What is Sword of the Feara?

“What does that mean, Sword of the Feara?”

“It was a title. The Arovorians once named great men by their tools. A gifted musician might be named Harp of the Elves, or an accomplished sea captain would be Sail of the Empire. Your ancestor, a Feara, earned recognition with his sword.”

Welcome to my site, and thanks for reading my inaugural blog post. You probably saw the announcement on the main page for my upcoming debut novel, Sword of the Feara, so I’ll take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about it.

Sword of the Feara is an adult fantasy novel set in a high fantasy world of swords and sorcery. What sets it apart from similar works of fiction is the focus on a more realistic and relatable set of protagonists than you’re used to seeing in this kind of heroic fantasy. Bereft of Conan’s might or Gandalf’s wizardry, these are people who must use their heads if they wish to keep them.

The setting is high fantasy. There are different sorts of magic, monsters from legend and my own imagination, gods who act through their faithful, and other races sharing the world with men. The world itself has its own unique history and geography. The main setting for the first series of novels is Skara, an island kingdom wrested from the dryads by a people called the Feara, who were subsequently dominated by and liberated from sorcerers, dragons, an elvish empire, and an empire of men that followed.

What do I mean by the first series? Well, Sword of the Feara is the first book of the Skara Trilogy. Two more books in this setting will follow. Then I have plans for more books set in other very different parts of this world. How fast I get these out will have a lot to do with the reception of Sword, but I’m aiming for about a year between releases.

As a final note, I’d like to briefly address the “adult” nature of the novel. I wrote it with the intent that adults would enjoy the book, but depending on maturity, I think this is one that a lot of young adults will like as well. My son (13) has read and enjoyed it. It contains implicit but not explicit sex and has very sparse profanity. There is drinking. The villains are cruel. The violence is frank and realistic, but I do not wallow in gore. You know what you can handle, and if you have kids, you’re the best judge of what they can handle.

Thanks for reading! I’ll be updating this blog periodically with news about Sword of the Feara and future projects, as well as other musings about writing in general and indie writing in particular. A cover reveal is coming soon. I hope you’ll come back and check in. I would love to hear from you either in the comments here or by e-mail in the Contact section of this site.