A New Legend Begins: Wicked Ink Publishing Signs J.R. Carter’s Tales of the Black Knight Fantasy Series
Wicked Ink Publishing is excited to announce the signing of J.R. Carter, a fantasy author whose love of ancient and medieval history inspires stories filled with dangerous lands, bloody battles, legendary warriors, and unconventional heroes. His novel An Impossible Debt, the first book in Tales of the Black Knight, launches an epic new fantasy series where vengeance, survival, and adventure collide in a vast and unforgiving world.
Stranded in a world he barely understands and unable to return home, seventeen-year-old Sonny Venshae has lost everything. He has no talent for survival, no skill with a blade, and little hope of lasting long in a land where weakness can get you killed. But Sonny knows exactly who he blames for everything that has happened to him: the notorious and legendary Black Knight. Consumed by grief and determined to settle a debt he believes is owed, Sonny sets his sights on a vengeance that may prove far more dangerous than the world surrounding him.
His search for the Black Knight leads Sonny to a colourful band of mercenaries and into a perilous journey across a land of battered wastelands, towering jungles, hostile territories, and deadly enemies. Surrounded by seasoned fighters and hardened adventurers, Sonny must somehow survive dangers for which he is hopelessly unprepared while keeping the true purpose of his journey hidden from those fighting beside him. As every mile carries the group deeper into danger, Sonny’s thirst for revenge begins to clash with the loyalties, friendships, and lives now depending on him. Blending gritty fantasy, sweeping adventure, brutal encounters, and moments of unexpected warmth, An Impossible Debt explores what happens when an unlikely hero discovers that vengeance may demand a greater price than he ever intended to pay.
J.R. Carter’s fantasy storytelling is deeply influenced by his lifelong fascination with the ancient and medieval worlds. Growing up on a small farm in the Waitākere Ranges of New Zealand, surrounded by rugged landscapes and natural beauty, helped foster an imagination drawn to adventure and faraway worlds. Now living on the unceded territories of the Kwantlen, Semiahmoo, Katzie, and Matsqui First Nations in the Pacific Northwest with his partner, son, and two scruffy dogs, J.R. brings his fascination with history, warriors, legends, cultures, and conflict into the imaginative world of Tales of the Black Knight.
His fiction is especially inspired by unconventional heroes: flawed, unlikely, and sometimes reluctant characters thrown into circumstances far greater than themselves. Combining the grittier elements of fantasy with friendship, loyalty, humour, compassion, and hard-earned moments of hope, J.R. creates adventures where the clash of steel is just as important as the people standing together when the fighting ends. These elements form the heart of An Impossible Debt, an adventure where legendary figures walk dangerous lands, survival is never guaranteed, and some debts may be impossible to repay.
We are thrilled to welcome J.R. Carter to Wicked Ink Publishing and look forward to sharing Tales of the Black Knight with fantasy readers who love dangerous quests, legendary warriors, unlikely heroes, mercenary bands, immersive worlds, and adventures where every victory comes at a cost.
A legendary knight. An unforgiving world. A vengeance worth dying for.
Unable to return home and stranded in a world he barely understands, seventeen-year-old Sonny Venshae has lost everything. He has no talent for survival, no skill with a blade, and little hope of lasting long in a land where weakness can get you killed.
And Sonny knows exactly who to blame.
The Black Knight.
Notorious, legendary, and feared across the land, the Black Knight has become the target of Sonny’s grief, and the focus of a vengeance he refuses to abandon. Determined to settle the score, Sonny falls in with a colourful band of mercenaries and joins them on a perilous journey across a land as unforgiving as the people who inhabit it.
From battered wastelands to towering jungles, every mile brings new dangers, deadly enemies, and challenges that threaten to overwhelm even the most experienced among them. For Sonny, surviving the journey is difficult enough. Hiding his true intentions may prove impossible.
As his thirst for revenge clashes with the needs of those fighting beside him, Sonny must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice to collect a debt he believes is owed.
Because vengeance always comes at a price.
And some debts are impossible to repay.
