Blog Archives
How Magic Operates
Azazel’s Scriptures follows a trio of friends who find themselves entangled in a mystery surrounding dark folklore and demonic beings. Where did the idea for this novel come from?
I read a lot of historical fiction and love history in general, especially English history. When my eldest son, who is a huge fantasy fan, asked me to read one of his favorite books (The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss), I did. And I like it. A lot. I decided to combine the magical elements that initially drew me into this fantasy with my interest in historical fiction to create a unique blend of “realistic fantasy.” The concept for the plot developed gradually. I first imagined three friends sitting around a table, with candles flickering, wine poured, and a fire crackling beside them. Then I named these friends, and with each name, their distinct personalities began to emerge, and with that, their story.
How did you handle balancing the power and use of magic in the story?
I aimed to develop a logical framework for how magic operates, linking it to folklore and history. The enigmatic and wise Druids appeared to be the perfect choice for battling the evil Daegons, who are the foot soldiers of Azazel, a demon from the Bible.
What were some books or movies that you think were your main sources of inspiration for this novel?
I appreciated the medieval vibe from Game of Thrones and aimed to create something similar, but set in the English Tudor period.
What is the next book you are working on, and when can we expect it to be available?
I’m working on a novel set in the 1970s. A young girl who is bullied discovers her ability to enter people’s dreams, using this power to navigate her difficult life.
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In 16th-century England, Newt, a reluctant monk, discovers that a demonic book with a chilling history—Azazel’s Scriptures—has been hidden in his monastery for centuries. Intrigued and terrified, he shares the story with his friends Simon and Hugh. When Hugh decides to publish a version of this incredible tale, it triggers a series of events that lead to the resurfacing of the Daegons—a group of immortal beings who harvest innocent souls to fuel the dark ambition of the demon Azazel. This also draws the attention of a knowledgeable professor and three powerful Druid sisters—Ravenel, Sibyl, and Elswyth—whose ancestors once battled the Daegons and knew their dark ways. After Thomas Bromwell, the Daegon leader, persuades the unsuspecting King Henry to break with the Catholic Church and close the monasteries to search for the scriptures, his men recover the book and resume turning and reaping souls. Now, the three friends, along with the professor and Druid sisters, must unite in a race against time to find the scriptures and stop the Daegons from destroying humanity
Beauty and Toughness
Splenditude follows a literary-minded woman coping with mental illness and looking for love and a fulfilling life in 1990s Chicago. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
Beginning the novel at an Irish wedding highlights Deirdre Collins’ ethnic and religious roots. Chicago is introduced in its beauty and toughness, foreshadowing that Deirdre’s expectations of a traditional trajectory for her life will be upended.
Did you plan the tone and direction of the novel before writing, or did it come out organically as you were writing?
I outlined the novel before I started to write it, using a Save the Cat format as a general guideline. Some plot changes were made during the writing, but I am more of a planner than a pantser.
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 Deirdre Collins, the protagonist, to change from an unreliable narrator to a reliable narrator as she moved toward the positive. I also wanted to show Max Fletcher’s humanity in spite of his troubles and missteps.
Can we look forward to more work from you soon? What are you currently working on?
I am working on a short story collection which will be published by High Frequency Press next year, and a novel about children and gun violence slated for 2027.
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The Most Magical of Worlds
The Floating Lake of Dressa Moore follows two university professors who embark on a scientific expedition to a mysterious floating lake where they encounter pirates, cursed crew members, ancient magical sources, and an empire that doesn’t like being questioned. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I always loved the idea of science and magic blending together in a logical way. Jonathan’s drive to understand magic at the most basic level is fascinating to me. I always felt that science would have a place in the most magical of worlds.
I find the world you created in this novel brimming with possibilities. Where did the inspiration for the setting come from, and how did it change as you were writing?
I wanted to write a magical fantasy novel, but have it border on the absurd, but still make some logical sense. What better way to start than a lake floating above the world? As I wrote the novel, I had to remind myself to ground every detail, no matter how nonsensical, in some way that made that detail believable.
In fantasy novels, it’s easy to get carried away with the magical powers characters have. How did you balance the use of supernatural powers?
That’s always difficult. Magical beings can do amazing and wonderful things. No one in Dressa Moore really understands magic. They just know how to cast a few spells here and there, and a lot of the time, they don’t cast them correctly. So, even though lots of characters can cast spells, no one is very good at it. Of course, that might change in future books.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
There are a lot of places to go for sure. There’s Marta’s story, and finding her way back home. Jonathan will continue to research magic, and who knows what he may find. William is on the brink of uncovering forgotten truths that could be both fantastic and cataclysmic, and there’s always Commodore Wilkes and the empire. Now that they are in Dressa Moore, I don’t think they are leaving.
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In an effort to unravel the mysteries of magic, and save their dying relationship, Jonathan Braxton and William Watts Worthwaddle have embarked on a journey to investigate the source of sorcery.
Their pursuit leads them to the skybound lands of Dressa Moore where a magical battle between a wizard and dragon sent the lake soaring into the sky. But the professors are soon entangled in a deadly game of global politics—pawns in a struggle between empires, gods, magi, constables, religious zealots, and anti-zealots.
Hunted from all sides, the professors race to conduct their scientific research. But they soon learn that science alone is no match for mysteries of sorcery and their research just might create a magical tsunami that could destroy the world.
The one question they never considered asking—should magic be researched at all?
The Cost of Remembering
The Symbol: Awakening follows a fierce prosecutor dedicated to combating violence against women who, along with her allies, fights to dismantle systemic oppression and bring justice to survivors. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The Symbol: Awakening was born from real-life pain. As a Brazilian attorney, I worked for years supporting women who survived gender-based violence. I carried their stories with me, their silenced voices, their broken systems, and their quiet resilience. Eventually, those truths demanded a fictional home. The futuristic Council is a metaphor for the institutions that failed them. Louise is a mirror: she’s a prosecutor trying to do the right thing in a world that punishes those who dare to speak.
It’s not just a dystopia. It’s a cry for justice.
What were some of the trials that you felt were important to highlight Louise’s development and shape her into the woman she is now?
Louise’s development is rooted in trauma and contradiction. I wanted to show a woman who fights for justice but is also broken by the system she serves.
She loses her mother to domestic violence. She carries a symbol of resistance (the button) since childhood. She trusts the law, then watches it collapse under silence and control. Her most important trials are emotional: learning to trust again, to remember who she is, and to embrace her voice even if it puts her in danger.
Her strength is not in being fearless. It’s in being terrified and still choosing to act.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
There are many layers, but five themes are central:
• Systemic violence against women
• Institutional silence and complicity
• The cost of remembering (trauma)
• The complexity of justice
• Hope as resistance
The book also explores power through language, memory, and surveillance. Who gets to tell the truth? Who gets believed? What happens when silence becomes law?
I wanted to write about pain, but more than that, about transformation through pain.
Where does the story go in the next book, and where do you see it going in the future?
In Book II, Louise will no longer work within the system; she will rise against it. She becomes the public voice of a growing rebellion, but that comes with consequences. Enemies will rise from both sides. The movement she inspired begins to fracture.
The second book is about navigating power without becoming what you fought against.
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Since childhood, Louise has carried a button inherited from her mother, a silent symbol of resistance against tyranny and violence against women. The book follows her journey through pain, discovery, and courage as she investigates crimes, exposes the Council’s lies, and confronts deep human dilemmas. Alongside allies like Emma, Joe, and Sam — the latter a mysterious man torn between his past and a chance for redemption — Louise finds herself at the center of a plot involving conspiracies, assassinations, and the darkest secrets of power.
The Final Shelter
The Final Shelter is a haunting dystopian novel that follows Phoebe, a young scientist and teacher, as she navigates a fractured world where survival is reserved for the wealthy and compassion has become a rarity. Through her eyes, we see a society collapsing under the weight of greed, fear, and inequality. Underground bunkers are built for the privileged while the majority struggle with hunger, violence, and despair. Phoebe, torn between her ideals and the harshness of reality, stumbles upon an invitation to a secret shelter that promises safety, forcing her to confront impossible choices about trust, survival, and who deserves a place in the future.
I felt an immediate connection with Phoebe because her frustrations, her quiet resilience, and her moments of doubt felt raw and relatable. The writing is vivid, with unflinching descriptions of a decaying society. I caught myself pausing to breathe, especially during the riot scenes, because they were written in such a way that I could feel the dread in my chest. The mix of tenderness, like Phoebe talking to plants or comforting a student, and the sheer brutality of the crumbling world gave the book a strange rhythm that pulled me in deeper than I expected.
At times, the dialogue leaned toward being a little more polished than everyday speech, almost like the characters were speaking with extra clarity and purpose. But the ideas within those conversations were sharp and thought-provoking. The story often felt like a mirror reflecting our own society, raising questions about fairness, wealth, and the meaning of kindness. Even in the moments that read more like lessons than story, the impact remained strong, and I couldn’t ignore the weight behind the words. The book made me angry, it made me sad, and it even gave me flickers of hope.
I was left thinking less about the plot twists and more about the questions it forced me to wrestle with. Who do we choose to save when resources are limited? What happens when morality collides with survival? I’d recommend The Final Shelter to readers who love dystopian fiction but crave stories that lean hard into emotional weight rather than just action. If you like books that shake you up and make you reconsider the world around you, this one is worth your time.
Pages: 215 | ASIN : B0FHG57QXP
Enough Is Enough
A Few Casualties So What follows a former hitman turned reluctant problem-solver who is tasked to prevent a gang war by figuring out who murdered two teens from rival crime families. What was your inspiration for Chubby Pone’s character, and how did you craft his outlook on life?
Chubby is a nickname my family gave me. Though I am not fat, my oldest sister gave it to me when I was a baby, and Pone came from a coworker whose maiden name was Pone. I thought of Al Capone, which gave the character a gangster appeal. I based him on myself on some things I have gone through in my life, and also my son, who dealt with ignorance from growing up with alopecia. He was teased a lot, and as he got older, he accepted baldness and is now a college graduate and married. I wanted a character with a light and dark heart when it is needed. You can ignore people who are immature, but there are times when you have to say that enough is enough and fight back.
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 first part of the book, I did, and then the characters started talking to me if that makes any sense. Most writers will tell you that as you get deeper into your story, the characters start to come to life and give you ideas on what to do next.
Is this the first book in the series? If so, when is the next book coming out, and what can your fans expect in the next story?
Yes, and the 2nd book is already out. ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE BIG EASY: Down On The Bayou. The most disgusting and blackest character I ever created. You’ll have to buy and read the book to find out what I mean.
Author Links: GoodReads | X (Twitter) | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Longing, Loss, and Waiting
The Broken Bridge tells the story of two communities united by their faith in the Great Bridge and the intense fear and dread that follows its catastrophic collapse. What was the inspiration that drove the development of the world the characters live in?
The story began with a single image in my mind: a great, living bridge holding two communities together—until it falls. I’ve spent years walking with people through conflict, loss, and reconciliation, and I wanted an allegory that shows both the terror of separation and the costly beauty of restoration. The world of The Broken Bridge is built around that question: when what we’ve trusted collapses, which “bridges” do we run to—and which one can actually bear the weight of our hopes?
I felt this story was very well-written. What’s your experience as a writer?
Thank you. I’ve been writing for over two decades—first Bible studies, devotionals, and discipleship courses through our ministry, and then a number of nonfiction books. Fiction became a natural next step for me because a story reaches the heart in ways instruction alone can’t. The Broken Bridge drew on those years of pastoral ministry and teaching, but it let me weave truth into a narrative that invites readers to feel as well as think.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
Unity and division: how easily communities fracture—and what it truly takes to reunite them.
Counterfeit vs. true solutions: many “fixers” promise quick repair; only one path restores the heart.
Sacrificial love: the kind of love that stands in the gap and pays a cost for others.
Pride and humility: the danger of self-reliance and the freedom that comes from surrender.
Hope through suffering: how longing, loss, and waiting can become the doorway to deeper healing.
What is the next book you are working on, and when will it be available?
Two follow-ups are on the way. The Living Bridge is due out in October 2025—it continues the allegory by exploring how trust is rebuilt and what kind of bridge can truly hold. The trilogy concludes with The Eternal Bridge, scheduled for January 2026, which lifts our eyes to the ultimate reunion and the promise of forever.
Author Links: GoodReads | Amazon
Seven years ago, an earthquake separated Fidel from Verita the day before they were to be married. Now, as they exchange nightly lantern signals—an old watchman’s code Verita learned from her uncle—the churning waters of the Vitae River still separate them, but their light signals speak across the dark divide.
Six builders arrive, each promising to rebuild the bridge. They each represent some aspect of humanity’s attempt to heal what’s broken—through law obedience, knowledge, religion, servitude, charisma, and self-transformation.
When the seventh builder arrives—an ordinary carpenter with extraordinary compassion—everything begins to change. Geshriel speaks of a different kind of restoration, one marked by humility, love, and a mysterious costly sacrifice.
As darkness closes in, will Fidel dare to trust a path that seems weaker than all the others—but somehow feels truer? After seven long years of lantern signals across the raging river, will Fidel and Verita finally be reunited?
This is a story of ache and heartbreak, of longing, of desperate attempts to be reconnected. It speaks of love and loss, of yearning to be reunited.
A story of separation and reunion, sacrifice and redemption—and the bridge that love builds when all else fails.
LITERARY TITAN 