Novel Excerpts

Those Who Walk With Giants

Those Who Walk With Giants is a grim-magic historical fantasy novel set in a frigid reimagining of ancient Britain and central Europe, drawing heavily on the myths and folktales of the early Germanic peoples who lived there. The story follows Layla Brighteyes, a young man raised by three powerful and wicked hags with no knowledge of the outside world. He escapes the imprisonment of his youth after realising that he is not the same as the hags when the hags bring back a man for questioning for the first time. He travels in pursuit other humans more like him, as well as for information about his real parents, but quickly learns that violence is everywhere in this savage world.  

We watch as our protagonist is forced to grapple with his own apparent agelessness over hundreds of years while his friends grow old and die, come to terms with his own two-fold nature in terms of both gender and heritage, and wrestle with the marks of abuse, all the while walking in the footsteps of both Gods and Giants.  

The Governor

Set in the indeterminate future, The Governor represents a deep dive into the defining question of the modern age: given that modern science, technology, and statistical analysis can provide a meaningful answer to almost any practical or political question, how much freedom to cause harm and create danger should the state permit its citizens?  

The novel imagines that climate change, resource and water shortages, migration crises, antibiotic resistant diseases, and rampant populism have driven political leaders to resettle a portion of the population to a 'perfect city', trusting that this protected contingent of humanity will have learned from their predecessors’ mistakes. Every citizen is equipped with a Governor - a powerful and interconnected computing device surgically inserted into their tongue - which regulates their hormones, interfaces with their brain, and serves as a direct connection to everyone else, as well as the central supercomputer known as the Governess.

The story follows Luca Gray, a new PhD student and son of a senior researcher, as his whole life and everything he has come to believe about the world is literally turned upside by a Ghost, Phinn, who doesn't have a Governor. As they fall in love, Luca discovers a vibrant and emotive underbelly of society that fights for freedom from apparent government tyranny. Who is telling the truth? When does sacrifice go too far? And just how much is Luca willing to lose? 

The Governess Archive

The main story of the Governor is set in the future. The calamities of climate change and epic migration have already happened, and are only hinted at during the novel, but I wanted a way of indirectly showing the reader some of what might have transpired. The Governess Archive provides this incomplete picture by starting every chapter with short entry from the archive, be it a news headline, part of a speech, or phone call transcript. The excerpts appear in chronological order, occurring over many hundreds of years, and provide gentle contextual set-dressing for the reader. These were a lot of fun to write, so I've included a handful of the Archive entries from towards the beginning of the book. 

A Petal Fallen

A Petal Fallen is a fast-paced high-fantasy novel which begins in a prison-mine where Xanthem, a male prostitute now prison inmate, struggles to survive the harsh conditions. A chance visit by a local military leader named Maro, as well as a well-timed raid by ruthless bandits, requires that Xanthem and Maro to flee to survive, followed by some strange magic. Later joining Maro's family as a friend to Maro's wife and daughter, tragedy follows Xanthem and he is forced to flee once more, discovering a plot that cuts to the heart of the politics and religion of an entire continent. 

Infamous Tales book 1: The Founder's Tomb

The Infamous Tales of the Demon Imp Extraordinaire is a playful fantasy trilogy for young adults and fantasy enthusiasts. The first book, The Founder's Tomb, follows Dark-of-the-Night, an infamous imp who finds themselves out of touch with reality after escaping from two-hundred years of imprisonment in a desert tomb. From their anti-hero perspective, Dark-of-the-Night is forced to align with Witheric the Demon-binder of the Mercanium and his young student Nort to save the very institution which bound them in the first place! Fantastical characters from dwarfish ex-priests to extravagant Lady fortune tellers and animated canal boats provide a brightly colourful and comedic invitation into a world with high stakes protected by unlikely allies.