Blog Archives
Honor, Regret, and Loyalty
Dark Wolf’s Howl centers around a young woman holding an ancient secret who finds herself on the run after helping with a theft that goes terribly wrong. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
The idea for the novel was that I wanted to take the traditional epic quest and spin it a little differently. I love the tabletop role playing game Shadowrun, and some of the themes and ideas come from the adventures I had with a group I ran with years ago.
Many characters wrestle with honor, regret, and loyalty. Why were those themes so central to this story?
I wanted to write a story that didn’t necessarily follow the epic quest trope, where a group is out to save the world. While they are out to save the world, I wanted the book to center more on their personal journeys. Honor, regret, and loyalty are all things I feel like people can relate to, whether it is dealing with a bad decision or struggling with a friend or family member who made such a decision and now needs help.
Dark Wolf’s Howl mixes adventure with political intrigue and class tension. How did you balance those elements while keeping the story focused on the characters?
Varya is supposed to be a fantasy version of our own world, where things are more complex than just right or wrong. Sometimes, in our world, you aren’t sure who the bad guys are, and I wanted my story to have a similar feel. You might start with one assumption and then change how you feel as you learn more information, letting the reader journey with the characters, their own thoughts and feelings on Varya changing as the character’s views change.
Can you give us a peek inside the second installment of the Varya series? Where will it take readers?
Diadrilath Selda, book two in the Varya series, the war is over, and our heroes struggle to reclaim their lives. So much has happened that they can’t just go back to doing what they were doing before, and in the midst of their personal struggles, there is a new mystery. Something else is happening, and they have to navigate the new threat while also still dealing with the aftermath of the events of the first book. The readers get to see more of the history of Varya, as well as dive deeper into the characters.
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When a reckless heist goes terribly wrong, a young woman finds herself branded a traitor by her own government, hunted not for her crime, but for the ancient secret she’s stumbled into. A secret powerful enough to shatter the kingdom’s foundations.
Now, as a long-exiled enemy rises to unleash vengeance and civilization teeters on the brink of annihilation, she must join forces with a mysterious rogue agent and a thrill-seeking adventurer. Together, they’ll face conspiracies, betrayals, and the weight of history itself.
But can one unlikely heroine find the courage to undo her mistake before it unleashes the end of the world?
Called “an ambitious and heartfelt modern fantasy” by Independent Book Review, Dark Wolf’s Howl blends modern society with familiar fantasy themes in an action packed adventure story.
Dark Wolf’s Howl
Brenton J. Lillie’s Dark Wolf’s Howl is a fantasy novel with a strong streak of political thriller and adventure running through it. It opens with an old catastrophe, when Queen Luorhidana tries to end a brutal war with magic and sacrifice, and then jumps forward into a modernized elven kingdom where a desperate young woman named Elisa helps with a theft that goes terribly wrong. From there, the book widens into a larger story involving buried history, class tension between elves and humans, a hidden scepter tied to ancient magic, and a coming war with the darkabolos. It’s a story about betrayal, guilt, and whether peace can be rebuilt after people have done real damage to one another.
What I enjoyed most was how earnest the book feels. Elisa’s opening section works because her bad decision is not treated like a clever caper. It feels sad almost from the first page. She is angry, boxed in by debt and class inequality, and trying to convince herself she deserves a shortcut, even while she knows she is crossing a line. I liked that the novel lets that choice stain everything that comes after. Dak and Shivani bring a different energy, more investigative and on the run, which gives the book a nice change in rhythm. Sometimes the prose is blunt, and sometimes the dialogue lands a little more directly than naturally, but there is also something refreshing about how plainly the book says what it means. It is not coy about honor, trauma, corruption, or regret. It puts those things on the table and makes the characters wrestle with them.
I also found myself respecting the author’s bigger choices, especially the way the novel keeps circling back to history as something alive and dangerous. The old war is not just a backstory. It leaks into the present and shapes who gets power, who gets blamed, and who is allowed to tell the story of the past. That gave the book more weight than a straightforward quest fantasy.
Elisa’s arc especially pulled me in. Her movement from reckless desperation toward a genuine understanding of sacrifice and redemption gives the novel its emotional spine, and by the end, I felt the book had earned its seriousness. This is a novel that wears its heart on its sleeve. If a reader wants subtle ambiguity at every turn, this may feel a bit too open-handed. I did not mind that much. In a book this driven by conscience, shame, loyalty, and grief, the directness often works.
By the time I finished Dark Wolf’s Howl, I came away thinking it would most appeal to readers who enjoy fantasy that mixes ancient magic and invented history with modern institutions, armed intrigue, and a very human redemption story. It is a good fit for someone who likes character-driven fantasy more than ornate worldbuilding for its own sake, and for readers who do not mind a story being sincere about moral injury and second chances. I would especially recommend it to people who enjoy fantasy adventures with political tension, emotional stakes, and a final stretch that leans hard into sacrifice and aftermath rather than easy triumph.
Pages: 211 | ASIN : B0CQRJZ1Y1
Sacrificial Lambs
Keith A. Thomas, Jr.’s Sacrificial Lambs is an audacious blend of religious thriller, apocalyptic fantasy, and supernatural war story, anchored in Vatican City and propelled by a “sacred key” described as the Trinity’s “secret recipe…a genetic code” for creating supernatural beings, now stolen and in the wrong hands. The premise is immediately grand in scale. A dark figure, Natas Christopher, rallies monstrous followers under prophecy and the shadow of the fallen angel Nero.
The novel’s most distinctive feature is its voice. The story leans into elevated, scripture-inflected diction. Characters speak in ceremonial rhythms (“ye,” “thou,” proclamations, edicts), which gives the story an operatic, mythic flavor that feels intentionally larger than life. For readers who enjoy biblical cadence and high-stakes spiritual conflict, that tone is a feature, not a bug. It makes the world feel governed by rules older than humanity.
Sacrificial Lambs moves with the momentum of a cinematic set-piece sequence. Divine warnings, secret councils, strange portals, and escalating confrontations that repeatedly widen the scope from personal peril to world-ending consequence. Darr, the archangel sent to intervene, provides a powerful structural spine, functioning as both protector and relentless timekeeper, pushing the Pope and selected clergy toward action. The Vatican setting, paired with supernatural intrusions, creates a satisfying pressure cooker. Faith becomes less an abstract institution and more a battlefield.
Where the book lands most strongly is in its imagery and spectacle. The author has a talent for staging moments that feel designed for a screen. The sense of “prophecy” made physical, and the feeling that sacred spaces can become arenas without losing their awe. The climax delivers on that promise, with Darr and throne guards arriving as judgment is rendered, and Natas Christopher’s threat forcibly contained. The closing beat is also intriguingly sharp. After the supernatural crisis, the story pivots back to human accountability. That final turn reframes the title in a pointed way, suggesting that “sacrifice” is not only cosmic, but institutional and moral.
For fans of theological horror, end-times fantasy, and Vatican-centered intrigue, Sacrificial Lambs offers a confident commitment to its big ideas and an unapologetically maximalist style. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy supernatural/religious epics with prophecy, angels and demons, and high-drama moral reckonings, especially those who like their thrillers soaked in mythic language and spiritual stakes.
Pages: 356 | ASIN : B0DLDFZ7P1
Soul of the Saviour
Soul of the Saviour drops you into a wild mix of brutal training grounds, smoky alleys, ancient magic, and the strange heat of Hell itself. The book follows Saxon Payne as he crawls back into life after years in a mystical retreat. It weaves through his past, the rise of lethally gifted assassins, demonic lovers, grim prisons, tender memories, and the looming clash between Heaven, Hell, and everything in between. It moves fast and swings between action, horror, and raw intimacy. Sometimes it feels like half spiritual odyssey and half grindhouse myth. I found myself swept up in the momentum because the story rarely slows down enough for you to catch your breath.
The writing goes for broke. Scenes in Hell’s kitchens shimmer with disgusting brilliance, and scenes of training in the mountains bristle with physical grit and stillness. There is a real commitment to showing bodies under strain and souls under pressure. The prose jumps from grim to tender in a heartbeat, and it gave me that sense of watching someone flip through different emotional filters just to see what hits hardest. The violence is bold. The sensuality is bold. The humor sneaks in with a wink. I liked how messy it all felt, because it made the characters feel lived-in and not staged.
The whole thread around becoming more than human through suffering made me uneasy and fascinated at the same time. I found myself rooting for characters who should have terrified me and shaking my head at choices that were obviously doomed. The story loves duality. Hope beside despair. Faith beside hunger. Love beside something darker and stranger. Sometimes it veers into excess, and sometimes the emotional beats come so fast I had to take a moment to reorient. But even then, I felt drawn along by the sheer confidence of the storytelling. It feels like the author trusts you to surf the chaos, and I liked that.
By the end, I felt satisfied and also curious because the book leaves a lot of questions humming under the surface. I would recommend Soul of the Saviour to readers who enjoy high-energy dark fantasy, intense character arcs, sharp edges, and worlds that bend myth with modern grit. If you like stories that mix heart with horror and beauty with brutality, this one will keep you turning pages long after you planned to stop.
Pages: 325 | ASIN : B0FCDT2J11
Mythology or Comparative Religions
Dead and Buried follows a woman learning to manage her Kitsune heritage and magic, who keeps having curveballs hurled at her from psychic attacks, supernatural creatures, and restless spirits. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
If I can quote Aerosmith, “Half my life’s in books written pages. Live and learn from fools and from sages.”
That pretty well sums up my life. Especially my younger years. I was a “surprise” baby, and my siblings were much older than I was. While I was loved, I really didn’t fit in. Then my father died when I was in grade school. By Junior High, my brothers and sister had all married and moved out of the house. So, I learned early to roll with the punches using books as my escape and humor as my armour.
Many of those books were in the Sci Fi/Fantasy realm, and I’ve always had a particular fascination with mythology or comparative religions.
I found Tai’s character to be believable and relatable; her emotions and responses felt real even when dealing with all the paranormal situations she was thrown into. Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your character’s life?
As I indicated, I had to learn to roll with the punches as a child. I kept Tai as human as she rolled with her punches. She also uses humor as armour, even though she has less of a filter on her mouth than I do.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
It is a lesson that we all need to learn – acceptance, resiliency, and personal growth.
Can you tell us where the book goes and where we’ll see the characters in the next book?
There are a planned nine books in the series – literally one for each of the nine tails that a Kitsune can have.
Book three has Tai and friends in New Orleans, where she meets distant family and makes new friends. Of course, there is plenty of growth – and it is not all for her. I hope to have the book available on Amazon in February.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Join Tai, Nico, and Magoo as they navigate contractors, heartbreak, and the undead.
All I wanted was a moment to myself. Being back in High School was exhausting. I groaned, contemplating the absurdity of the situation. Having to take summer school classes was lame at the best of times. But taking a High School class when you were eight-plus years out of school was even worse. Especially when it was a class I had technically already passed. Technically. By the skin of my teeth. Which, if I am to understand correctly, is a trait of certain gnomes. Not sure which ones, though.
Dead and Buried: The Last Kitsune Book 2
Dead and Buried picks up with Tai trying to hold her life together while everything supernatural around her spins out of control. The book follows her attempts to manage her unstable kitsune magic, the chaos caused by her two-tailed nekomata Magoo, a strange psychic attack, a dream that might not be a dream, and the frightening discovery that her supposedly dead father, Viktor, may still have a grip on the world of the living. As Tai and her friends confront new dangers, including zombie-like creatures, restless spirits, and a growing conspiracy tied to the Key of Wealth, the story widens into a mystery that reaches from woods to clubs to interdimensional threats. It all builds into a story about identity, legacy, and the messy courage needed to face old shadows.
What struck me right away was how alive the writing felt. The opening scene with undead mice skittering across the floor pulled me in with a laugh and a grimace at the same time. Tai’s voice is sharp and funny, but it carries this constant undercurrent of vulnerability that made me root for her before I even realized it. The book throws wild supernatural moments around like confetti, and yet the emotions always land. I kept feeling this push-and-pull between humor and fear. One moment I was laughing at Magoo acting like a furry little menace and the next I felt a knot in my stomach when Tai described her dreams about Sunreaver or the shock of hearing Viktor whisper that things were not over. The mix worked for me. It felt raw and very human, even when things got weird.
I also loved how the story handled relationships. Ash brings warmth into scenes that would otherwise feel too heavy, and Xunie’s mysterious and chaotic energy adds a spark that made me grin every time she appeared. The club scenes with Nico cracked me up, especially when the supposedly impossible ghost activity starts up again. At the same time, the book digs into Tai’s trauma in a way that is emotionally resonant. Her guilt about Sunreaver, her fear that she might not be in control of herself, and her anger at being treated like a fragile resource instead of a person. I felt those things right alongside her, and the writing did not sugarcoat any of it. It made the fun moments brighter and the frightening ones sharper. If anything, the emotional whiplash made the story feel more real to me.
By the time I closed the book, I felt like I had been on a wild ride through magic, danger, grief, and a whole lot of found family chaos. I enjoyed that messy thrill. I enjoyed the heart in it even more. If you like supernatural stories that mix humor with fear, action with real emotional weight, or if you simply enjoy following a character who stubbornly keeps getting back up no matter what is thrown at her, then this book is absolutely worth your time. Fans of urban fantasy, paranormal mystery, or character-driven supernatural drama will have a blast with Tai and her world.
Pages: 339 | ASIN : B0FBJ89ZZV
Take My Hand
Take My Hand follows Trina, a guidance counselor in the magical and queer-rich Dark District, as she navigates danger, desire, identity, and the messy, tender work of becoming who she is. The story swings between an attack at a local bar, her growing attraction to a new teacher named Robert, and the deeper, rawer layers of her identity as Timothy. The book blends urban fantasy, queer longing, Filipino culture, and personal history into something that feels both intimate and loud. It’s a story about wanting connection. It’s a story about fear. It’s a story about what happens when desire and truth keep bumping into each other until something finally gives.
The writing feels hungry. Emotional. A little chaotic in the best way. The scenes in the school had me smiling. The quiet moments in Trina’s office hit me harder than I thought they would. And the flashbacks to the orphanage knocked the wind out of me. I felt the ache in her voice. I felt the weight of all those years she kept her real self tucked away. The book swings from funny to sensual to heartbreaking with this almost reckless energy. I loved that the author just lets the story breathe and swell without trying to make everything neat.
There were moments that made me squirm because they felt too real. The longing for Robert. The guilt. The shame. The humor she hides behind. All of it felt familiar. The writing is loose and bold. Sometimes messy. Sometimes sharp. And the queer representation, especially around desire and gender and the body, felt honest in a way that isn’t common. I liked how the magic sits in the background. Never overwhelming. Just shaping the world the way emotions shape a person from the inside.
By the end, I felt protective of Trina. I wanted her to win. I wanted her to love someone who actually sees her. I wanted her to stop tearing herself apart just to fit into a skin she didn’t choose. The book made me feel a lot, and I liked that. I didn’t want it to be safe. I wanted it to stay exactly as wild and vulnerable as it is.
If you enjoy queer urban fantasy with plenty of heat, heart, and personal struggle, this book will hit the spot. If you like stories that mix magic with Manila vibes and real emotional weight, you’ll feel at home here. And if you want a character who is flawed, yearning, dramatic, funny, and painfully human, Trina is a character you’ll remember.
Although Take My Hand works perfectly well as a stand-alone story, it’s actually the second book in an ongoing series set in the Dark District. Readers who want the full experience can follow the chronology starting with Take Me Now, and even go further back with its prequel Sojourn. Both earlier works were previously compiled as a duology in the Dark District Primer, so new readers can choose to jump in here or enjoy the series in order for a richer sense of the world.
Pages: 400 | ASIN : B0DJ7JTG4S
The Reality of the Broken
The Demon’s Deceit follows a washed-up addict who wakes up and finds herself under the control of a wealthy, manipulative demon, and is offered a deal: freedom from pain and fear, in exchange for becoming an assassin. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
It all started with the question of what would happen if an average woman suddenly found herself with superpowers. I was getting tired of reading fantasy books with suspiciously capable and barely adult protagonists, so I wrote a book that I wanted to read about older and imperfect women like me. The follow-up question then became: how would she get the superpowers to begin with? I can’t help but challenge religion, so I created a race of twisted supernatural beings who may or may not have inspired most religions and who laugh at humanity from the shadows.
There was a lot of time spent crafting the character traits in this novel. What was the most important factor for you to get right in your characters?
I wanted them to feel authentic and unique. I’ve had the privilege of being inspired by so many people from different backgrounds and ways of life, and I wanted to represent the beauty of the unconventional and the reality of the broken.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Redemption and recovery were the main themes revealed during my writing process. Having struggled with mental illness and addiction myself, I wanted my protagonist to “win” after dealing with grief and substance abuse for so long. It’s cathartic for me and hopefully for readers.
When will Book Two be available? Can you give us an idea of where that book will take readers?
The Angel’s Bane (Divine Evolution Book 2) is coming early 2026:
By all accounts, Jeanie Bennett is living the dream: money, power, love—but happiness comes at a cost. A growing paranoia threatens to ruin everything she’s worked so hard to build, because loving a divine means accepting that death lurks around every corner. And another loss is not something she can endure.
In addition to protecting Sam from demons thirsting for his angelic blood, she’s juggling the launch of two non-profits, working through her unresolved grief, and battling her mental illness and addictions. When the mounting challenges become too much to bear, she goes back to her roots to find the perfect second assistant. He’s more than qualified, but his motives might not be so pure.
Now they just have to contend with demons, rival angels, kidnappers, mobsters, and a mysterious foe who gives Jeanie her greatest challenge yet. Will she be able to stop him from taking everything she holds dear before it’s too late?
Author Links: <a href="http://22 Nov 2025 13:16:47 -0800 Andria Carver GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Jeanie’s day started off like any other—hungover in a back alley after another epic bender. But the one-way ride on her downward spiral was about to come to an abrupt end. Kidnapped by a bloodthirsty demon, she is thrown into the dark world of the divines, a supernatural species living secretly among humans.
As the new assistant to a divine intent on rising through the ranks, Jeanie is given an assignment: kill an angel so her demon can take his place, or die trying. In order to achieve the impossible, she’ll have to rely on the powers given to her by her new master, along with her quick wit and talent for bluffing.
But not all divines are what they seem, and Jeanie must choose to either defy her morality or die in utter agony. A dangerous incubus steps in and promises to help her, or is he just using her too?
Wickedly funny, unexpectedly moving, and delightfully twisted. The Demon’s Deceit slashes through genre conventions with a bloody dagger in one hand and a smoldering joint in the other. Think Fleabag as Buffy the Vampire Slayer with extra helpings of humor, peril, and passion thrown in.
Contains sexual content, references to drug addiction and abuse, and probably too many curse words (definitely too many)
