All Forests are One

by Steve Semler

The faerie world doesn’t often concern itself with mortal affairs, but that changes when the Dark Court finds a hero standing in the way of its plans. Sheena Gardner, a game warden-turned-superhero with the powers of an ancient Sumerian goddess, is caught up at the center of otherworldly threats when she receives a mysterious warning from a nature spirit in northern Wisconsin. Sheena and her mutant pop star friend, Gayle, have to uncover the plot behind the threat to the forests of the world. The heroines investigate, winding their way deeper and deeper into the layers of misdirection and magic woven about an ancient conflict by the Unseighlie fey. This time, merely changing the time stream will not stop the schemes of the dark faeries. Sheena and Gayle need supernatural help to prevent darkness from infecting the souls of humanity. To end the real threat, Sheena has to overcome her imposter syndrome and ask for help before a betrayer seals their fates forever.

Written in the spirit of the City of Heroes MMORPG, The Secret World Chronicles, Arrow, The Flash, The Avengers, Iron Man, and many other works of comic book-based heroic science fiction.

235 pages, Kindle Edition

Published December 13, 2016

About the author

Steve Semler is an author of both fiction (science fiction and fantasy) and non-fiction (training, human resources, and leadership). He has a background in learning psychology and experience in a variety of business environments. He earned his bachelor's degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin, his master's degree in Human Resource Management and Development from Chapman University, and is slowly working toward finishing his Ph.D. in Human Resource Development at the University of Minnesota.

Fiction: Steve started by writing fan fiction for Watership Down at the age of 8, and has gone on from there with fantasy and science fiction being his major passions. Early influences ranged from Robert Heinlein, Anne McCaffrey, and Isaac Asimov to the Minneapolis "Scribblies" writers' group (Steven Brust, Emma Bull, Will Shetterly, Pat Wrede, and others). Steve often takes fantasy or science fiction RPGs or MMORPGs as creative inspiration for his stories, and turns them on their sides with "What if...?" questions for those game environments. "A Wing and a Prayer" is his first published novel-length work.

Non-Fiction: While no relation to Ricardo Semler (of "Maverick" fame in Brazil), Steve's humanist leadership philosophy is remarkably similar. Steve has worked in various training, HR, and logistics management positions, in both internal management and external consultant roles. He has helped build training groups, established a corporate university, and won both corporate university and academic research awards. He founded and runs his own consulting business, LearningSim. In addition to the variety of firms for which he has done consulting work, he has work experience with MoneyGram International, The Mosaic Company, The Schwan Food Company, Honeywell, and the US Army (active and reserve duty). The "5-Step Simulations" model he developed at LearningSim is at the core of much of his non-fiction work.