About this project

Come with me on a journey into the imagination...

Having written more than a dozen novels for some of the bigger publishers on the planet over the last few years , I want to try something new. I want to write a book just for you, my fans, both old and new ones, and perhaps more importantly, I want to take you along for the ride. I want to share the process of creation and make you an active part of it all.

You'll get full behind-the-scenes access to the entire process, no matter what level of backing you choose. From the development of the main concept to the writing of the actual text, I'll take you inside my world and show you how I put together the book, one step at a time. I'll be soliciting your input as we go, too, on everything from what happens next to which cover illustration you like best.

So what's the book about anyway?
To be honest, I'm not 100% sure, not yet at least. I do have a basic idea, of course and I can even give you the opening scene (see below) but how it all hangs together is still a bit up for grabs. I can tell you it's an urban fantasy novel, full of things that shouldn't exist in a world that doesn't quite believe in them. And it's a road story too, about a young man on a journey, searching not only for his destiny but also for the almond-eyed girl that appears in his dreams each night, the girl that calls him on through the darkness. Who they are and what they mean to each other? Well, I think we'll find that out in time.

It takes me about three months to write a full-length novel, so I'm shooting to be done with this one about thirty days after the pledge period ends. Digital copies will be distributed at that point and the physical books will follow shortly thereafter.

What's the money for?
First and foremost it will go toward producing a quality print edition of The Mirror's Road for your reading enjoyment. I want to give it a proper cover too, so the money will help pay the artist I select a fair wage for his or her work. Anything above and beyond that will go toward helping me fund this crazy creative life I've chosen and keep me writing fiction for another day or two into the future.

How about an excerpt to whet our appetite?
I thought you'd never ask. The idea for The Mirror's Road came out of a single scene I envisioned out of the blue one afternoon and I want to share that scene with you here. It will give you a quick sense of the story and an idea of what my writing style is like.

So here's the opening scene of The Mirror's Road:

CHAPTER ONE
In the moment after midnight, the world held its breath.

Like a finely-tuned watch in need of attention, time slowed, and then stopped. One moment the truck stop was full of noise and activity, in the next everything had come to a halt.

In the sudden silence, I looked up from my late night meal of eggs and hash to find the room around me frozen in time. A few tables away, the good looking blonde who'd been chewing out her bull-necked companion just a moment before now stood with her finger pointed at his chest, one hip cocked jauntily as if in unintended invitation. The waitress, a plump matronly woman who wore too much makeup but had a quick and easy smile, was caught in the act of pouring another cup of coffee for the bearded trucker at the end of the counter, the liquid hanging in mid-air like a wave on the verge of breaking. Near them, the highway patrol officer who’d just hustled in from the parking lot stood halfway between the dining area and the bathroom, one foot suspended inches above the floor.

Even the clock on the wall had stopped, silenced at thirty seconds after twelve.

Everyone, and everything, was still.

Except me.

The sense of déjà vu I experienced in the next moment was almost overwhelming. I’d seen this place before; I knew what was coming next.

And it scared the piss out of me.

Before the thought had fully formed I was up and moving, scrambling away from the weary family in the booth behind me, getting out in the center of the room where my options increased and the chance of collateral damage to those around me would be minimized.

As I moved I kept my attention firmly on the long stretch of mirror that covered the wall behind the breakfast counter. Even as I watched, it grew smoke-dark and frost began to form along its edges.

Too late!

A face swam into view in the glass; long and gaunt, with sunken eyes and hollowed cheeks, a face of winter grey with a head capped by strands of writhing hair that twitched and moved with a life of their own.

The chimera’s empty eyes pinned me with the inerrancy of a laser.

Mine, they seemed to say.

The mirror’s surface rippled, the creature’s hands passing through it without resistance, piercing the Veil, and then the chimera pulled itself into the world, the glass behind it going solid with a sharp snap. Without hesitation the creature leaped across the counter in my direction.

The gun I’d taken off the dead cop in Toledo was out before the beast had cleared the counter, the thunder of the weapon’s voice echoing in the confines of the room. My shots struck the chimera full in the face, tossing it backward to the floor like so much discarded garbage, but I knew it wouldn’t be down for long.

I’d faced them three times before, but I still had no idea how to kill the damn things.

Motion out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I turned back to the mirror just as several more faces began to form deep inside the darkened glass. I shifted my aim and pulled the trigger. The shot shattered the mirror’s surface, closing that exit from the Road.

I knew it would only take the reinforcements a few moments to find another portal. I’d learned the hard way that every single moment counted. Even the tiniest advantage could mean the difference between life and death and I didn’t intend to waste a bit of it.

The truck stop’s too confining, I thought. I’ll have a better chance of survival outside, in the open.

I headed for the door, snatching the satchel off the seat next to me on my way.