Rise: The Liminal Chronicles

An ex-gangster. A mysterious old woman concealing her true identity. A mythological world of magic and danger hiding behind everyday life.

Fresh out of jail, Umeji Tatsuya seeks redemption in a small town, far from his Yakuza ties. He’s barely moved in when the town’s feisty dowager, Nakamura Hisako, discovers the tattoos that mark him as an ex-mobster. She hounds his every step as she tries to make him leave, but Umeji is determined.

Seeking a break from the ridicule leads him to an out of the way shrine where he discovers Nakamura has a secret of her own: she's a kitsune, an ancient fox spirit—like in the stories Umeji read when he was a kid. But Nakamura is undeniable proof that those tales are true and mythical beings blend in among human kind.

Nakamura offers a truce. Keep her secret and she'll help him forge a mob-free future, starting with learning magic. Just when things are looking up, Umeji’s training is interrupted. Date, a kitsune with a centuries-old grudge against Nakamura and a taste for turning former Yakuza members into vicious ogre-like oni to do her bidding, brings destruction in her wake. Worse yet, the one person who could drag Umeji back into the mob shows up on his doorstep, under Date’s control.

Is Umeji the next victim in Date’s sights? Or is there more to this magical threat than he wants to believe...

Rise is the first book in the Liminal Chronicles series. Buy now and enjoy Umeji’s action-packed journey into Japanese myth, personal redemption, and found family.