A Tiding of Magpies (Monkey Queen Book 4) by Robert Dahlen

Release date: May 22, 2015

Subgenre: Comic adventure fantasy

About A Tiding of Magpies:

“One for sorrow, two for joy.”
When Jiao, a princess from Faerie's Far Lands, comes to the Wonderland Diner and Tavern looking for help, it's showtime for the Monkey Queen! Michiko and her best friend, Beth McGill, have to rescue the princess' boyfriend from the minions of a scheming warlord, and then race against time and fend off goblins, ogres and monsters to fulfill a prophecy.
But Michiko has been hiding something from everyone, even Beth, and no secret is forever. And when that secret is revealed...
Everything will change for Michiko and Beth.

Excerpt: 

From Chapter Three, where an unlikely hero comes to the rescue...

The executioner nodded. "Farewell," he said to the prince as he raised his sword. "Long life to Lord Hong."

A pair of iron and brass fans knocked the sword aside. Before the executioner could react, Jiao swung both fans at him, hitting him on the sides of his head. As he reeled away in a daze, she knelt by Prince Yun. "Armpits like cherry blossoms?" she asked as she started to untie him.

"You should have heard what I said about your nose," Yun responded.

"You and your sweet talk." Jiao smiled.

"Can you get those ropes?"

"I'm trying," she said as she tugged at them, "but they're knotted tight."

"Now if you'd only bought the razor-edged fans, I'd be free already."

"Cousin Ming tried those once," Jiao said. "She wrecked three dresses—"

"Princess!" She looked over at the executioner, who was getting to his feet. "Move away from Prince Yun!"

"Never," Jiao said. "We stand together. We will die together."

"How convenient." The executioner raised his sword.

"Hey, fathead!"

The executioner turned and saw Beth, standing near the edge of the platform, her wand in hand. "Wizard!" he hissed.

"I've been called worse." Beth aimed her wand at him and shouted, "Zap!"

The magic bolt struck the executioner in the chest. He yelped in pain, staggering as the hair on his arms and torso stood on end. He glared at Beth and growled, "Filthy wizard!"

"Okay," Beth said as she stepped back, raising her hands. "Maybe 'fathead' was a little bit harsh—"

"I hate wizards!" the executioner roared as he chopped through the air with his sword. "Die!"

"Oh crap." Beth turned and jumped off the platform, running through the square as the crowd dove out of her way. With a snarl, the executioner followed her.

"Should we help?" Prince Yun asked as Princess Jiao finished untying the ropes.

"She can take care of herself," Jiao said. "I think."

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About Robert Dahlen:

Fantasy novelist, all-around wisecracker, baker of cookies and penguin aficionado, Robert Dahlen lives in California with lots of penguins (no surprise), a tablet stuffed with e-books and works in progress, and a nice hat. He is hopefully working on more Monkey Queen stories as you read this. And FYI, his last name is pronounced "duh-LANE", as in "The rain in Spain falls mainly on Dahlen," and we hope none of you are now singing "The ren in Spen falls mainly on Dah-len". If you do, it'll hurt my bren. Er, brain.

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