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Storytellers
Dragons, Demons & Demigods follows a mill girl with a sharp tongue and a buried past who learns she’s the heir to a dragon throne and the spark that could ignite a mythic civil war. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The description of Clío as a “mill girl” made me smile. I had considered her many things but not a mill girl. That said, it is an appropriate appellation. The rich, and often unread, landscape of Celtic Mythology and Celtic culture provided the inspiration for Dragons, Demons & Demigods as it did for my prior historical fantasy novels. The difference is that in writing an “urban” fantasy, I had more freedom to explore the rich characters of Celtic mythology.
In Dragons, Demons & Demigods, the supernatural associated with the Land of Immensity is balanced by the reality of wartime Northern Ireland. The alternate location is largely my birthplace—East Belfast, Northern Ireland—although in the awful times of World War II. I lived and played with my mates in the streets named in the story. I lived in the house of my grandfather, Lazarus. His was a name I could never resist as a character. I spent most of my adult life in East Belfast, and to this day, from steamy hot Texas, I love the city and its people.
In hindsight, I probably would have given Clíodhna (Clío) a different name, if only because I missed an opportunity to base a novel around Clíodhna, the Queen of the Banshees.
Clío is brash, funny, and unapologetically raw. How did you shape her voice?
I think Clío shaped her own voice! In essence, she is an amalgam of many of the girls I knew in my home city of Belfast, who could chop you off at the knees with their caustic remarks, and several females, famous in Tuatha Dé mythology. The latter includes her namesake Clíodhna, Queen of the Banshees, who, despite her terrifying name, was beautiful, charming, and promiscuous, and Queen Maedbh, whose nickname Maedbh of the Friendly Thighs testified not only to her libido but also her negotiating style.
Clío is a millennia-old adolescent suddenly faced with a harsh reality. She is a paradox in that she is the ultimate party girl but has amassed a wealth of knowledge by witnessing human history for thousands of years. Brianag, in the Blood Queen Chronicles, Clío has a strong moral core at odds with how others perceive her.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I am not sure I have “themes” in any of my books, and I do not deliberately set out to explore specific themes. That said, I am often fascinated to read the theses attributed to them post-publication. From my perspective, being an author is being an entertainer, not a teacher or preacher. My starting goal is always to write a well-researched and excellent “yarn” in the tradition of the ancient Celtic seanchaithe—storytellers— a tale that will take the reader away from their daily lives.
I do not avoid supposed “controversial” topics, e.g., Clío’s lesbian lovers, in the novels, but then, to the times and people of my stories, such issues were not controversial. Maybe civilization has regressed, not progressed.
Can you tell us a little about where the story goes in book two and when the novel will be available?
Book 2 of the Tuatha Dé Chronicles is titled: Eater of Souls and has an expected release date of Autumn 2026. As might be anticipated by the title, the sequel is several shades darker than the first book. Eater of Souls also has an earthly location. This time, it is mid-1950s Galveston County, Texas, which, by all accounts, was a wild place in the 1900s, with its Red-Light District and widespread criminal networks. The novel provides more backstory on the Goddess, the origins of the Womb-Born and Dragon, and the antagonist An-Ársa, but hopefully, not enough to bore my readers. Eater of Souls brings more interaction between the supernatural and human characters and more moral dilemmas. “How many dead humans are acceptable, Etta? One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, or ten thousand? If we don’t eliminate this nest of vipers, the alternative is a world enslaved and millions butchered by An-Ársa and the Nemed.”—Lazarus
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Mythology and faerie tales provide comfort and safety for humans and supernatural creatures alike. Facts are dangerous.
What if you discovered you were a dragon and the queen-in-waiting of the Dragon Throne? What would you do if challenged by a brother you had never met to a duel to the death for the throne? What if you found out those you loved and trusted had betrayed you? What if this was only the beginning?
It is Northern Ireland in the 1940s. To her friends at the linen mill, Clío is a beautiful young woman who is an expert in partying. What they do not know is that her age is counted in millennia. What Clío did not know is who or what she was until the morning she woke up wailing, “I’ve got scales!” Dragon puberty had arrived.
Dragons, Demons & Demigods is the first book of The Tuatha Dé Chronicles. The two-world, portal story merges historical and urban fantasy with Celtic mythology.
Content Warning: Dragons, Demons & Demigods contains language, minor scenes of sex, and fantasy violence, which may not be suitable to those under the age of 14 without the parent’s permission.
Immersion and Enthusiasm
Lucas Cabral and the Secret of the Amazon follows a group of guardians who must scramble to protect three newborn warriors while themselves being hunted by the Lord of Darkness. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
This story was born from a moment of inspiration during a trip, while listening to the song “I Save the World Today” by the Eurythmics. The narrative is structured into five fundamental parts and explores the eternal struggle between Good and Evil. It begins with an epic battle between a thousand Templar knights and a creature determined to destroy humanity. A surviving Master Templar prophesies the birth of three Warriors with special gifts who, together, will be the only hope for victory. For a millennium, while the Enemy’s servants have relentlessly searched for these children, a secret Brotherhood has been formed to protect them. Each Warrior of Light is assigned a Guardian who is prepared to give their life for them if necessary.
What is it that draws you to action and adventure tales?
I love writing stories filled with action, mystery, and adventure because I know how effectively they engage young readers – a mission I consider deeply important. When a theme is truly exciting, readers become so enthralled that they cannot put the book down, remaining captivated from the first to the very last page. Creating that sense of immersion and enthusiasm is exactly what draws me to this genre!
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Beyond the classic battle between Good and Evil, I wanted to explore fundamental values such as solidarity, companionship, and loyalty. Environmentalism and ecology are also central themes; I wanted to raise awareness about the risks the Amazon rainforest faces due to unbridled ambition, greed, and the short-sightedness of those who put our entire planet in danger.
Can you give us a glimpse inside the next installment in this series? Where will it take readers?
The next book will be Fernão Dias and the Mystery of the Black Stones. It features the third Warrior of Light, born in Angola, who possesses very different gifts from those of Sofia Gama and Lucas Cabral. It is an incredibly emotional and thrilling book that continues this global mission to protect the Light.
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Unpredictable Journey
The Clometheons follows a solitary seamtress living in a remote valley facing past trauma while finding herself and her friends pulled into a strange interdimensional conflict. Where did the idea behind this novel come from?
My ideas stemmed from viewing a high mountain plain during a motorcycle trip in Wyoming and wanting a woman to be the main character and heroine of an epic tale, simply because I do not feel that women are chosen for such roles as often as they could be, and mountains are majestically inspirational. The rest of the “active ingredients” came from bits and pieces I gathered from friends and family that I considered amazing elements for “some story, somewhere.” From there, I began formulating a storyline. As I progressed, I often found myself in a state of wonder, thinking not only about where I wanted the story to go, but how to get there in the least expected, least predictable way I could conjure.
The science inserted in the fiction, I felt, was well-balanced. How did you manage to keep it grounded while still providing the fantastic edge science fiction stories usually provide?
Because I wanted to write a story that would reach across genres and demographics, to write something almost anyone could enjoy, I intentionally steered away from things becoming too complex for younger readers or too simple for older readers. I also felt that the genre has a stereotypical public perception of being deeply intricate, “nerdy,” and over-the-top detailed with the inner workings of things involved. While the mainstream sci-fi releases are still great books and wonderful stories, they mostly cater to a niche audience. Therefore, having a desire to reach as many readers as possible, I chose to ignore the common molds and branch out in new ways, creating a uniquely suspenseful, unpredictable journey. Maintaining suspense was one way to turn the scientific details over to the readers, allowing their own minds to visualize the moment instead of dissecting it. Instead of me explaining how things work or why such things are possible, I simply let the science happen. We all use things in our daily lives without knowing the science of how they operate or why they work the way they do. This story resembles that commonplace presence, where the knowledge isn’t as critical as its application.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Women’s empowerment by creating a female role model, who seeks kindness, fairness, and generous goodwill towards humanity, but also comes to realize that sometimes there is no avoiding the need to draw a line and stand behind that decision for the greater good. Men have traditionally held this role, and many have been very good at it; I simply wanted to do something for the girls that might give them courage and strength to be whatever they desire, and the confidence to believe that they can do whatever they must when tough circumstances and choices confront them.
Outside of that intention, I’ve noticed that today’s culture has strongly abandoned the value of “escape” entertainment. Instead of deliberately platforming throughout the content of a story and forcing anyone to swallow the author’s perceptions about anything, I chose to write an old-fashioned good vs evil tale, where the readers can immerse themselves in the characters and storyline, and enjoy the story for what it was intended to be, a momentary escape from all the pressures of the world. From there, I chose the common desires across all cultures, where peace, love, loyalty, honor, accountability, responsibility, integrity (and many more), all have a valued presence and core existence between the members of their society and communities.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
Yes! I am hard at work wrapping up the sequel, The Clometheons: Return of the Bringer, and beginning the third installment, The Clometheons: The Power of Seven. I do have some other genres, both fiction and nonfiction, that are already in the mix. If The Clometheons doesn’t get too crazy, you can also expect a detective/crime/sci-fi trilogy in the near future that contains an original plot twist! As far as I have been able to find, I have something that has NEVER been done before! While I’ve seen things that come close, I must believe that if other authors had thought of my twist, they would have chosen it to prevent paralleling any other authors at the very least.
Don’t nobody go nowhere… I have some incredible works lined up for the next two to three decades!
Author Links: GoodReads | Website | Amazon
Through an unforeseeable, unimaginable encounter, she lives her life subjected to five unbreakable, unbendable, unforgivable rules called the Absolutes. However, in exchange for her subjugation, she has been granted an empowered, immortal existence.
She will live forever.
She will be eternal.
But what dreams and aspirations will this cost her? Even in a state of immortality, how can she know the future? How can she guarantee herself anything? How can she control the uncontrollable? Can her immortality provide her with anything more than a state of permanence? Only the future knows.
And the future begins here, right now, in this wildly imaginative first release that entangles the intergalactic with the interdimensional and places the future of planet Earth in its crosshairs. Everything hinges on a simple girl who needs to figure out what she has gotten herself into, how she will overcome it, and how she will permanently resolve the threat hovering over her life, her loved ones, and planet Earth itself.
Of all the tales that have come to exist in the traditional lore of good and evil, there has never been a story quite like this. Welcome to a fresh new adventure that is sure to edge readers everywhere, both young and old, where the impossible becomes possible and the unexpected can be expected.
The Clometheons
In The Clometheons, a science fiction novel with a strong spiritual and emotional core, we follow Jenelle, a solitary seamstress living in a remote valley whose life has been shaped by a past lightning strike that nearly burned her world down. When a storm rolls in with lightning that sometimes has no thunder, time that seems to freeze, and a comet-like streak of light that falls into the woods, her private battle with trauma suddenly collides with a much bigger one: an interdimensional conflict between TUPO and the Deugeotvites, watched over by mysterious beings and embodied in things like a glowing orb named Dot and a living doll called Stitch. As Jenelle, her sister Linda, her niece Melissa, and their friends get pulled into this strange war, the book shifts from small, weather-beaten cottage life to questions about peace, restoration, and what it actually means to trust.
The writing leans into vivid, sometimes almost playful description: thunder sounds like trucks in tunnels, storms feel like cauldrons whipped by a cranky wizard, and anxiety is this stomping thing in your gut that will not sit still. I enjoyed that a lot. It gave the science fiction a grounded, sensory feel, like the cosmic story had mud on its boots. I never doubted that the author cared about these characters. Jenelle’s fear of lightning, her stubborn attempts to pull up her big girl pants, and Linda’s protective streak all felt human and messy in a way that suited a character-driven sci-fi story more interested in hearts than hardware.
What surprised me most was how the book handles the big ideas under all the strange terms and factions. On the surface, you have TUPO, Deugeotvites, triglets, and travelers, but underneath that, I heard very familiar questions: What do you do with trauma that never really leaves? Is peace something you fight for or something you receive? How far do you go to keep others safe, even when you are terrified yourself? There is a clear spiritual layer here, not preachy, but present, especially in the way storms, second chances, and “miraculous” timing show up in Jenelle’s life. The science fiction framework lets the author talk about good and evil, loyalty, betrayal, and restoration in a way that feels like a parable in motion. I did feel the book’s length, and sometimes the pacing wandered when I wanted the main conflict to stay sharper.
I felt like I had spent time in a very particular corner of science fiction: one that cares as much about emotional scars as it does about cosmic battles. If you enjoy character-focused, spiritually flavored science fiction that mixes small-town living with interdimensional stakes, and you are okay with some extra flourishes in the prose along the way, The Clometheons will hit that sweet spot. Readers who like their genre stories thoughtful, hopeful, and a bit talky will get the most out of it, especially if they are willing to sit with storms, both in the sky and inside a person’s chest.
Pages: 658 | ASIN : B0FNYK44LJ
Lucas Cabral and the Secret of the Amazon: The Warriors of Light Series
Lucas Cabral and the Secret of the Amazon sweeps through prophecy, danger, and a race against time as ancient forces stir and evil claws its way toward freedom. The story moves from a cursed Templar temple to modern Brazil, where the birth of three extraordinary children sends shockwaves through the world. As Brotherhood guardians scramble to protect the newborn Warriors of Light, sinister servants of the Lord of Darkness hunt them across continents. The book blends myth, adventure, and heartfelt human moments in a tale about destiny, courage, and the fragile balance between good and evil.
This was an exciting story, and I felt the excitement right from the beginning. The writing has a bold, cinematic quality. At times, it feels intense, even breathless, because danger lurks behind so many corners. I loved how the book shifts between sweeping prophecy and very grounded moments, especially the scenes with Rafael navigating airports while holding onto fear and faith at the same time. The mix of mysticism and real-world tension pulled me along, and that slow but steady buildup was thrilling.
I also felt a warm connection to the characters. Rafael’s devotion struck me deeply. He’s not flashy or loud. He’s steady and scared and determined, which made him feel real to me. Tendy and Paulo brought softness and heart into the story, and the Amazon setting felt rich and alive. There were moments when I wished the pacing slowed down to give me more time with them, but even then, I admired how the author kept the story moving along. The ideas in the book made me think about legacy and responsibility and how ordinary people rise when the world seems to be falling apart.
By the time I reached the last pages, I felt both satisfied and curious about what comes next. I would recommend this book to readers who love fast-moving adventures, mythical prophecies, and stories where ordinary characters carry extraordinary burdens. It’s a great pick for anyone who enjoys young adult fantasy with a global scope and a good dose of heart.
Pages: 283 | ISBN : 978-1962185776
Mistress of Bees
When I picked up Mistress of Bees, I expected a playful romp through a world of magic and mischief, and that’s exactly what I got, but with a lot more teeth than I anticipated. The book follows Lady Maris Goselin, a foul-mouthed, bee-wielding, sharp-witted sorceress who narrates her own adventures with a mix of biting humor, lustful candor, and raw honesty. Through her eyes, we stumble into necromantic disasters, awkward entanglements with past lovers, dangerous pacts, and more than one horrifying monster fight. It’s a collection of linked tales, each brimming with irreverence, peril, and a constant tug-of-war between desire, regret, and survival.
What struck me first was the voice. She’s crude, hilarious, sometimes cruel, but always human in a way that feels oddly relatable. I found myself laughing one moment and wincing the next. Author Bernie Mojzes writes her like someone you might meet at a bar, the kind of person who overshares and insults you in the same breath, yet you can’t walk away because the stories are just that good. There’s a rhythm to the prose that pulls you along, rough and jagged at times, almost tender at others, and always with the sense that Maris is whispering in your ear, daring you to judge her.
For all its bawdy humor and sly jokes, there’s a heavy weight behind the stories. Maris is haunted. She’s angry, lonely, bitter, and still carrying scars from every betrayal and every battle. The way she faces down horrors, both monstrous and personal, feels raw and almost painful. I didn’t just read about her struggles, I felt them. And yet, the book never wallows. It snaps back with snark, with sex, with bees buzzing through the chaos. That mix of tragedy and comedy made it unpredictable and addictive.
By the time I finished, I knew this was the sort of book I’d want to recommend to readers who crave fantasy that doesn’t play nice. If you like your adventures messy, your heroes deeply flawed, and your magic tangled up with lust and rage, this is for you. Mistress of Bees is loud, brash, sometimes shocking, and often moving in ways you won’t expect. I’d recommend it to fans of dark fantasy, lovers of irreverent narrators, and anyone who wants a story that feels alive, buzzing, and just a little dangerous.
Pages: 416 | ASIN : B0FJGBBR4S
Stillness and Reflection
Shifting Sands follows the survivors of Sol Thalen in the aftermath of its fall as they try to rebuild their culture and society when everything has literally been destroyed. How did you approach writing about this destruction and your characters’ response to it?
For me, destruction is never just about the physical loss of a city—it’s about what happens to identity, purpose, and relationships in the aftermath. When Sol Thalen fell, it wasn’t just the loss of a home; it was the unraveling of legacy, belief, and the illusion of safety. I approached the writing with a deep sense of grief—both personal and communal. I asked myself, What do people hold onto when everything collapses? The characters’ responses came from that place of questioning. Just as some characters choose hope—clinging to survival and the chance to rebuild and dream of a future—others give up hope for themselves, often believing that their own death or disappearance might still serve a purpose. There’s this tragic tendency to justify surrender as a kind of sacrifice: If I fall, maybe someone else can rise. That contrast—between hoping for self and hoping for others—is the heart of the emotional conflict I wanted readers to feel. It’s rarely clean or heroic. It’s messy, human, and deeply personal. And it’s in those moments, I think, that the soul of a story reveals itself.
It seems you took your time in developing the characters and the story, creating a great emotional impact while the survivors process what is left of their world and civilization. How did you manage the pacing of the story while keeping readers engaged?
Thank you—that means a lot. Pacing is something I pay obsessive attention to. I wanted the emotional beats to land, but I also didn’t want the story to feel like it was dragging its feet. What I aimed for was a rhythm: moments of stillness and reflection followed by bursts of urgency. It’s like breathing. When the characters pause to mourn or reflect, the reader breathes with them. But when danger returns—and it always does—they’re pulled right back into the action. I layered multiple storylines so that even when one character is reeling, another might be scheming or moving forward. That way, readers never feel stuck. There’s always a heartbeat somewhere.
I also use an outline, and I’m meticulous about following it. That’s where I catch when there’s too much breathing space, when a chapter feels like it’s meandering, or when a sequence clearly needs to be tightened with rising tension or sharper stakes. The outline becomes a map of emotional flow and momentum, helping me keep that delicate balance. I layered multiple storylines so that even when one character is reeling, another might be scheming or moving forward. That way, readers never feel stuck. There’s always a heartbeat somewhere.
Are you a fan of the fantasy and adventure genres? What books do you think most influenced your work?
Absolutely, I’m a lifelong fan. Fantasy gave me the language to talk about things I didn’t always have words for—identity, grief, power, longing. I grew up reading Tolkien and C.S. Lewis like many others, but it was later on that I was deeply moved by authors like Brandon Sanderson, Cassandra Clare, J.K. Rowling, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Each of them, in their own way, showed me that fantasy could be epic and intimate. That worldbuilding could serve emotional truth. Their works taught me that it’s not just about dragons or swords or kingdoms—it’s about the people who bleed and hope in between. I try to carry that into every page I write.
I hope the series continues in other books. If so, where will the story take readers?
Thank you—and yes, it absolutely does continue. Shifting Sands is the fourth installment of a five-book saga, and the next book is the finale, where everything comes to a head. The choices made in Shifting Sands ripple outward, and readers will be taken to corners of the world that have only been hinted at until now. The political game gets even deadlier. Old wounds resurface. And the more fantastical elements take center stage in ways that force the characters to question not just their loyalties, but their very sense of identity.
If Shifting Sands was about surviving the collapse, Ancient Paths is about reckoning—learning who you really are when certain truths come to light, and deciding what kind of legacy you want to leave behind. Some legacies, after all, might be too broken to rebuild. And some people may discover they were never meant to serve themselves, but something far greater.
Readers have often told me they don’t know how the stakes could possibly get any higher—and to that, I say: I’m excited for them. Many have also noticed how I tend to plant seeds in earlier books that only bear fruit later on. Well, this fifth and final book is where all those seeds bloom. Every thread comes together. Every secret is revealed. This is the climax of everything.
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THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA IS ALWAYS PAID IN GRAVES. And with the Sunken City subdued and Sol Thalen fallen, this truth has become undeniable. The Cycle of the Capitals has ended, leaving a world fractured by distance and silence. As Chris joins a people in exodus, he finds no victory left untainted—every gain paid for in blood, every cost sharpening like a blade. Joined by the new Chronicler, he journeys in a final attempt to save a scattered remnant from extinction—and soon realizes he must confront the creature within him… and accept that surviving the monsters around them may require becoming one himself.
Elline faces a different reckoning. With the Capitals isolated and every line of communication severed, mistrust coils behind every stone of Djarin Tor—ready to ignite a coup that would ensure their defeat in the widening war. To stop this collapse, she must embrace the birthright she has long avoided—even if it means defying the Magister. Meanwhile, Havet’s designs tighten with a precision that suggests his victory has already begun, and his cruelty shows no end. As an era dies in silence, the fate of the next will be written not by those who hope to endure it, but by those who dare to shape it from the ruins left behind.
A fast-growing favorite among epic-fantasy readers, this saga delivers cinematic battles, devastating stakes, and slow-burning bonds caught in the crossfire of a war that threatens to consume entire eras—set in a world where monsters rise and no victory comes without a price.
Unsolved Mystery
Hypocrisy drops readers right into a wild mix of government secrets, alien power plays, and strange visions that blur the line between what is real and what is imagined. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I have been intrigued by the UAP disclosure activity in Congress and the ongoing mystery and debunking of the entire UFO phenomenon. I felt that would be a terrific background to create conflict and have different points of view to set the story against, since it still remains an unsolved mystery.
When you first sat down to write this story, did you know where you were going, or did the twists come as you were writing?
The characters came first, and I wanted them to be distinct and different, and from that came the outline of the story.
How did you balance the action scenes with the story elements and still keep a fast pace in the story?
I think it was Dean Koontz who said, “Put a character in a terrible situation and keep making it worse,” and that helped serve as a guideline for how things go wrong to maintain the tension and active plot.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
This will be the start of a series. I intentionally set it up so that the characters could have an ongoing life full of adventure, chaos, and immense conflict. With a little bit of humor and self-reflection thrown in on the side.
Author Links: GoodReads | Ghost Town | Instagram | Facebook | IMDB | X (Twitter) | Amazon
In the world’s most remote outpost—Antarctica—a covert excavation unearths something ancient, intelligent, and alive. CIA asset Charisma, her teenage protégée Leticia, and enigmatic xenoanthropologist Alen Innocent are drawn into a web of deception that spans governments, galaxies, and the very fabric of human consciousness. As shadow factions fight for control of the mysterious Veil of Hypocrisy, the boundaries between truth and illusion collapse.
From Milan’s glittering runways to military tunnels buried under polar ice, Hypocrisy blends science fiction, espionage, and moral satire in a gripping tale of identity, power, and survival. As alien technology exposes the lies that bind humanity, Charisma and Alen must decide whether saving the world means revealing its greatest hypocrisy—or becoming part of it.
Science-fiction fans will be drawn to this mind-bending, character-driven thriller where the ultimate battle is not between species, but between truth and self-deception.
