Here, you can find various short stories, samples of my published works, and some other scribblings.
Muspell’s Sons Free Chapters
Book 1 of The Realm War Chronicles. An epic fantasy set in the realm of Muspelheim, where strange beings called kashmari rule and magic is forbidden to humans.
Embers – A Torin Keth Prequel
A short space opera sci-fi story showing how Torin Keth came to be a bounty hunter. Followed by the novellas The Wolf Who Stands Watch and Mark of the Dying Light.
A Common Companion Short Story
A light-hearted short fantasy story told from the point of view of a not-so-common wizard’s familiar. I originally wrote it to submit to Kevin J. Anderson’s graduate students’ anthology. While it was ultimately not accepted into the anthology, I had fun writing it and thought you might too.
Alfheim Sneak Peek
A sneak peek of a book set in the Realm War Chronicles in the jungle realm of Alfheim. A young man encounters a strange creature that may hold the key to questions he’s had his entire life.
The Shattered Clone
A Star Wars: Bad Batch fanfiction. Takes place following the events of the show. A “What If?” scenario presuming that the CX-2 clone assassin was actually a familiar clone who had not died when we thought he did. Ongoing. Available on ArchiveofOurOwn.org
Realm War Chronicles Reading Order
Poetry
From time to time, I try my hand at writing fantasy poetry, in part to help me work on rhythm, word choice, and lyricism. Poetry requires me to think about the mechanics of the words themselves. It also forces me to get my ideas down in the least space possible, often while adhering to rules of the meter I’ve chosen. Turning these exercises into fantasy poetry makes it a bit more interesting for me.
Flash Fiction
Every once in a while, I hear of someone doing a “flash fiction a day” or “short story per week” challenge, and I think that would be an awesome idea. I don’t ever stick with it because my ideas peter out and my other current projects lure me back. However, these do provide me with very useful exercises that help me in my longform writing, similar to how an artists’ sketches prepare them for a larger, more detailed painting.
These very short stories are similar to the fantasy poetry I write in that they pull my attention away from the big picture and force me to focus on the moment: how do I characterize a person quickly? How do I yank you into their heads as quickly as possible? How can I make this moment important to the reader, even though you know hardly anything about the character? How can I build the world sufficiently in so little time?
Depending on their usefulness and applicability to my longer stories, you might find versions of these in my other work.