Author: Dr. C. Cat
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Shadows and Stardust ● Intro
Battle City, a prestigious tournament held in a city torn between chaos and order, has started it’s fourth season.
Estelle, a lone-wolf emerges from the shadows as an enigmatic force, driven by an insatiable desire for recognition and a grudge against authority.
As the battles unfold within the tournament, she becomes an agent of change in the city’s power dynamics.
Through magical realism and the ongoing Battle City tournament, her journey offers a powerful exploration of the transformative power of one person’s quest against a backdrop of systemic control and societal expectations.
In the smoldering aftermath of Season III and failed chances at recognition, Captain Estelle Thornewood emerges with a new plan—calm, calculating, and impossible to predict. Book I charts her rise to power in a world of vicious city wide gladiatorial combat teetering on the edge of chaos, where old alliances crumble and new players hunt for control.
What begins with misdirection and political maneuvering soon erupts into battles of will, wit, against the head of security Captain D.T. Jones. Estelle doesn’t lead armies—she outmaneuvers them, shaping the game through small squads, sharp minds, and her command of a power older than belief.
But behind her frilly Victorian lace and soft voice lies something unbreakable. She’s not here to take the throne.
She’s here to rewrite the rules.
Season IV marks a turning point—where pawns evolve, monsters stir, and fate sharpens its blade. Estelle’s past haunts her steps, including a twisted love she cannot escape and a family legacy she would gladly burn.
But something darker brews beneath the surface—hints of a war beyond the streets, where even death itself is no longer final.
Expect whispers of powerful rivalries that equal her own skills, forbidden pacts, and enemies who refuse to give up. In this world of shifting loyalties and subtle power plays, Estelle doesn’t need you to trust her.
She just needs you to play your part and join the adventure.
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Author Introduction
I was born in San Francisco on December 31, 1975, at the Presidio Army Medical Hospital. After traveling through Europe and seeing other cultures with my parents—both military—we eventually settled in Houston, Texas. We were welcomed by the wonderful Texas weather in the form of Hurricane Alicia. That was the beginning of my march toward adulthood.
At 16, I joined the Texas Army National Guard and later attended Baylor University, where I discovered my love for writing. Seeing my articles hit the front page and earn copy boy awards for being picked up by other newspapers—including Harvard Business School in 2004—was exhilarating. I even stirred controversy with the Slone Administration, which made me realize the power of the written word and forced me to reconsider my approach to writing.
In 2009, I rejoined the regular Army as a Health Care Specialist, better known as a combat medic. From Fort Knox, I deployed with the 1st Infantry Division to Afghanistan. While there, I gained a deeper understanding of why great writers like Ernest Hemingway, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Antoine de Saint-Exupéry were profoundly shaped by their wartime experiences.
Writing, to me, is a way to bring realism and depth to the portrayal of conflict, capturing the truths that only those who have lived it can truly understand.
The U.S. Army eventually brought me to Europe, where I continued to write, drawing inspiration from the rich history and landscapes around me. In 2022 and 2023, I was honored to be a semi-finalist and finalist in the L. Ron Hubbard Science Fiction Awards.
As I continue my journey as a writer, I find inspiration in the places that have shaped genre-defining storytellers before me—Frankenstein Castle in Darmstadt, Germany, the Black Forest, home to the dark folklore of the Brothers Grimm, and Bran Castle in Romania, forever tied to the legend of Dracula.
Much like the alchemists of old, I blend ancient myths with my own experiences, forging something new—something that, I hope, will push the boundaries of genre storytelling.
Dr. C. Cat - Author 