One of the greatest challenges of my career is that I’m “cross-genre.” I don’t like writing stories in just one genre, I like to mix and match. That means readers of steampunk may not like my shade of steampunk. Readers of sci-fi may not dig my shade of sci-fi. And readers of fantasy may not like my flavor of fantasy. But I still love my stuff. The realization I had was that Seeds of Dominion isn’t exactly “pure” fantasy fiction.
There’s both an “enforcer” element to it as well as a “detective” element that’s hard to ignore. Rellen of Corsia, 9th Guardian of Pelinon, is not only a fighter-mage in the classic D&D sense of the word, he’s both a detective and the man who sets things right when the system has failed the innocent. Rellen brings justice, and he does it with a pair of enchanted swords, a dragonette familiar, and a repertoire of deadly spells.
If you haven’t checked out Seeds of Dominion—and I’m betting quite a few of my followers haven’t yet—then I’d like to encourage you to do so. It’s listed in Kindle Unlimited, is only $3.99 for those who aren’t, and part of a rapidly expanding series called Eldros Legacy. We’re at 9 books and counting, with another due out in the next month and a half. Oh, and the sequel to Seeds of Dominion is due out this summer. It’s called Demons of Veynkal, and it’s where the shit really hits the fan.
Another Phase of Existence
I’m going to be 55 this year. Even if I didn’t know that consciously, my body would tell me with increasing regularity. About every ten or fifteen years, I’ve gone through what I call rather significant “phase shifts.” I suspect it’s a symptom of ADHD or being at least a little on the spectrum or whatever it is that has always set me apart from most of “normal” society. Keep in mind, I use the term “normal” on as a referent, not because I think there’s any such thing as actual normalcy versus abnormalcy. There’s just averages, cliques, and mobs. But that’s another story.
The reason I’m telling you this is that for a few years now, I’ve struggled with my writing. There used to be a passion aspect to putting words on the page (screen, actually). I have to be honest, ever since COVID, there hasn’t been as much of that. I’ve put words down because of deadlines. Maybe it showed, maybe it didn’t. I still love the stuff I write when I go through my editorial process. And I recently re-read Seeds of Dominion (to make sure I hadn’t screwed the pooch, actually). I found that I still love my own stuff. Maybe that’s narcissistic. Maybe it’s just a matter of style. All I know is that I’m glad I wrote Seeds, and I’m glad I’m writing its sequel, Demons of Veynkal.
But there’s still that phase shift. For a few months, right until the Colorado Springs writers’ conference called Superstars and put on by Kevin J. Anderson and crew, I was about ready to chuck it all in… that is, stop writing altogether. I was this close (imagine a thumb and forefinger almost touching) to leaving the game, and probably forever.
Then I got immersed in a mob of writers, many of whom are old friends. It was exactly what I needed to recharge my batteries and allow me to keep on foot in the writing realm as I pursue becoming a bladesmith. Oh, yes, I’m still going to do that. In fact, I plan on turning it into a business over time. However, I’m still going to be writing at least one novel a year. I have a good deal of catch-up to do. I’m going to finish Justin Case’s series. I’m going to wrap up (and even rebrand) the Blood War Chronicles. I’m going to keep writing Rellen and even expand the Daemanon mythos with the story of a pair of druidic elves who live on the main island of Gael.
I may change direction, but I’m not turning my back on my writing. In hindsight, I think I was just stressed out. A lot had gone on during the pandemic, and having come out the other side, I feel like Bilbo once again as he leaps over that fence and shouts, “I’m going on an adventure!”
Free Fiction…
If you didn’t get it in the first round back in January, you can still download three fantasy short stories for free. Those stories are all set in the Eldros Legacy world, and two of them deal with my main character, Rellen of Corsia. The stories are:
So, if you are looking for some great new fantasy fiction, you need go no further than the links above.
Help Us Get the Word Out about Eldros Legacy…
You can learn more about Eldros Legacy at www.EldrosLegacy.com. And don’t forget that Rhenn the Traveler was just released. It’s the ninth book from Eldros and the third in Todd Fahnestock’s legacy of Shadows.
Also, don’t forget to follow me on my website and check out the growing list of free short stories I have on BookFunnel and StoryOrigin. I’m attacking 2023 with a vengeance!
