The Cold Shoulder

by Bill Blume

The Order of the Hunt trained Aden to be one of their best spies and assassins. Then three years ago, he cut all ties with the Order and went into hiding.

Running from the Order's death mark on him, Aden scrapes by working as a bounty hunter until someone frames him for assassinating the most powerful emperor in the East.

Now, every fool with a dagger is pursuing him, and the Order's hunters are closer than ever to catching him.

Aided by an underworld information dealer, a retired soldier, a witch, and one of the Order's most determined hunters, Aden must track down the emperor's real assassin to clear his name. What he finds is a conspiracy that might overturn every kingdom in the East.

306 pages, Paperback

Published December 17, 2024

About the author

Bill Blume discovered his love for the written word while in high school and has been writing ever since. His latest book West of Apocalypse is now available.

His first novel, Gidion's Hunt (originally titled Tales of a 10th Grade Vampire Hunter), was released in 2013. His short stories have been published in many fantasy anthologies and various ezines.

Just like the father figure in his first novel, Bill works as a 911 dispatcher for Henrico County Police and has done so for more than two decades. He served as the 2013 chair for James River Writers, which produces one of the nation's best annual conferences for educating and connecting writers.

He graduated from the University of South Carolina with a degree in Broadcast Journalism in 1995. In the years after, he worked as a TV news producer, first in Columbus, Georgia, and then in Richmond, Virginia, which has become home for Bill & his family.