Is the birthmark on a young boy's arm just a smear of discolored skin, or the nexus of an ancient curse?

Ket is the half-breed son of a Scairn bondservant and an unknown Duchies man. To him, the birthmark on his arm is just a smear of discolored skin. But the wizard Kainborne sees in it the Dreadmark, a portent of both evil and greatness. With his mother murdered, and him kidnapped by Kainborne's assassin, Ket must survive the enemies about him. But can he survive the curse of the Dreadmark?

Also available in Audiobook, Paperback ($13.99) and Hardcover ($25.99)

Dread Child is the 1st book in the 4-book series The Dreadmark Covenants

Author bio:
Jim is a full-time SF&F writer, scientist and laser geek (Ph.D. Electrical Engineering, specialty laser physics), and former running-dog-lackey for the bourgeois capitalist establishment. He's been writing for over 30 years, with 19 published books. His first success came through self-publishing when his books went word-of-mouth viral, and sold enough that he was able to quit his day-job, start working for himself and write full time--his new boss is a real jerk. That led to contracts with traditional publishers like Open Road Media and Harper Collins, and his books are now a mix of traditional and self-published.

The four novels in his new coming-of-age epic fantasy series, The Dreadmark Covenants, are scheduled for release beginning in early 2024.

Jim was born in Seattle, but he's lived most of his life in California, though he did live on the east coast and in Europe for a while. He now resides in Arizona with his wife Karen and Julia, a little being who claims to be a cat. But Jim is certain she's really an extra-terrestrial alien in disguise.