The gods were real. They were us. They've never gone out of business.

Phelia is unknowingly already connected to the Scepter. She fled home with one of the five pieces, believing she could protect it only by keeping it close. But then it gets stolen. Then she's desperate to recover it before her uncle finds out. Her goals collide with Alex and Mila's while being convoluted by the mysterious Peter at every turn.

The rod is only one of five components said to form the Scepter of the Gods. On the road, Alex gains an unexpected ally in Mila, a wilderness healer with ancestral ties and razor-sharp intuition, and an infuriating wildcard in Phelia, a talented mage chasing fame, fortune, and freedom from an overbearing uncle. When Alex's childhood friend Peter reappears at the worst possible time, the timing feels less like chance and more like suspicious intent.

As the pieces surface, so does a terrifying truth: nearly everything they thought they knew about their world may be propaganda; carefully crafted stories meant to keep them blind. Forced to question their history, their loyalties, and even their own gifts, Alex, Mila, and Phelia, along with Peter find their fates converging in ways that will remake them forever. Heroes aren't born. They're forged. The awakening ahead could reveal their world's true past and decide the future of the entire Universe. If the gods don't figure out their plans first.

The Rod of Truth blends epic fantasy, ancient historical mystery, and forward‑leaning science fiction into a page‑turning adventure. Mark Mills' immersive storytelling pulls you into a richly layered world of destiny, spirituality, and power where forgotten lore and real‑world echoes of archaeology and myth hide revelations that reach all the way back to Earth's past.

Perfect for readers who love:

• Epic fantasy with a magical realism feel and a science‑fiction edge
• Deep character development and complex, twisty narratives
• High‑stakes quests, hidden histories, and mind‑bending reveals
• Ancient artifacts, archaeology, myths, and "what if it was all true?" mystery
• Immersive worlds and the start of a sweeping adventure series

The Rod of Truth is a full‑tilt adventure that builds momentum with every chapter. Vivid characters, an intricate plot, and a richly detailed world combine into an experience you'll want to race through … and then talk about. And this is only the beginning: four more books continue the journey and deepen the mystery of the Scepter of the Gods.

Start The Rod of Truth today and step into a world where the past has power, the truth is dangerous, and destiny is about to wake up.

Peter's ties to Tekka run deeper than anyone knew. His desire to see Tekka's mission fulfilled versus his witness to their heavy-handed deeds is a fuse already lit. As Phelia digs for answers, she uncovers truths she was never supposed to touch. Her digging may shorten the fuse.

Expect:

• Close calls, split-second lies, and a run-in with highly advanced wizards who could end the quest before it begins
• Darius's shocking return from the brink with a new purpose that changes the game
• Koss: infuriating, invaluable, and hiding clues that crack Tekka's illusions wide open
• Magic with a science-fiction shadow: relics of old Earth, beams of light, and secrets that make you question Earth's prehistory
• Friendship, temptation, and a dangerous dream driving Phelia's thirst for power, which might be her greatest weapon … or her downfall

The deeper Phelia falls into Tekka's orbit, the harder it becomes to tell salvation from the seduction of power, fame, and fortune. Each has a price. Adamah is running out of time and cannot afford misdirection.

Series note: The Rings of Azimuth is Book 2 in the Scepter of the Gods series and continues directly after The Rod of Truth for maximum impact. This is where the author recommends reading KOSS: Origins. You'll be glad you did.

Heroes aren't born. They're forged by relentless persistence on the brink of disaster.

In The Wings of Aeolius, the chase for the Scepter's pieces escalates beyond The Rod of Truth and The Rings of Azimuth into something Tekka never planned for: a power that can move people … and fate … across the Universe. As allies become suspects, strangers become allies, and enemies grow bolder, the line between magic and technology becomes a mirror, revealing a deeper truth about what Adamah once was … and will again be.

Alex learns that courage is about choosing who to trust when the world itself is a lie, not just swinging a blade in battle. Mila discovers that the gifts she thought were hers by chance may be part of a design centuries in the making. As Phelia's skyrocketing fame draws unwanted attention, a new player appears with a stolen artifact that shouldn't exist at the top of a flagpole. The Wings of Aeolius will surface. Once they do, the old rules will lose their grip.

Start with Book 1, The Rod of Truth. Continue through Book 2, The Rings of Azimuth. Then buckle in, because The Wings of Aeolius is where everything starts to fly.

Peter dances a razor's edge in the balance between loyalty to the gods and standing up to do the right thing.

Koss? Full of surprises, as always, his focus begins to shift from "taking over da west side" of the forest to much larger designs.

The beginning of the end begins to take form as destiny demands greatness from the meek.

The Opherus of Gravitus in the right hands may restore a solid foundation amid conflict of epic, cataclysmic proportions, but TEKKA has powerful forces in motion that could gain them all the pieces of the scepter.

Mila, Phelia, Alex, and Peter have all grown into people they might never have recognized only a few weeks earlier. Two possible futures for Adamah and Earth collide. The trajectory of humanity's evolution reaches its most delicate yet most hopeful inflection point in the past 10,000 years.

Long-standing galactic injustices disguised as rewritten history, loyalty to the gods, and benevolence were imposed in the form of a medieval society onto one that was once more just, more humane, but simple. TEKKA learns that upon their arrival, all was not as it appeared, however, and demand for a reckoning has come at last. Mila's decision about the eye will tip the balance.

It all converges into a storm of limitless power from multiple directions, one that will not merely decide who wins the day, but whether humanity will launch into epic horizons or be shattered beyond recovery.

Barnard has spent years building the kind of resource pile that really matters … mint-in-box Star Wars and Star Trek action figures. Audie is on his sixth major on the scenic route to a two-year degree and this time he's totally going to stick the landing.

So, when Barnard gets a sudden burst of inspiration to film and write about hidden-gem travel spots across Texas, they do what any responsible adult would do: hit the road with smart phones, smart mouths, and a talent for making the worst possible decision on the first try. From kicker bars to the Alamo to the Mexican border, their trip ignites on night one. Then the spark meets gasoline in the form of two nefarious rednecks and a pair of wildly entitled debutantes.

It's a weeklong joyride across the great state of Texas, if your definition of "joy" includes near-disaster, bad ideas multiplying in the heat, and two guys learning (repeatedly) that confidence is not the same thing as a plan. From the first night out, Donnie and Sid are on them like poop on a boot, less interested in herding cattle than herding Barnard and Audie into trouble. The result? It's a fast, funny spiral into perilous, high-stakes mayhem with just enough heart to keep you cheering between the laugh-snorts.

And then, like a tumbleweed meeting a blow torch, two beautiful young women breeze across their path and complicate everything in the best (and worst) way. Can a lifelong friendship survive the open road, bad influences, and the inconvenient arrival of unexpected, highly questionable romance?

How many times have you laughed out loud reading a book?

Texas Dumpster Fire is a laugh-out-loud, clean fun, road trip comedy with heart where every mile brings a new mistake, a new memory, and a new reason to ask, "How are they still alive?" If you like smart-alecky friends, escalating chaos, and the kind of adventure that starts with a dream and ends with someone saying, "Don't tell my insurance," this is your next book.

Grab your copy and hop in. Just don't ask where they're going to park the Smart Car. Especially if there's a pickup truck involved.

The pages move through insomnia and inspiration, devotion and doubt, quiet mornings and loud internal noise, holding nothing back except pretense. You won't find that within the transparent honesty of these poems.

Threaded through the collection are the lived textures of ADHD: racing "thought-kids," missed turns, sudden clarity, and the ache of trying to hold onto what keeps slipping away. There are visits to darker rooms in one's mind such as shame, fear, grief, and the raw language of a mind at its edge. These contrast with sunrise moments of grit, tenderness, spirituality, and the kind of love that feels like rescue without pretending it's easy.

This is poetry for grown readers who've done enough living to recognize a daily tug-of-war struggle: the urge to hide, the need to be seen, the fight to keep going, and the quiet decision to begin again. Paired with the book's visual elements, the work reads like a private journal you weren't meant to find … until you realize it's describing you, too.

Perfect for readers who:

• want emotionally honest, contemporary poetry
• resonate with ADHD, anxiety, overthinking, or relentless inner dialogue
• believe healing can be messy, funny, profane, spiritual, and real
• look for light that doesn't deny the dark, but defines it

Note: Contains mature themes and strong language.