War's afoot! The kingdom of Amelior has invaded the Eastcountry, and many have been caught up in their invasion-including Bram, a former Ameliorite knight, and Gareth, a mercenary. But magic's also afoot, in the form of a mysterious bard from the days before the exodus that brought humans to these new lands. Where his music is heard, death soon follows. Thrown together by circumstances, Bram and Gareth are forced to work together to help the Eastcountry stem Amelior's advance. But Bram's past has followed him, and he'll need Gareth's help to defeat the ancient magic that's following in his wake. On the surface, this is a familiar tale of friendship in a time of war. But Chords uses the story of Margrethe, their companion, to reveal what the male narrators neglect to tell us, thereby shedding new light on an old tale.

Geoff Hart has reputedly been telling tales (sometimes ending up in considerable trouble thereby) since he was 6, but took many years to realize he could earn a living at this trade. Since 1987, he's worked as a technical writer and scientific editor for IBM, the Canadian Forest Service, and the Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada. Since 2004, he's been a freelancer, and only occasionally stops complaining about his boss. Geoff has worked primarily as a scientific and technical editor, specializing in authors who have English as a second language, but also does technical writing and French translation. He claims to have survived at least two bouts of leading or managing publications groups with only a minor need for ongoing therapy. A Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication (STC, www.stc.org), he has published 400+ nonfiction articles on communication, and spends an altogether unreasonable amount of time mentoring colleagues. His training is in plant ecology and plant physiology, which continue to fascinate him. In his spare time, he has committed three SFnal novels and a short story collection.