Books by Christopher D Schmitz

Dwarves, elves, & goblins collide......Esfah is another world originally from the creators of Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance.Here there be dragons!When a reluctant Dwarven adventurer undertakes a quest on behalf of his blind father, he accidentally awakens an ancient evil banished ages ago. Now, with dark elves and goblinoid trogs snapping at his heels, Hy''Targ must prevent a powerful lich from reuniting with the ancient bones of his lover. Failure means a new age of darkness will spread across the land.Prince Hy''Targ of the Irontooth vagha would much rather stay in the library and read about the exploits of others. In his studies, however, he uncovers the tale of a powerful artifact he believes could restore his father''s sight. On his quest, he accidentally triggers a trap that releases an ancient undead general that was long ago sealed away to prevent him from beginning a planet-wide uprising of the dead. Hy''Targ knows that this fiend must be destroyed before he can regain his full strength, and he knows where the lich has escaped to.Journeying towards the creature''s dark tower, he enlists the help of the few souls who believe him, one of whom is an imprisoned thief that must first be freed... a thief who is linked to their problems more closely than they realize. He stole the sacred bones the lich is after and undead scouts pursue his every move. Can this band of unlikely heroes prevent a second rise of the Black Tower?

A devious elder monster allies with the lava elves of the Obsidian Grotto. She promises to provide an elven general with arcane weapons to throw down their dwarven enemies, and also the support of a black magic wielding cult hidden within the Nhur-Gale Forest. General Shedakor assumes that any bargain with such a dark creature would extract a high cost... but can he afford to pay it?Meanwhile, on the far side of Esfah. An elven hero from the northern coasts embarks on a mission to protect his home from the goblins of Brackishomme swamp. But Davian Whisperwynd is prone to rash vows and the gods will not release the adventurer from a promise to lay down his sword: an oath that complicates things when he promises a beautiful enchanter that he will retrieve an item from the lair of the Death god himself.Neither knows it, but the gods of fate have interlinked their destinies.In the mid 1990s there was one fantasy RPG that ruled them all: D&D, of which Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, and many other books and gaming worlds were a part of. It''s publisher, TSR, created another gaming world that won Game of the Year in 1995. That world was Esfah.In eons past, when time was young and creation malleable, the four powers of Nature - earth, air, fire, and water - the children of Nature, gods in their own rights, brought forth two races of beings to care for their fledgling world of Esfah, created by the all-father, Tarvenehl. One race, the Selumari or coral elves, was created to husband the fluid forces of air and water. The other race, the Vagha, a dwarvish race, embodied the stability of earth and the tempering power of fire. Together, these two peoples worked to nurture their infant world into something glorious and beautiful... but then another god revealed himself: Death...

During an operation gone wrong, an alien spy steals a seemingly insignificant item: a seed of immense power, believed by some to have come from the Garden of Eden itself. It had already been secretly responsible for leaps and bounds in scientific research. Now in the hands of enemy agents, it could wreak unspeakable evil across the galaxy.The Dozen are fighting to keep their debts settled, fuel in their ship, and some equilibrance to their moral ledger. They are more than mercenaries: they are part of a family they've chosen-and this seed threatens to tear it apart.Between a corrupt government, and forces in league with the notorious villain, Prognon Austicon, threats squeeze them from every side. Dekker and Austicon have a vendetta. Vivian's family and Austicon have a history. Austicon has powerful friends and a superweapon. With the fate of the universe hanging in the balance, can the Dozen swing the pendulum back?Gunslingers, psychics, ninjas, and pirates in space. Witness the birth of Armageddon. Dekker's Dozen is an explosive space opera that veers towards arcane-punk.

Three years after a sorcerer's failed attempt to awaken an ancient evil, Claire Jones channels the Prime spirit and has become the rightful heir to the throne of the Architect King. Peace seems to have returned to the multiverse, but when a traitor forms a dark pact with the trickster demigod Akko Soggathoth, malevolent forces again destabilize reality. If Claire and her friends cannot stop a new cult's foul rituals, the ravenous nega-god may yet find entry into our world-but journeying through the Darque dimension to stop it might cost Claire her very mind.

While investigating a series of strange murders in her neighborhood, college student Claire Jones is kidnapped by a handsome werewolf who claims he's rescuing her from the clutches of an evil sorcerer. But she can't run forever and if Claire and her companion can't reclaim an arcane artifact to end the warlock's reign of terror, he will unleash the dark god Sh'logath's cataclysmic power upon the universe, shattering dimensional barriers, and devouring all reality.

Moments after our pastor exited the building that afternoon in 2008, most of the congregation sat in shock. A tiny-but powerful minority wore victorious smiles, at the ministers ousting. The lady to my left wept. Her pleading question kept me awake all night. "Why did our pastor have to leave?"Polls reveal startling statistics regarding pastoral ministry: 91% of ministers know three to four others who've been forced out of pastoral positions. One-third of all pastors serve congregations who either fired the previous minister or actively forced their resignation. At any given time, 75% of pastors in America want to quit. More than 2000 pastors leave their ministry each month. American church decline has reached epidemic proportions. In the last century it has waned nearly 60%. Pastoral attrition is either an indicator of that problem, or is central to it.Why Your Pastor Left is full of detailed statistics and identifies the top ten "Ministry Killers" that cause pastoral stress and eventual "burnout."