Book 1 of Empire's Legacy, Silver Medal, Historical Fantasy Book of the Year 2019 (Box Set), Coffee Pot Book Club Awards; Discovered Diamond Award 2020; Eric Hoffer Finalist, 2020; Brag Medallion Honoree; Book Bloggers Novel of the Year semi-finalist, 2021; QueerIndie Gold Medal, 2022;

'Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay will love Thorpe's work.' Anya Pavelle, author of The Moon Hunters.

Once there was an Eastern Empire of grandeur and beauty and learning. Then it disappeared, leaving only snatches of story and faint memories in a little sea-bordered land far to the west, where invasion from both north and south now threatens. Could the Eastern Empire still exist - and if it does, if it can be found, will it come to the aid of its long-forgotten province?

In the first book of the award-winning Empire's Legacy trilogy, Leste, an island nation, grows short of food. Raiding a nearby land, rich in grain and livestock, while its army is occupied on its northern frontier, will be simple and quick. But they haven't counted on spies among them.

Lena, a young fisherwoman, is inspired by her Emperor's message: to defend their land against this invasion, women must learn to fight. Answering his call separates Lena from her lover, the first sacrifice in what becomes a deadly battle for her land, not just with Leste, but with unexpected enemies from within. Caught up in the intrigues of the Emperor, watching the world she has known since childhood change irretrievably, can Lena reconcile the village girl she was with the soldier she has become?

Silver Medal, Historical Fantasy Book of the Year 2019 (Box Set), Coffee Pot Book Club Awards

'Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay will love Thorpe's work.' Anya Pavelle, author of the Moon Hunters.

Once there was an Eastern Empire of grandeur and beauty and learning. Then it disappeared, leaving only snatches of story and faint memories in a little sea-bordered land far to the west, where invasion from both north and south now threatens. Could the Eastern Empire still exist - and if it does, if it can be found, will it come to the aid of its long-forgotten province?

In Book II of the award-winning Empire's Legacy trilogy, eighteen months of war on the northern border has exhausted both sides. Lena's Emperor asks her to stand as hostage to a temporary truce. Sent to live among people who were the enemy only days before, Lena learns the secret reason behind their invasion of her land - and challenging their leader over it may prove to be her worst decision yet.

Far more than the success of a truce is now in Lena's hands, but in a place she neither knows nor understands, she needs help. But how do you convince someone who hates you and everything you stand for to work together to save both your lands?

Gold Medal, Historical Fantasy Book of the Year 2019, Coffee Pot Book Club

Book III of Empire's Legacy, Silver Medal, Historical Fantasy Box Set of the Year, 2019 Coffee Pot Book Club Awards

'Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay will love Thorpe's work.' Anya Pavelle, author of the Moon Hunters.

Once there was an Eastern Empire of grandeur and beauty and learning. Then it disappeared, leaving only snatches of story and faint memories in a little sea-bordered land far to the west, where invasion from both north and south now threatens. Could the Eastern Empire still exist - and if it does, if it can be found, will it come to the aid of its long-forgotten province?

In the third book of the award-winning Empire's Legacy series, Lena is exiled for treason, along with a man she barely knows - or likes. The need to survive builds a fragile trust, then a closer friendship, until violence shatters their peace. When news of brutal and devastating war in both their homelands reaches them, they join the search for the lost Empire of the East, their last hope for support. Only the small chance that legend is truth can save their countries, but this quest may cost Lena everything - and everyone - she loves.

Silver Medal, Historical Fantasy Book of the Year 2019 for the complete trilogy, Coffee Pot Book Club Awards.
Gold Medal, Historical Fantasy Book of the Year 2019 for Empire's Exile, Book III of the trilogy, Coffee Pot Book Club Awards.
'Fans of Guy Gavriel Kay will love Thorpe's work.' Anya Pavelle, author of the Moon Hunters.
Once there was an Eastern Empire of grandeur and beauty and learning. Then it disappeared, leaving only snatches of story and faint memories in a little sea-bordered land far to the west.
In a land where men and women live divided lives, the Eastern Empire is a myth evoked in ceremony, the truth lost in time. When invasion threatens, the young fisherwoman Lena chooses to defend her country, against the wishes of her partner. As Lena accepts the life of a soldier, the intrigues of her Emperor send her north to a land where learning is valued and history is not forgotten. Her life becomes entwined with those of two men, the enigmatic, angry Cillian, scholar and envoy, and the young musician, Sorley. Circumstances take them far from the known world to learn if the Empire of the East still exists - and if it does, will it come to the aid of its long-forgotten province?

Evocative of Europe after the decline of Rome, Empire's Legacy is a story of love and sacrifice, choice and consequence, and the deep longing for home.

Can a musician heal, when a physician cannot?

In the aftermath of war, Sorley - Lord Sorley of Gundarstorp - is called upon to be many things: translator, diplomat, advisor to two leaders. The treaty that won peace has brought new danger: a corrupt official with enormous power. The only man whose subtle mind could counter this threat – the man Sorley loves – is dying. His death will leave a woman bereaved, a child fatherless, and a country defenceless. Can Sorley’s music convince the gods to save a life – and if so, at what cost?

Historical Fantasy Book of the Year, Coffee Pot Book Club, 2020.

How many secrets does your family have?

For 13 years, Sorley has taught music alongside the man he loves, war and betrayal nearly forgotten. But behind their calm and ordered life, there are hidden truths. When a young girl’s question demands an answer, does he break the most important oath he has ever sworn by lying – or tell the truth, risking the destruction of both his family and a fragile political alliance?

Empire’s Reckoning asks if love – of country, of an individual, of family – can be enough to leave behind the expectations of history and culture, and to chart a way to peace.

A 2022 Eric Hoffer Award Finalist and a 2022 Indie Ink Awards Finalist.

Some games are played for mortal stakes.

Gwenna, heir to Ésparias, is summoned by the Empress of Casil to compete for the hand of her son. Offered power and influence far beyond what her own small land can give her, Gwenna’s strategy seems clear – except she loves someone else.

Nineteen years earlier, the Empress outplayed Cillian in diplomacy and intrigue. Alone, his only living daughter has little chance to counter the Empress's experience and skill. Aging and torn by grief and worry, Cillian insists on accompanying Gwenna to Casil.

Risking a charge of treason, faced with a choice he does not want to make, Cillian must convince Gwenna her future is more important than his – while Gwenna plans her moves to keep her father safe. Both are playing a dangerous game. Which one will concede – or sacrifice?

A boy of the night-time streets. A girl of libraries and learning.

Druisius, the son of a merchant, is sixteen when an order from his father that he can neither forgive nor forget drives him from home and into the danger and intrigue of the military.

Eudekia, a scholar’s daughter, educated and dutiful, is not meant to be a prince’s bride. In an empire at war, and in a city beset by famine and unrest, she must prove herself worthy of its throne.

A decade after a first, brief meeting, their lives intersect again. When a delegation arrives from the lost West, asking Eudekia for sanctuary for a princess and support for a desperate war, Druisius is assigned to guard them. In the span of a few weeks, a young captain will capture the hearts of both Empress and soldier in very different ways, offering a future neither could have foreseen.

A stand-alone novel that can also serve as a second entry point into the Empire's Legacy series.

Empire's Bard contains the text of the previously published Oraiáphon and Empire's Reckoning, under one title.

Courage comes in many forms.
The northern invaders are defeated, but the price is high. The Eastern Empire, gone from these lands for generations, now rules. For Sorley, the young lord of Gundarstorp, the war and the treaty he signed have stripped him of both his lands and the chance to be a scáeli, a bard. Now it threatens to take Cillian, the man he loves.

Reluctantly accepting a diplomatic role, desperate to stay at Cillian’s side, Sorley is torn between promises: to his country’s leader; to his oath as an envoy; to his closest friend. Taking refuge in his music and the arms of another man, he finds a fragile peace – only to have it shattered by secrets revealed. But there is more than one side to a story, more than one song to be sung – if Sorley is brave enough to listen to his heart.

Coming in 2024.

Gwenna, Principe of Ésparias, is witnessing an empire's fall. She must not only predict the future, but create one—without the advice and support of her father. Her partner Lynthe is challenging her leadership; her mother and Sorley are struggling to find their own futures without the man they both loved. Can she shape the world envisioned by Cillian, the world they have all worked towards for the last thirty years?

Lena, newly bereft, can find no peace in the walls of a fort or the duties of a general. In a divisive decision, she chooses to travel east, to find her son, to judge the progress of the war for herself, and to search for both memories and a future. Where is home for a tamed falcon, when there is no falconer to hold out his arm?

The last book in the multiple award-winning, critically acclaimed Empire's Legacy series.