The Champion and the Criminal
You would have a hard time finding two people more different from one another than Sara and Blackjack. Yet these two have forged a firm friendship that has carried them through danger, betrayal, disappointment, and even war. To this day, they remain close friends and their families visit one another often. Blackjack always has room at the table for Aunt Sara when she visits his lighthouse, and Sara always cooks an extra portion in case Uncle Blackjack decides to stop by her house. Of course, they weren’t always this close.
The first time that Sara met Blackjack, he was trying to assassinate her — or what amounts to the same thing.
That was long ago, back in the days of the Game, back when Sara was a young Champion of the Red Faction, and Blackjack was one wrong move away from getting kicked out of the Blues and exiled from the city of Masq.
Here’s what they looked like back then…
Sara MacQuinn - Airmistress and Champion of the Red Faction - in a quiet moment of rest
Blackjack Urthshift - Unmasker of the Blue Faction - As he climbs the Red Tower to unmask the Champion
Learn more about Sara and Blackjack in The Red Queen’s Last Mask.
Michael Somerville is the author of several short stories, as well as an in-progress high-fantasy series called the Tales of the Broken Realm. He loves telling stories of hope about ordinary characters doing their small part to help heal a broken world. By day, he pays the bills as a hands-on storyteller and project manager, leading and envisioning professional teams in the "real-world", even as he is busily building and illustrating imaginary worlds in his evenings and on the weekends.
Outside of work and writing, he enjoys a wide range of hobbies, including playing music with his family and friends on keyboard or guitar, drawing, sculpting, painting, sewing, and blacksmithing, or walking the length of the Appalachian Trail in his home neighborhood in the Shenandoah Valley, where he serves as a Board member on his local civic association.
Most important to Michael are his family and his church. Michael and Jessica celebrate their 20th anniversary in 2026 and are happily raising three wonderful daughters. He serves actively in his local church, playing music on Sunday, teaching the older elementary kids, and leading a small group of wonderful saints. He hopes to hear "Well done" one day, and plans to keep serving his true King until then.
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