Death to the Iron King!

Once upon a time, there were two callow college students, who each had dreams of writing books. Fate saw fit to put these two in a room together, one's bass guitar amplifier cheek by jowl with the other's collection of Al'Quadim roleplaying books and Clan of Xymox records.

The years passed, and though these two adventurers in the realm of writing found themselves separated for a few years, the tides of time chose to once more put them in close proximity. Thus, it was chosen by the skeins of fate that they would end up working closely with one another.

Putting aside the fairy tale linguistics, Paul Genesse and I have have been writer friends and alpha readers for a lot of years. In that time, Paul has shown himself to be about as dedicated to the craft as anyone can possibly be. He's taught me so much about what it takes to succeed in a business that can be cruel and difficult. I like to think I may have helped him out here and there, too.

This week, the fruition of a project that has borne the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune at last hits the shelves, both actual and digital. I'm honored that I was able to be a part of it, along with our august and talented friend Brad Beaulieu. Let me explain further:

Paul began publishing the Iron Dragon Series with a small publishing house. He released The Golden Cord, and followed it with The Dragon Hunters. Both books were very successful, The Golden Cord being the best-selling fantasy book for the house. Sadly, the exigencies of a shrinking publishing market and a weak economy caused the publisher to cut their whole fantasy line.

Paul's series, of which two out of five had been released, was orphaned. Misery and woe. Paul picked himself up, dusted himself off, and started pounding the pavement, looking for a new publisher. The thing is, no one wants to pick up an orphaned series.

There was a time when it appeared the fans of the Iron Dragon series would never know what happened to Drake and company, or if the evil plans of the Iron Dragon would come to fruition, allowing him to dominate A'leron forever.

But there was hope, even in the darkest of hours. Authors, now more than ever, are in control of their own destiny. They can seek other publishing models and still get their work out to their fans. By using electronic publishing and the CreateSpace model, Paul's books are once more seeing the light of day.

So, after all of that, I want to encourage, if not enjoin you to follow the links below and experience the heroic action of the Iron Dragon Series. Having helped edit all of these books, I can say that they are fast-paced, hard hitting stories with all the wonder, heart, and grit that fantasy fans desire. The newest, and just-released, is part three of the series, The Secret Empire. I really think that this one is Paul's best yet, rife with furious action, staggering betrayals, and the highest stakes possible, leading up to a finale that will knock your socks off.

To explore The Secret Empire, follow the links below:

The Secret Empire Ebook

The Secret Empire Print Version

The Secret Empire Createspace page (Paul gets a better cut of the profits on this one)

The whole series on Amazon