Blades of Fate

Romantic Fantasy and all of its glorious tropes return to The Myth & Fiction Podcast! Today’s episode turns to tales of old fashioned chivalry, court intrigue and quests of honor all in the name of love. Prepare to hear the clash of swords, tension both spoken and unspoken as well as the unrelenting call of destiny. 

Featuring 

‘The Thornblade’s Promise’ by Laura Shenton (05.25), read by Ruhthie Durang. This is one for all of our devoted romantasy fans, it mixes romance with magic and escapism generously and unapologetically. You can find it in our brand new Of Swords & Roses collection. 

‘Theseus’, Hélène Adeline Guerber 1896’s version (24.11), read by Nathan Chatelier. Challenge after challenge is thrust in Greek hero, Theseus’s direction, from the second he retrieves his father’s hidden sword. Borrowed from Heroes & Heroines Myths & Tales. 

Biographies

Laura Shenton is probably best known for her music non-fiction, particularly Dance With The Devil: The Cozy Powell Story (Wymer Publishing) and Tommy Bolin: In and Out of Deep Purple (Sonicbond Publishing). Her fiction books are character-driven with a short, punchy narrative that gets straight to the point – typically novellas and novelettes. Genres include gothic, fantasy, and adventure (mostly, with the occasional diversion). Laura’s children’s books are simple, accessible, and fun – an excellent choice for youngsters with fertile imaginations who are just beginning their reading journey.

Hélène Adeline Guerber (1859–1929) was a British historian who published a large number of works, largely focused on myths and legends. Guerber’s most famous publication is Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas, a history of Germanic mythology. Her works continue to be published today and include The Myths of Greece and Rome, The Story of the Greeks and Legends of the Middle Ages.

Ruhthie Durang is excited to lend her voice to Flame Tree's Myth & Fiction Podcast. She is a graduate of NYU, Tisch School of the Arts and her recent credits include Call the Midwife, Disclaimer and Our Place at the Lyric Hammersmith Theatre. 

Nathan Chatelier is a British voiceover artist with almost fifty audiobooks recorded alongside thousands of other projects, from videogames to the Mean Girls West End trailer. Check out his demos.

This episode was hosted by Bea. 

‘The Thornblade’s Promise’ is ©2026 Laura Shenton and appeared in Of Swords & Roses (Flame Tree Publishing, 2026).

‘Theseus’ was published by Hélène Adeline Guerber in Myths of Greece and Rome (1893) but more recently appeared in Heroes & Heroines Myths & Tales (Flame Tree Publishing, 2020).

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Music is an extract of Sunbeams by Allen Stroud, from his Fractal Series album, licensed courtesy of fpl-digital 2025.

This podcast is hosted and sometimes narrated by Beatrix Ambery (also audio editor), Olivia Jackson (also podcast coordinator), Shilpa Varma and Nick Wells (also producer). 

Chosen from hundreds of wonderful tales, short stories such as these are selected by our short window open submission process, giving opportunities to writers of all levels of experience, culture and location. Look out for our submission announcements, and see the full list here:  flametreepublishing.com/gothic-fantasy-book-series-list.html

Our full range of thematic short stories, epic tales, mythology and folklore titles are available at all good bookstores, online and in retail, and at flametreepublishing.com 

Flame Tree Publishing, Best Indie Press 2024 & 2025 (British Fantasy Society). Beautiful Books, Timeless Storytelling, Fresh Perspectives.

The Flame Tree Myth and Fiction podcast is created and © copyright 2025 Flame Tree Publishing Ltd.