A weary warrior. A restless baker. A magical side quest neither of them asked for, but both might need.
Rudy had hoped that setting up shop in a new town would quiet his restless spirit, but something inside him still longs for more. He’s a quiet baker with a kind heart and an uncanny knack for pastries.
When a hidden portal tucked inside a local pub opens into the dwarven realm of Hybarn, Rudy is pulled from his flour-dusted routine and dropped into a fantastical world filled with dwarves, dragons, and dire wolves.
Before he can make sense of where he is or why, he’s swept up in a mission with a ragtag band of dwarves deep into the mountains. A long-shot effort to find a witch who is rumored to possess a lost magic that might be able to send him home.
Leading the expedition is Tarvo, a wounded warrior with more grit than patience, who would rather be back on the battlefield than babysitting a human baker in the wilderness.
But what begins as an inconvenient detour slowly becomes something more. Enter a healing journey shaped by hard-won trust and the bonds we build when we least expect them.
Flour & Forge is perfect for anyone who believes that while a pastry might not save the world, it can help make it a world worth saving.
“It’s The Hobbit meets The Wizard of Oz in this charming, feel-good fantasy adventure.”
Herman Steuernagel is a Barnes & Noble Bestselling author best known for his cozy fantasy novels, blending immersive worlds with character-driven storytelling.
Across multiple series, his work ranges from warm, low-stakes fantasy settings to science fiction that explores life among the stars and dystopian futures. His books have been featured by Publishers Weekly and Booklist, and have appeared on the Barnes & Noble Top 100 and reached #104 in the Amazon Kindle Store.
Herman lives in British Columbia, Canada, While he’s not working on a new book he can be found cycling, running and dreaming up new worlds.