A story of good vs. evil and the complexities of love, Guarding Heaven's Gates creates a world that every heart aches to experience. A boy raised in the confines of a slave camp, escapes as a young man into a world his father was banished from. Under the reign of an evil heir to the throne, the village has turned its back on what's right in order to survive. With a bounty on his head, the young man travels over the mountains in search of a mystic land only described in his late father's bedtime stories. When he finds a place beyond his wildest dreams, the young man falls in love with the life he never had. But beauty can only stay hidden for so long, and after too many eyes have gazed upon it and too many whispers shared in the night, it is only a matter of time before the darkness finds its way. Embark on a journey into the lands of old, and believe once again that true love exists. Experience the treacherous betrayal, stand up against the ever pressing evils of late, and fight for all that is good, fair, pure, and what never should have been found. The debut work of Joshua D. Howell, a young writer out of the Midwest, Guarding Heaven's Gates is more that just a fictionist tale. Based on a relationship between the author and the woman who took his heart, the realistic tale has been twisted and turned into a remarkable display of fantasy. Passages that only the heart can recognize as genuine are uniquely combined with the worlds of old and never was, to create this work of art. A story for all, the novel encompasses the genres of action, adventure, fantasy, mystery, and romance. The author asks you to read this tale with an open heart, that you may distinguish for yourself what is realand what is not.