I’m happy to announce the publication of Mere Anarchy: Lord Goblin’s First Joint by Sword & Lion Publishing.  It’s my first published novel – and I have two more Lord Goblin books in the pipeline, one of them likely to be published in a month or so – and I’m very proud of it.

The story revolves around a professional fighter, Channing Montmorency, who has survived a supernatural apocalypse.  Conceptually, the story is one of invasion.  An enemy more powerful and advanced (albeit it magically and not technologically) than we can imagine has decided – or been compelled – to re-create our world, which is now their world.  Rather than write a triumphalist story where the unique glories of humanity are sufficient to defeat this alien menace quickly.  Instead, the characters have to face the very real possibility that humanity will not regain a dominant position in the world.  It is a story of survival in a newly hostile world, the old one gone, never to return.

The general theme is, well, Viking-based.  I could rattle on for a bit why this was the case, but the truth is that I was talking to a Danish friend about Beowulf’s fight with the troll, Grendel.  The inspiration was two-fold.  First, Grendel was immune to fire, poison, and all weapons.  Second, Beowulf defeated the troll in unarmed combat because the magical spells that protected Grendel were literal.  Had Beowulf chosen to fight Grendel with a sword, well, we wouldn’t know who Beowulf is, and Gothenburg would likely be named Grendelburg.

Otherwise, I wanted to write a fantasy novel that made real sense within the context of the setting.  I often feel that fantasy uses magic as a deus ex machina to get characters out of tight spots.  If anything, in the Lord Goblin books, I want the magic to be a diaboli ex machina, getting the characters into unreasonable danger which they must then use their wits and strength to overcome.

I think that Mere Anarchy is a good book.  I worked hard on it.  I hope you like it, too!  Buy a copy, today!