Ooo Shiny! Volume 3, Vampires!
Published May 2024
Fascinating and blood-curdling tales that bite back.
Get ready to delve deeper into the shadows as "Ooo Shiny! Volume 3, Vampires!" presents a collection of 20 vampire-ish-centric short stories that are as enthralling as they are eerie. Sure, they were supposed to focus solely on vampires, but you know how easily I get distracted... Prepare for a jaw-dropping excursion into the macabre, where the night is just as animated as the day.
Our friend, the squirrel, is back—this time trading in holiday mischief for nocturnal adventures. Forget cocoa and leprechauns; we’re talking blood wine and undead ballroom dances now. Ever tried speed dating in a vampire-only nightclub? How about tracking down a bloodsucker who’s a social media influencer by day? Have you ever been stuck with a vampiric roommate who strictly follows a non-garlic, no-sunlight lease agreement?
From vampiric hijinks to soul-searching immortals, this volume takes you on an unforgettable journey where fangs meet funny, dread meets drama, and where you'll learn to appreciate the smaller nuances of eternal life. So open the cobwebbed gates to "Ooo Shiny! Volume 3, Vampires!", and step into the moonlight, if you dare.
Cracking the World
Published December 2023
Eldrisil, the epicenter of the world's magic.
In the heart of this mystical realm, a group as unlikely as their quest assembles – a daring mage named Venica, a roguish knave named Sebastian, and a conflicted bishop named Aurelius. Their aim? A daring ritual that defies possibility itself.
Venica, driven by curiosity, seeks to test her magical prowess like never before. Aurelius, torn between faith and desperation, yearns to resurrect his son from the clutches of death. Meanwhile, Sebastian, the ever-charming knave, is just in it for the adventure.
Together, they must outsmart both the arcane guardians and their own doubts as they ascend the tower, fighting with both their wits and blades. All the while, Aurelius grapples with his beliefs, hoping against hope that their audacious act might somehow be in alignment with the grand, unfathomable Grace of his goddess.
In the enchanting world of Eldrisil, where magic knows no bounds, this unlikely band of companions embarks on a perilous journey that will test their mettle, beliefs, and the very fabric of reality itself.
Cracking the World is free from my mailing list, or you can get it below.
Grave Mistakes
A Necromantic Adventure
Published December 2023
In a world where the living and the dead are separated by the sinister Crack, dark humor and magical mishaps collide in this uproarious dark fantasy comedy.
Meet Gabriela, a young and naive woman whose life takes a wild turn on her first visit to the city. She accidentally sends Viscount Brynmor Highgate, the Marquess of Melodis, tumbling down a flight of stairs to his untimely demise. But Gabriela is no ordinary girl; she's well-versed in the necromantic arts, and she promises Brynmor that she can fix this - or at least maybe her mother can - as she binds his ghost to her side.
Joined by her loyal and hilariously eccentric knight protectorate, Lord Sebastian, they embark on a madcap journey across the bottomless Crack and through the eerie Deadvale, racing against time to reach Gabriela's home. There, her mysterious mother, Queen Venica Marwol, reluctantly agrees to lead them in a desperate quest to resurrect Brynmor. But secrets from the queen's enigmatic past begin to unravel, and as Gabriela's magic teeters on the brink of failure, an unexpected connection forms between her and Brynmor, or so she thinks.
Their mission is far from straightforward, as they find themselves pursued by the determined Eleanor Lane, a disillusioned magic researcher, and the no-nonsense Commander Valoria Ravell. These formidable women, sent by Duke Highgate, Brynmor's uncle, will stop at nothing to thwart the resurrection and retrieve Brynmor's body.
"Grave Mistakes" is a riotous tale filled with black humor and heartwarming human moments. Follow Gabriela as she discovers her true identity and realizes her formidable powers in a world where the dead refuse to rest. Will she succeed in resurrecting Brynmor, or will her journey through this twisted realm end in grave mistakes of epic proportions?
Ooo Shiny! Volume 2, Holiday Edition 1
Published August 2023
Funny and fantastical short stories from an ADHD mind
Prepare for a whirlwind of fantastical mayhem as "Ooo Shiny! Volume 2, Holiday Edition 1" unleashes an explosive collection of 20 holiday-themed short stories! At least, they were supposed to be holiday-themed… I might have gotten distracted… Brace yourself for a wild ride through a kaleidoscope of enchanting worlds, where ordinary moments take extraordinary twists.
The squirrel returns, swapping skeletons and AI centipedes for vampires and leprechauns. Grab your hot cocoa for a Christmas you wish would never end. Hit the gym, but be careful who you look at. What if your partner on the force was secretly a famous author? What if you accidentally summoned a fae while trying to become an author, yourself? What if an expensive ren fest hat is all it took to be accepted into a band of sky pirates?
Navigate the perilous gerbil invasion, outmaneuver the seductive allure of vampires, and avert your gaze from the mesmerizing basilisk. Cherish your corgis as loyal protectors, rewarding them with treats for toppling idols of ancient, malevolent deities. After all, they're more than just good dogs—they're the real heroes.
Prepare to lose yourself in these extraordinary tales where holidays collide with adventure, humor, and a heavy-handed scoop of the bizarre. Enter the captivating realm of "Ooo Shiny! Volume 2, Holiday Edition 1," and join the ranks of the GNORMAN.
Arcanym
Published March 2023
Elvan, eldest of House Galmoth is content to stay in and always eager to jump into character. Some day, he will find a facade that suits him, one that meets his mother's expectations of him. He's spent the last two years playing investigator, raking through ledgers to clear his mother's name while ignoring his family business and noble House crumbling around him. When the last servant quits, Elvan is forced back into the world and must choose between continuing his fruitless investigation and saving his home from the collectors.
On his last lead, he meets Drace, a lonely shopkeeper who sweeps him away on a flight from the royal inquisitors - the same man that arrested Elvan's mother.
They dive deep into the kingdom of Spheris, shrouded by the smog of rising industry, lit by the flicker of gas lamps. Where the magic users must practice their art in secret, away from the eyes of the crown.
After discovering their intertwined pasts, Elvan and Drace forge forward, uncovering the plot that led to his mother's exile, but who can they go to when the guilty ones are at the highest level of power?
Can they dodge the inquisitors and questionable motivations of Elvan's sister, the Duchess, long enough to bring the crown to justice? Or will they fall to the same fate as Elvan's mother?
Elvan will have to prepare for his greatest role yet: Himself.
Seeds of Farsil
Published September 2022
If you had the power to go back to undo the worst atrocities, or even a single failure, would you? Should you? Alishia, the Chronicler, grapples with this question and the consequences.
Invaders wielding overwhelming magic bring the leaders of Poas to their knees. They come bearing an invitation to the rebirth of the realm and to witness as they assume singular rule.
Lone, regent king of Dracon and king of the archmages, manages the fallout from his late aunt’s disastrous final moments and this father’s waning sanity, all while struggling to gather allies against this new threat. Should he fail, his enemies will rise to power and leave this nation to waste away in the frozen north.
Alishia, the Chronicler, manipulates her power over time to flit across realms, but she must eventually return home. She arrives just as events are getting to their worst for Lone, leaving her with a dreadful test of her morals and how far she will take her budding power.
Seeds of Farsil marks the last installment in The Chronicler’s Awakening series, though not a finale for the players involved. In a tale of love and loss, cosmic forces reach across time to bring Alishia and Lone’s reality to the brink of annihilation and press them to define what it means to achieve victory.
Ooo Shiny! Volume 1
Published August 2022
The dark lord's call pulls the exalted king from his eternal slumber, but he's trapped behind a stone wall. A centipede pleads for help, but what if it's a hyper-advanced AI from the future? An assassin uses everyday objects in his craft and grooves to 1990s top 40 hits. Cannibal ghosts drive campers into an eating frenzy. What if Ivan the Terrible's Golden Library were hidden under the Red Square Krispy Kreme? What if a competing dungeon offered dental?
Ooo Shiny! is a collection of 19 absurd stories from a mind that can't focus, each taking only 5 to 15 minutes to read during your morning constitutional. Sometimes rambling nonsense that aims to make you smirk or your eyes roll, even the most black-hearted, humorless souls will find at least one chuckle in this collection. Grab a stick of unicorn jerky, put down your time-traveling phone, and respawn into the dungeon next to the D.E.D. sorority mixer! As one advance reader called it, "Fun... In a disturbing way...
Necromancer of Urbus
Published March 2022
Cazlandt, the first of the archmages, seeks atonement.
He travels to the corrupted realm of Urbus to discover a spell capable of reaching beyond the final curtain, to undo his murder of a friend seven centuries ago. Guided by a swordsman with his own haunted past and a talking, flying cat, Cazlandt travels across a realm of wraiths and shadow. Battling fragments of banished dark gods, daemon from the space between worlds, and the poisonous energy seeping into his mortal shell, he forges toward the world tree for a single, selfless act.
Though maybe not the one he intended.
In his third novel, author J. M. Samland's Necromancer of Urbus will suck you into a dark world to watch the spiraling path of his key anti-hero.
Will Cazlandt find what he seeks? Will he make it out of Ubrus without taking a sliver of that cursed realm with him? Read Necromancer of Urbus, prequel to Realms of Terswood and The Chronicler's Awakening trilogy to find out!
Trials of Throk'tar
Published November 2021
You can't change what has already passed…right?
Throk'tar is the realm home to the gronyn, a race of mighty warriors; noble and strict in their traditions.
Alishia does not belong here.
While struggling to understand her newfound powers as the Chronicler, an encounter with an unlikely adversary throws Alishia into the distant past of Throk'tar. She journeys across the hostile land alongside bickering brothers, hunting the one that brought her to this realm in hopes of finding a way home.
All the while, Alishia is terrified one wrong step in the past might undo her own past. Luckily, her future self left her clues.
Journey alongside a strong female lead between the realms and through the Trials of Throk'tar, the second book in The Chronicler's Awakening series. Find out if swords, spells, and intrigue can change the past's future.
Realms of Terswood
Published November 2020
An ancient scabbard holds immeasurable power to shape the future and reave the past.
Lone, prince of the archmages, doesn't realize how close his world is to its end until his aunt's failing sanity forces him to set aside his thirst for adventure and struggle to hold his nation together. Daemon and the undead rise against him while he unravels a centuries-old plot too late to stop. His failure means the death of his family and the entire realm.
Twenty-five years ago, Daelin was the sole survivor in the final battle against the necromancer Amer and terrors have plagued his every night since. He and his wife, Queen Teiris, thought they were going on a peaceful trip to honor the dead when a physical manifestation of the madness growing within Daelin forces them to flee alongside two mysterious beings as old as time.
Worlds collide for older young adult and new adult readers who will love the fast-paced thrills, the chemistry between the characters, and the interplay of fantasy, magic, swords, and destiny in Realms of Terswood, book one of The Chronicler's Awakening trilogy.