The reserved elf Lyell Blackfletch is an ambassador for his people – and the holder of a dark secret. Plague is spreading among the human race, with the fire-loving dwarves already driven to the edge of extinction. Only the human Fiorella is close to finding a cure for the sickness, and with her death it is up to her friend Lavender the gnome to deliver it to her people in the steam-powered city of Vaporcitta.
Naïve but rebellious, Lavender chooses to place her trust in Lyell – but is her confidence in the cold-hearted elf misplaced? With the cure stolen and a secret genocide uncovered, they must both make a choice – but it may already be too late.
Fun facts: This one was inspired by a weird dream I had where I was a little gnome and nobody would take me seriously, so I decided to prove them all wrong by finding a dragon and riding on its back. Dreams are odd things.
After 10+ years I finally return to the world of YA publishing!
Imagine a world where those born with a disability or a chronic illness are also given a gift – the gift of magic. The greater the Price, the greater the power. And how can the most powerful mage of all save magic itself when her Price is clinical depression? It’s up to young Pip to find the answer – before it’s too late.
Fun Fact: This is easily my most personal work to date. I have Asperger’s Syndrome and have had issues with anxiety, and I sometimes feel that these are the price I must pay to be the artist I am… such as I am. In fact I came up with the idea while sitting in a counselor’s waiting room, having arrived for yet another therapy session.
This book is currently out of print due to the publisher shutting down.
Ambit Afterman is the Chosen One. Born with the mark of the silver bellflower on his hand, it is his destiny to defeat the nine demon lords with his magical spear, and drive their kind out of the Land of Flowers forever.
Unfortunately, Ambit would really prefer to spend his time drinking beer and getting laid – the prophecy can go f*ck itself.
Together with his demon friend Snarl, Ambit sets out on an epic quest – to make sure that the prophecy doesn’t come true. Along the way he will avoid fighting demons, make no inspiring speeches, not train with the wise order of warrior monks, and possibly have cheap sex with the beautiful princess.
Broken Prophecy – possibly the only book in history in which a major plot point was decided upon by the author flipping a coin, and which is not the first installment of a trilogy. Probably. If it makes enough money I might change my mind.
The Shadow’s Heart is the final installment of the second trilogy. The Australian edition is currently available, and the US edition is due to follow in January 2015.
Fight against monsters and you may become a monster yourself…
Laela Taranisaii, Queen of the North, is surrounded by enemies. Her cousin Caedmon claims the throne for himself, and his mother Saeddryn now wields the power of the deadly Shadow That Walks. Controlled by the cruel Night God, she plans to murder Laela and everyone who dares to stand against her. But Laela’s brother, the shapeshifter Kullervo, has travelled East to Amoran in the hopes of finding a way to defeat the murderous immortal with the help of the scholarly Prince Akhane. And in the freezing prison of the void where the Night God dwells, someone else watches, and makes silent plans of his own…
Fun Facts: This book was originally titled The Setting Sun. The character of Heath is named after author Jack Heath, who likes to boast about his gift for creative lying!
The Shadow’s Heart can be bought online from Dymocks, or online as an e-book from Amazon or Kobo. The US edition is available here from Barnes and Noble.
The Shadowed Throne is the second installment in the Risen Sun trilogy. The American and Australian editions are now available.
No mortal can stand against a god and live…
Laela Taranisaii, half-breed daughter of Arenadd, is now Queen of the North. Her father Arenadd and the dark griffin Skandar have both vanished, leaving Laela and her partner Oeka to rule in their place. The Northerners blame Laela for Arenadd’s disappearance, but she knows the truth. With her cousin Saeddryn poised to rebel, Laela is in terrible danger – but not from ordinary human beings. The cruel Night God is determined to see Laela dead, and no-one has ever stood against the god of death and lived.
But then someone new comes into Laela’s life: the mysterious, gentle shapeshifter Kullervo. Kullervo claims to have come to help her, but only he knows the truth about his intentions. And without people to trust, Laela is doomed…
Fun Facts: This book was originally titled The Reigning Sun. Kullervo, meanwhile, is named after a mythological character who was also unloved from birth.
You can buy the Australian edition of Shadowed Throne online from Dymocks, or as an e-book from Amazon or Kobo. The US edition is available from Barnes and Noble.
The Shadow’s Heir is the first book of the Risen Sun trilogy, which follows on from The Fallen Moon. The Australian edition is currently available; the US edition is scheduled for release in January 2013.
To stop him, you must find his heart. His black, dead heart.
Laela Redguard is a half-breed Northerner raised in the South. Rude, crude and tough, Laela travels North in the hopes of finding a place in the world, but by now the North is a place where Southerners and half-breeds cannot hope to survive for long.
But then Laela makes a new friend. A mysterious friend. A dangerous friend. A friend who can give her a place in the world – but that place may come at a higher price than anyone suspected.
Fun Fact: The working title for this book was The Risen Sun, but it was changed because it was the same as the title for the trilogy it belongs to.
The Shadow’s Heir is currently available in bookshops in Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada but you can also buy it online from Dymocks, or as an e-book from Kobo or Amazon. The American edition is also available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
The Griffin’s War is the third and final instalment of the Fallen Moon trilogy.
There is no Arren, Arren is dead. And war is coming.
Arenadd Taranisäii, formerly known as Arren Cardockson, has come to the North, where the Southerners rule and his race are second-class citizens in their own land. But now everything is about to change. Rebellion is in the air. Together with his partner, the dark griffin Skandar, Arenadd promises his allegiance to the savage Night God and prepares to lead his people to freedom – no matter what the cost.
But meanwhile his archenemy Erian, bastard son of the murdered Lord Rannagon, sets out on a journey of his own – to find a sacred weapon that can kill Arenadd, the man without a heart.
Fun Fact: This working title for this book was The Shadow That Walks. It was changed because it was too long and the publisher wanted all three titles to “match” by sharing a particular word.
The Griffin’s War is available in bookshops in Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada, but can be bought online from Dymocks, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or as an e-book from Kobo.
The Griffin’s Flight is the second book of the Fallen Moon trilogy.
A man with no soul has nothing left to lose.
Arren Cardockson is dead. But something won’t let him rest. Resurrected by dark magic, Arren has no heartbeat, no home and no friends. Hated and hunted, his only companion is Skandar, the giant, maneating black griffin. And now a dark power lives inside him, driving him to acts of murder and cruelty.
Together, he and Skandar flee Northwards in the hopes of finding a place to hide from their enemies, and a cure for the curse that has Arren in its grip. And all the while, the god of death watches…
Click here to listen to the audio trailer!
Fun Fact: This book was originally titled The Man Without a Heart. It was changed for being too long.
The Griffin’s Flight is available in bookshops in Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada, but can also be bought online from Dymocks and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or as an e-book from Kobo
The Dark Griffin is the first instalment in the Fallen Moon trilogy, and the first book for adults I ever published.
Darkness cannot be caged.
In the land of Cymria, humans and griffins rule side by side. Arren Cardockson is a Northerner, a member of a race that was conquered and enslaved centuries ago. By freak chance he became a griffiner, chosen by a griffin to live beside her and work alongside her to gain power and privilege. But Arren and his partner Eluna live surrounded by those who hate and fear them, and their dreams of grandeur will only lead to betrayal and death. And meanwhile, out in the wildnerness, a savage black griffin with no name hunts for something he cannot name – something that will bring himself and Arren together. But when they meet, only disaster can follow.
The Dark Griffin is a story of prejudice, hatred and revenge. Not the story of a hero, but of a villain.
Click here to listen to the audio trailer!
It is currently available in bookshops in Australia, New Zealand, America and Canada, but you can buy it online as well, from Dymocks, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or as an e-book from Kobo . And you can get the Czech edition here.
The Southern Star trilogy
Guards stay at their posts, and die to defend their cities…
Southerner Sergeant Kearney “Red” Redguard is the last of a disgraced family, and a loyal guardsman. And with a murderer stalking the streets, the city guard is his city’s best defense.
But in the North, King Caedmon Taranisäii is gathering his army, and the cruel Night God prepares for the downfall of the South. A new dark griffin roams the land, warning of the war to come.
Betrayed and sent on the run, Red must fight to save his homeland.
But it may already be too late…
Fun facts: Kearney is an Irish name which means “a gentle warrior”. I really liked the character of Bran Redguard and wished I had given him more to do, but then I wondered – well maybe there are other Redguards out there.
Order your copy from Amazon today!
Serve the Shadow That Walks…
The South has fallen. Guardsman Kearney Redguard has been captured by his enemies, and condemned to a life of slavery in Amoran along with the black griffin, Kraego son of Skandar. But the war is not over yet. In the North, the priestess Teressa waits and prays to the banished spirit of her idol, Arenadd – the feared Shadow That Walks. And in the darkness of her dreams, a voice begins to whisper back…
Available in print and Kindle in Australia here
The Cursed Guard
Kearney Redguard, the last of the Redguards, has returned to Cymria. Together with his new ally Teressa the Priestess, and wielding the power of the Shadow That Walks, he is poised at last to set his homeland free and overthrow the triumphant King Caedmon. But with his new powers spreading hatred through his veins, the line between fighting for what is right and simple revenge may all too easily become blurred and then lost. Can he win the last struggle for the South without losing his soul for good?
The Land of Bad Fantasy, my very first novel, published when I was just 20 years old. LoBF is, as of this writing, my only published work for children.
Dragons, wizards, trolls and kings – like, whatever dude.
This is a parody of every fantasy story you’ve ever read. In a world where traveling to other worlds is a way of life, cynical teenager Ana Beachcombe doesn’t even blink when a magical medallion mysteriously appears on top of her homework. But when the cool kids get to go to worlds where adventures with talking lions and magical aliens await, Ana gets a cheap, nasty transport medallion which lands her in a cheap, nasty universe. That universe is Syndup – the Land of Bad Fantasy.
Sadly LoBF is now out of print in Australia as the publisher no longer exists, but it’s still available in New Zealand and can be found on Amazon!
