.

49 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2017

70 people are currently reading
53 people want to read

About the author

J.W. Elliot

33 books62 followers
James is a twenty-nine-year-old stuck in an older man’s body. He loves to paddle his canoe, shoot his handmade longbows in the woods, make knives, study martial arts, and generally enjoys challenging himself. When not teaching or writing about the real past, he is imagining worlds and histories that might have been, should have been, or may yet be.

James has two homes (though only one house)--the mountains of Idaho and the forests of New England--where he canoes, hikes, camps, rock climbs, and shoots the longbows he makes himself. He lives in Massachusetts with his wife. ​

James is a professional historian whose published works include two histories of the Inquisition, a documentary history of Columbus's first voyage, a transcription of a colonial era account book from Weymouth, Massachusetts, and a global history of piracy. This means that he is a professional teller of stories, both real and imagined.

James's favorite author is J.R.R. Tolkien, though he will never be able to watch the Peter Jackson Hobbit films again. The first viewing nearly gave him a fit. He loves The Giver and The Book Thief. He has read all the Hunger Games novels, but thinks Katniss should have ended up with Gale. (Sorry Peeta fans.) He enjoys Harry Potter and thinks magic should be real--so long as he owns the Elder Wand.

For more background, images, videos, and information related to my stories and my hobbies, see my Pinterest boards. https://www.pinterest.com/jwelliot1/b...

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5 stars
62 (56%)
4 stars
32 (29%)
3 stars
11 (10%)
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
Profile Image for E..
3 reviews
March 13, 2018
I read this after reading the first book in the series (Deliverance). It was short, but just as captivating as Deliverance was. I enjoyed it just as much; despite the short length it gave some good background on Weyland and Rosland that made me love the characters and helped me understand them more than Deliverance did. There could easily be a whole book about these two, and I'd love it!
82 reviews
April 14, 2020
Great Book

I read book 1 and became interested in the characters. I read book 0 to get some of the back story. I really enjoyed the character and the action. I hope there is a book 0.1 with more back story.😊
Profile Image for Shell.
108 reviews
May 9, 2024
This was a good introduction. It is danger and action packed, with a sprinkling of humor. I have not yet read a full book written by J.W. Elliot, but will likely do so in the future - since everything I enjoy in a book was in this short story
Profile Image for Dallas.
272 reviews1 follower
October 15, 2018
Fun story

This is the first I have read of Mr. Eliot. I enjoyed it so much that I will have to try one of his books.
Profile Image for Henry Peter Egal.
17 reviews1 follower
March 7, 2019
Prequel- Archer

The story was action packed from the very beginning. The characters were likable and I look forward to reading more about their activities.
266 reviews1 follower
July 27, 2020
Good

Found the introduction to the characters and how the storyline proceeds a good start. Not sure what period history this is and whereabouts it takes place!
88 reviews
Read
September 10, 2020
Was expecting more

A nice little book . It give some background to the series, but to be honest I was expecting more.
2 reviews
April 3, 2022
Great back story

Great back story of characters meeting before the main series short but very good really enjoyed the whole series of books
3 reviews
May 7, 2023
Well done

Book is too short. Leaves a lot if questions unanswered, but well written and a good story. Need some answers.
Profile Image for Korra II Allison Baskerville.
240 reviews7 followers
November 17, 2021
 Two weeks ago, I hadn’t even heard of J.W. Elliot, by pure chance, I seen a post on Twitter that mentioned free book giveaway’s on a website called Prolific Works, downloaded one or two of his works, and subscribed to his newsletter. He sent me an email, containing a link to the audiobook for this on YouTube. I told myself I’d review every book and short story sent to me through the author’s newsletters I signed up to and here we are.

I went into this story having no idea what to expect. I didn’t bother to read the summary and decided to let the narrator take me on a journey. I’m relatively new to listening to or reading short stories and this has been by far one of the best, if not the best short stories I’ve read so far. J.W. Elliot has quite the vocabulary, the likes of which I rarely get to see when reading stories and despite the audiobook only being an hour-long, he manages to do quite a lot of world-building.

The characters in this story are compelling and I find myself genuinely interested in buying the 7 books in the series as well as the short collection of stories. I’d have done so already if I could afford it.

The Kindle story is 1$ and the audiobook is less than 5$. What do you really have to lose? I appreciate authors who do short introductory stories for their series. Getting into a series can be a commitment, especially if it’s ongoing and this is a great way to find out if a new series is for you. 
Profile Image for Debbie.
757 reviews8 followers
November 11, 2022
Great intrude to the series to come. Weyland being the best bowman and saving the Duke he asked Weyland do something for him which he wasn't really sure about. Not knowing what to expect things get pretty intense. Adventurous and intense at times.
20 reviews
August 1, 2020
Good read.

Interesting filler for the series. Helps to provide information for the story that begins but not to clear in the first book.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews

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