I have written seven complete novels, two of which are submission-worthy in their current state. Each taught me something differerent about craft. From newest to oldest, they are:
Joe Grimdark VS. the HOA
Joe Grimdark is your run-of-the-mill dark lord, just embarking on a promising career in villainy. Likeable if slightly unhinged, he spends his days building a stronghold, dealing with interfering heroes, and establishing his dominion over a once-peaceful valley. Little does he suspect that a far more despotic and powerful force has already laid claim to his valley: a Homeowners’ Association. And they’re out for blood.
Similar titles:
Discworld, Terry Pratchett
Starter Villain, John Scalzi
Adult comedic fantasy, 65k words, first draft completed. This book will need some rewrites before it’s submission ready.
Tallyho, Aristo!
A dimwitted British nobleman keeps accidentally rescuing French aristocrats from beneath the very shadow of the guillotine. Everyone is desperate to figure out the identity of the mysterious folk hero—including him.
Historical steampunk comedy, 65k words, two drafts completed. Rewrites needed.
Similar titles:
The Scarlet Pimpernel meets P.G. Wodehouse
Trolled
A troll dreams of becoming a sous-chef, but after a culinary disaster, the only way he can stop an interdimensional war between humans and faeries is to go questing for the ingredients to a magical pie.
Adult comedic fantasy, 99k words, ready for submission
This book is what you might get if Terry Pratchett ran amuck in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen. It stands alone, but is set in the same world as my short story “How to Steal the Plot Armor,” which won second place in the Writers of the Future contest.
Similar titles:
Tone: Discworld, Terry Pratchett
Setting: Kill the Farm Boy, Delilah S. Dawson and Kevin Hearne
Premise: A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking, T. Kingfisher
The Blasted Ones
Lives and ambitions tangle in the desert city of Terakesh, where sandstorms leave corpses in the streets and steal children from their families. A foreigner comes to the city hunting the secrets of her magic. A father searches for his missing son. An unlikely prophet leads his tribe across the desert toward the home of their ancestors.
Similar titles
Setting: With Blood Upon the Sand, Bradley P. Beauleiu
Narrative voice: The Killing Moon, N.K. Jemisin
Structure: the fast-paced, intertwined storylines of Joe Abercrombie
Adult fantasy, 160k words
This book has been submitted to multiple agents. I wrote half of a sequel before changing my emphasis from epic fantasy to comedy.
Song of the Searching
A young boy travels across a magical world, searching for his sister. His story is told from the perspectives of everyone he meets along the way.
Middle grade fantasy, 88k words
Only completed in a first draft. I intend to rewrite this manuscript someday. An excerpt from it won first place in a student writing competition.
Days to Destruction
Stone idols come to life, igniting old hatreds and threatening to tear a civilization apart. A young idealist fights to protect the city he loves amidst spiralling religious conflict.
New adult fantasy, 72k words
Five drafts completed. This book received an Editor’s Choice Award at a writers conference, and came close to publication, but I ultimately decided that the quality doesn’t currently meet my standards.
Destiny’s Mistake
A child is born with multiple destinies. To accommodate this, his soul is split between three bodies. He must fulfill his destinies and meet the other versions of himself during a perilous quest.
Generic fantasy, unknown wordcount–250k?
I started this book in fifth grade and finished a second draft in tenth. Everyone writes a cliche Chosen One fantasy before they know what they’re doing. This was mine.
Luke Wildman 