Free fantasy novel on Smashwords

Historical fantasy author and occasional guest poster Sean McLachlan is now offering his latest novel free on Smashwords. The Quintessence of Absence was originally published in the respected fantasy magazine Black Gate. The blurb goes:

Can a drug-addicted sorcerer sober up long enough to save a kidnapped girl and his own Duchy?

In an alternate 18th century Germany where magic is real and paganism never died, Lothar is in the bonds of nepenthe, a powerful drug that gives him ecstatic visions. It has also taken his job, his friends, and his self-respect. Now his old employer has rehired Lothar to find the man's daughter, who is in the grip of her own addiction to nepenthe.

As Lothar digs deeper into the girl's disappearance, he uncovers a plot that threatens the entire Duchy of Anhalt, and finds the only way to stop it is to face his own weakness.

Thanks to Sean for offering some free reading. Do you have a promotion you'd like to spread the word about? Drop me a line and I'd be happy to share.

Coming in July: The Maze of Mist!

Last month I finished my latest fantasy novel, The Maze of Mist, a sequel to my fantasy novel Roots Run Deep. The action takes place twenty years later and follows the adventures of Metis Itxaron, son of the human King Roderick and goblin Queen Kip, as he discovers an unknown continent and struggles with accepting his mixed heritage.

I've been busy with edits and beta reads for several weeks now. The book should be ready to go up on Kindle, Smashwords, etc, in late July. I'm still looking for cover art, though. If anyone out there knows of a good Creative Commons or inexpensive image of an old-style sailing ship sailing through the mist, please mention it here.

This sequel is a standalone novel and you don't have to read the first book to understand the second, although I certainly won't complain if you do! I like loosely knit series like that.

Cover and blurb of my upcoming fantasy novel

I just received the cover art for my next fantasy novel from my designer, the talented Jack Wallen of Adorkable Designs. Hard Winter is Book One of the Timeless Empire series.

I've been working on the blurb and will upload the book to Kindle Direct Publishing and Smashwords in a few days. In the meantime, I'd love to hear your opinion of the blurb, which is still a work in progress.

Look for book two of the series, At the Gates, in six weeks!

Here's the blurb for Hard Winter:

His past has been erased, his future is uncertain, but he knows one thing—in the coming revolution he must choose which friend to support and which to betray.

The Dragonkin, magical beings that are half human and half dragon, have ruled the human race for centuries through cruel caprice, but now their authority is being challenged. The eastern territories have broken away, and a grain blight has left thousands of humans destitute. Assassinations and riots plague the cities.

While the empire’s future is in peril, one man struggles to reclaim his past. He is Recorro, a human scribe whose wife has been taken by the Gatherers, shadowy beings that prowl the streets during moonless nights. No-one knows where the Gatherers come from, or what happens to the people they take, but those who witness their passing are forever changed. Recorro can remember nothing about his wife beyond the fact that she existed.

Aimless and struggling with despair, Recorro joins the army gathering to crush the rebels. His unit is a motley band of desperate commoners, including Granja, a dispossessed farmer, and Ignazio, a holy man in a world that has more faith in magic than the gods. Their unofficial leader is Silone, a charming trickster who turns out to be a member of the Syndicate, an anarchic secret society that has infiltrated the army in order to overthrow the ruling class. Silone lost a son to the Gatherers and presents Recorro with convincing evidence that the Dragonkin are behind the disappearances.

Recorro’s best friend in the unit is Labertino, an aspiring mage who was kicked out of school for lack of talent. Early in the campaign he saves Recorro’s life, which makes Recorro feel protective of the weak and bookish youth. Soon Silone and Labertino come into conflict as the former student shows his loyalty to the Dragonkin and tries to keep Recorro from joining the Syndicate’s revolution.

Fighting against disease, starvation, the rebels, and their own differences, the unit tries to stay alive while everyone around them begins to take sides.