Background: sailing ship sails into sunshine beside a cliff wall.Foreground: Horizontal line of paperback and ereader copies of Ruarnon Trilogy Books.Manipulator's War Cover Left: portrait of young Heir Ruarnon, their hair braided back, eyes outlined with kohl, wearing fitted bronze armour, a bronze disc kilt, holding a helmet in their left hand and leaning on a spear with their right, which pierces the ‘A’ in the title. Right: Red glyphs outline a stone archway, through which fire arrows rain down on torch-lit battlements atop a castle, at night time. Bottom text: Elise Carlson, Ruarnon Trilogy Book 1   Secrets of the Sorcery War
Blue glyphs in a stone arch frame a pair of tall cliffs, a ship sailing on bright blue water through the gap, into the sunshine of a natural harbour. Bottom text: Elise Carlson, Ruarnon Trilogy Book 2   War in Sorcery's Shadow Purple glyphs around a stone arch in a stone wall, through which blackened clouds, with grey, lightening pronged edges loom over a many brown towers castle. Lightning crashes against and partially reveals a magic dome shield around the castle. Desolate hills and dray plains life before it, with leafless, dried-up trees and a skull in the foreground. Bottom text: Elise Carlson, Ruarnon Trilogy Book 3

Ruarnon Trilogy is portal fantasy adventure and epic fantasy for teens, young adults and adults, led by neurodiverse, LGBTQIA+ characters. (More details on character rep and own voices below).

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Nonbinary Ruarnon is determined to prove their worth as heir to Tarlah’s perfect King. Things get complicated when their parents are abducted and they’re left ruling Tarlah in the shadow of impending war, with absent allies.

Neighbouring King Kyura has no intention of invading Tarlah. But his warmongering subjects long for the glory of expansion. When Kyura rejects their calls for war, assassins threaten his family and mutiny threatens his reign.

Stranded Aussie Linh is desperate to return to her family in Australia. But the only transport to her gateway home is Ruarnon’s absent allies, sailing to Tarlah’s aid.

Monsters at sea threaten everyone. Linh’s monster observations could save Kyura’s people, and clear her homeward path, if she risks her life aiding Ruarnon. But to secure peace with Kyura’s unruly subjects, Ruarnon’s ultimate test as heir risks betrayal and Tarlah’s bloody defeat.

In book 2, Nartzeer’s monsters return to the eastern seas and so does magic. In pursuing allies to aid recovering their abducted family, Ruarnon, and in seeking confirmation of her way home, Linh, discover dangerous secrets from the Sorcery War lie across the seas. Nartzeer seems to know and have plans for these secrets, his motives remain a mystery and his monsters appear to be evolving, as Ruarnon and Linh discover when said monsters come between them and Ruarnon’s allies…

Ruarnon Trilogy

In book 3, Ruarnon and Linh sail to Nartzeer’s homeland to recover Ruarnon’s parents and transport Linh home. They seek allegiance with an underground resistance in occupied territory, undertake a quest, discover secret sorcerer organisations, and a continent on the brink of a second sorcery war.

Nartzeer is more complex than anyone anticipated. He is as terrible as they feared, more wonderful than they imagined, and about to destroy his world…

3,000 years later, in the same world, Sythe has evolved into an international centre of law enforcement, healing, Search & Rescue and Monster Containment. A troubled young teenager has just begun studying at Sythe School and organised crime is about to re-write its rules of engagement with Sythe.

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Book 1: off-page suicide, miscarriage, death, family grief, moderate fantasy battle violence.

Book 2: mental health themes (paranoia), moderate fantasy battle violence.

Book 3: mental health themes (paranoia and PTSD), death, grief, moderate fantasy battle violence.

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Buying direct from me means you get a DRM-free epub file, and I get a little more profit from each ebook sale.

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Main characters include: nonbinary, aromantic and asexual.
Side Characters: multiple letters of LGBTQIA+ (sexuality coming up more in books 2 & 3).

‘Autism’ isn’t known in Tarlah and nor is ‘ADHD’. Ruarnon has multiple traits of both. One Aussie’s ADHD is explored in book 3, and two Aussies have mutiple autistic traits.

Elise is a nonbinary, asexual, aromantic person with formally diagnosed ADHD and self diagnosed autism.

They are a long covid survivor with a chronic illness and they intend to explore disability rep more in their upcoming Sythe Trilogy (though keep an eye out for The Dedicated, late to the party in Ruarnon Trilogy book 3).


Ruarnon Trilogy

“…the representation of Ruarnon as nonbinary was amazing.”

“…took me on an emotional roller coaster with every twist and turn.”

“…captivating, immersive and thrilling. I loved the echoes to other great fantasy reads.”

Secrets of the Sorcery War (book cover) Blue glyphs in a stone arch frame a pair of tall cliffs, a ship sailing on bright blue water through the gap, into the sunshine of a natural harbour. Bottom text: Elise Carlson, Ruarnon Trilogy Book 2

“This book takes many unexpected twists and turns and keeps you wanting more of the storyline.”

“…continues to paint elaborate lands, vivid imagery, and rich character portrayals…. Overall very well written and easy to lose yourself in the storyline! Cannot wait for the 3rd.”


Ruarnon Trilogy

Everywhere he looks, 15-year-old Urmillian sees his people suffering under brutal foreign occupation. High taxes drive poverty and malnutrition, while the execution of anyone suspected of resistance brings the people of Tarlah to their knees. Urmillian longs to join his father’s uprising and free his people, despite father’s orders to protect the family home. When occupying soldiers turn on all Tarlahans, Urmillian’s younger brother calls for aid. But the streets are filling with soldiers. If Urmillian doesn’t help cut them off, the city will be overrun. So he risks both their lives by abandoning his household’s defence and joining his older sister on the front line.

An action-packed YA Fantasy short story (7500 words), set before Manipulator’s War.

Get it for .99 cents on the below stores, or free with my newsletter.

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