Crusade of Fire: Mystical Tales of the Knights Templar

Katherine Kurtz

Sep 2009 · Hachette+ORM

About this ebook

Legend holds that their alliance was formed in A.D. 1119 in order to protect pilgrims in the Holy Land. Later they came to be known as the warrior elite of Christiandom. But because of their intense secrecy, many debated whether the Knights Templar were the embodiment of divine good—or the incarnation of evil. Here, the bestselling author/editor who brought readers Tales of the Knights Templar and On Crusade: More Tales of the Knights Templar returns with another brilliant collection of original stories by some of fantasy fiction's best and brightest authors about the mystical legends surrounding the Knights Templar.

About the author

Katherine Kurtz was born in Coral Gables, Florida, during a hurricane. She received a four-year science scholarship to the University of Miami and graduated with a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. Medical school followed, but after a year she decided she would rather write about medicine than practice it. A vivid dream inspired Kurtz's Deryni novels, and she sold the first three books in the series on her first submission attempt. She soon defined and established her own sub-genre of "historical fantasy" set in close parallels to our own medieval period featuring "magic" that much resembles extrasensory perception.
While working on the Deryni series, Kurtz further utilized her historical training to develop another sub-genre she calls "crypto-history," in which the "history behind the history" intertwines with the "official" histories of such diverse periods as the Battle of Britain ( Lammas Night), the American War for Independence ( Two Crowns for America), contemporary Scotland (The Adept Series, with coauthor Deborah Turner Harris), and the Knights Templar (also with Harris).
In 1983, Kurtz married the dashing Scott MacMillan; they have a son, Cameron. Until 2007, they made their home in Ireland, in Holybrooke Hall, a mildly haunted gothic revival house, They have recently returned to the United States and taken up residence in a historic house in Virginia, with their five Irish cats and one silly dog. (The ghosts of Holybrooke appear to have remained behind.)