Michael C. Bailey's Blog, page 5

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Series Overview

What’s it About?

Derek Strongarm and Felix Lightfoot are a pair of hard-luck adventurers for hire with an unfortunate knack for landing jobs that pay too little and threaten their lives too much. Erika Racewind is a hardened elven warrior who doesn’t like people, except maybe when she’s killing them. Winifred Graceword is a kindhearted elven priestess skilled in the healing arts. David is a young sorcerer on a path to discover who he really is — and whether that person has a last name, because going by just “David” is getting old fast.

Together these companions travel across the land of Asaches looking for adventure and the glory and riches that come with it. Mostly the riches, though, because you can’t buy food and beer with glory.

Who is this Series For?

Sword-and-sorcery fantasy fans looking for something a little lighter than most of the fare currently on the shelves. If you want heavy, dark, serious stories with lots of death, destruction, torture, rape, and political intrigue, go read something else because you won’t find it here.

What you will find is a fast-paced adventure filled with colorful characters, rip-roaring action, humor, and gentle jabs at the classic elements of fantasy fiction.

Which is not to say this series is a comedy or parody. There is still drama aplenty, but as a rule I don’t take things too seriously. You can read these books and not feel like you need a hug and a room full of puppies afterward.

Basically, if you like fare like The Legend of Vox Machina and Dungeons and Dragons – Honor Among Thieves, this is the series for you.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

Not really. The series is a hard PG-13/light R for violence, language, and sexual content. It is suitable for older teens, but not for the YA crowd.

What are the Books in the Series?

Scratching a Lich: Derek and Felix find themselves entangled in an urgent quest to slay a legendary lich before he can trigger a world-ending apocalypse – as insane undead sorcerers are wont to do. Together with Erika Racewind, bodyguard for a mysterious young wizard named David, and Winifred Graceword, they head out to discover lost cities, recover long lost magical artifacts, and slay great evils in order to fulfill curiously specific prophecies – as mismatched, ragtag groups of adventurers are wont to do.

Assassins Brawl: The companions are hired to safeguard a spoiled brat of a princess targeted for death by the assassin Ruined Isys, but as is often the case, there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Now all they have to do is determine who is behind the plot before they get caught in the crossfire.

Blades of Glory: Derek, Felix, and company are up for a job that seems a little too simple for a payday that seems a little too generous – but unfortunately, so are the famed adventurers of fortune known as the Noble Blades. Which of them will be the first to find a stolen ceremonial mask that is absolutely positively completely normal and not at all some lost artifact possessed of dark power?

Sworded Affairs: The company takes a job to dispose of a potentially dangerous magical artifact only to become snowbound in an isolated city besieged by flesh-hungry beasts — and under assault from within by a dark conspiracy.

Elfish Motives: Winifred Graceword is called home under mysterious circumstances, which lead to the company revisiting the lost even city of Wihend. But what do the four clans want with their long-abandoned ancestral home?

Twins and Losses: The company finally returns home to Ambride, only to become immediately embroiled in a scandal threatening to consume the Ambride Academy of Magic.

Draconian Measures: David is charged with a diplomatic mission that could unite Asaches’s fractured magical academies, but first he has to contend with a maniacal warden, political upheaval, and an enormous dragon terrorizing the coastal city of Atebo.

A Wanton Criminal: The companions find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens to tear apart their adopted home of Ambride. Tentatively set for an early 2025 release.

The Final Summons – An Anthology of the New England Speculative Writers: Featuring The Going Rate For Penance, a short story set in the Strongarm & Lightfoot world. Mercenaries Jessica and Samantha Summerland receive an assignment from their least favorite client, and one way or another, this will be their last job.

How Long Will the Series Run?

Unknown, but tentatively ten books.

Are They Available As Audiobooks?

The first four books, narrated by Heather S. Auden, are currently available on Audible.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Scratching a Lich, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

Weekly Update – April 15, 2025

For you folks who’ve been reading my work for any length of time, and pay attention to such things, you might know that I’ve had the same editor for the last decade.

Julie Tremblay started out as a friend from my renaissance faire days, then became a beta reader early on in my indie author career, then moved into the role of editor with the fourth Action Figures novel. She’s edited every novel I’ve put out since then, and I’ve come to rely on her sharp eye and thoughtful feedback.

For reasons I won’t go into — it’s not my place to go into the particulars — she had to take an indefinite sabbatical. Her friend Kim Budnick stepped in to help me get The Great Rock & Roll Time Trip Tour out, and that worked out very well — Kim was top-notch to work with — but when you have such a solid, longtime creative partner, you establish a rapport that’s hard to replicate.

Fortunately, Julie touched base recently to let me know she was itching to get back to work editing, so I’ll be sending her the second Legacies manuscript and the Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal manuscript for her crack dissection and analysis.

It feels good to have the band back together.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies: Edited, awaiting cover art. Set for release in early 2025.

Action Figures – Untitled sequel to Legacies – Third draft completed.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Fourth draft complete.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

MISC.

I am having issues with my newsletter service provider, so if you want to keep tabs on my projects, your best bet is to simply follow this blog and have its posts delivered directly to your inbox.

And The Award Goes To…Action Oscars

First, a little bit of background here…

Not long after I joined Bluesky, I discovered that legendary producer was also there, so I gave her a follow. To my shock and confusion, she started following me back. GALE ANNE HURD WAS FOLLOWING ME. The woman behind Aliens, the Terminator franchise, The Walking Dead and its various spinoffs, to name but a tiny few, was following me. Mind BLOWN.

Now, she didn’t really interact with me much, if at all, until last week when she posted an exciting announcement that the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences would be adding a long-overdue category for stunt design. It’s a subject near and dear to Hurd’s heart as her aunt, , was a stunt double back in the 1930s — always uncredited, because stunt performers didn’t merit on-screen mention at the time, and certainly not (gasp!) a woman stunt performer.

Anyway, I reposted her post with an offhand, mostly joking remark, and, well, this happened:

Needless to say, I fanboyed HARD.

And I also got to seriously thinking about which movies would have won a stunt design Oscar in past years. Some choices were, to me, extremely obvious; others, not so much — including more recent cinema that relies so heavily on CGI that stuntwork is almost unnecessary, but that’s another topic. I threw out a few posts mentioning some of the obvious choices, and then I decided for funsies, I was going to expand on that and do a series of blog posts I’m calling “Action Oscars” (look, I’m writing this at 5:30 AM, I’m not at my most creative).

So we arrive to here and now, and I’m going to start the series with what I personally consider to be the king of stunt films:

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Stunt Coordinator: , Stunt Arranger:

Aside from being one of the best movies of all time, I consider Raiders of the Lost Ark to be the gold standard for classic stuntwork, in part because it covers the spread, so to speak. It has fistfights, gunfights, chases, escapes — a little bit of everything, and they each present a different set of challenges, both to the people planning the action and those executing it.

And Glenn Randall Jr. — a veteran stuntman and stunt coordinator whose career began with Ben-Hur in 1958 and continued on until his retirement in 2000 — rose to the challenge in a big way. The opening temple scene, culminating in Indiana Jones () fleeing from a giant boulder, is one of the most iconic action set pieces in cinema, and it only gets wilder from there, eventually culminating what I’m calling…

The Moneymaker

(I’ll be using that header to denote the sequence that, in my humble opinion, seals the deal on awarding the Action Oscar to a particular film, while also giving a tip of the hat to ace stuntwoman/stunt coordinator , who is an absolute badass.)

The Raiders roller coaster ride hits its biggest peak late in the second act when Indy and Marion () escape the Well of Souls and then have to sneak out of the Nazi work camp, only to learn the Nazis are preparing to move the Ark of the Covenant and have to intercept the truck carrying it.

Glenn Randall Jr. (foreground), preparing for his spotlight moment in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The other guy is director Steven Spielberg, who you might have heard of.

What follows is a breathtaking marathon sequence that hits a harrowing high note when one of Ford’s stunt double, , falls off the front of one truck, goes under it, and then gets dragged behind it. The stunt homages a similar stunt from the film Stagecoach (1939), often considered one of the most dangerous ever performed (I’ll almost certainly revisit that film in a later installation). Leonard in fact attempted a similar stunt in The Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981), but was seriously injured when his leg went under a stagecoach wheel. He was eager to give it another shot in Raiders. The truck was specially built to be higher off the ground to give him more clearance, on top of digging a shallow trench in the road. You can see the result starting at 5:20 in this clip.

Naturally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge the action sequence that didn’t happen, Indy’s planned fight with the “Cairo Swordsman” (the late ). The sequence was supposed to be a full-on whip vs. scimitar fight, for which Richards had rehearsed extensively, but Ford was deathly ill the day they were supposed to film it. Ford and Spielberg brainstormed a workaround and ended up with an iconic moment in a film filled with iconic moments.

Other nominees: Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior, Escape From New York, For Your Eyes Only.

There you have it, our first “Action Oscar” winner from the past! If you think one of the other nominees for 1981 got robbed, or I overlooked a film from that year deserving of consideration, leave a comment (but please keep it respectful).

Action Figures – A Series Overview

What’s it About?

The series focuses on Carrie Hauser, a 15-year-old girl who one summer experiences two life-changing events: her parents announce they’re getting divorced, and she gains superhuman abilities after encountering a dying extraterrestrial after he falls to Earth.

Her adventure begins after Carrie and her mother Christina move back to Christina’s childhood home town of Kingsport, Massachusetts, and Carrie meets four teens with powers of their own: superhero fanboy Matt Steiger, who owns a pair of magic gloves that can produce any object he can envision out of thin air, like a living cartoon character; Sara Danvers, a telepath and telekinetic who is afraid of her own abilities; the easygoing Stuart Lumley, who possesses superhuman strength; and Missy Hamill, an adorable motormouth with enhanced strength and reflexes.

The teens form a superhero team almost on a whim, but soon find themselves fighting for their lives against very real super-villains – much to the dismay of Kingsport’s hometown hero Concorde, leader of the super-team The Protectorate.

Who is this Series For?

Fans of superhero comics, TV shows, and movies in general, but particularly of titles featuring teen heroes such as Young Justice, Teen Titans, Young Avengers, and Champions.

The tone is generally lighter than a lot of YA books out there now. While there is drama and conflict, and some later stories deal with darker issues, I try to keep the series fun, upbeat, and optimistic.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

Action Figures is a PG-13 series that contains mild to moderate profanity, non-graphic violence, some mature themes, and later on in the series mild sexual content.

An added word about the violent content: while the violence is not graphic, the consequences are not downplayed. This isn’t sanitized Hollywood violence. People get hurt just as they would in real life and do not easily shrug off injuries, and in some cases the characters have to deal with the emotional trauma of their experiences.

What are the Books in the Series?

Action Figures – Issue One: Secret Origins – Carrie and her new friends in the Hero Squad (yes, they know their team name is awful) find themselves caught in the crossfire as the deadly mercenary Manticore comes to Kingsport, on the hunt for the rogue artificial intelligence known as Archimedes. Soon to be available through Audible!

Action Figures – Issue Two: Black Magic Women – The sorceress Black Betty threatens to raise hell – maybe literally – as she pursues her vendetta against the Protectorate’s resident paranormal expert Dr. Enigma.

Action Figures – Issue Three: Pasts Imperfect – Missy’s life is turned upside-down when she learns the truth about the source of her powers, and her connection to the bloodthirsty killer Buzzkill Joy.

Action Figures – Issue Four: Cruel Summer – Sara finds herself in the crosshairs of the mysterious hero killer the King of Pain, but to save herself, she might have to sacrifice everything she holds dear.

Action Figures – Issue Five: Team-Ups – The Hero Squad, still reeling from their devastating encounter with the King of Pain, get a little help picking up the pieces from their friends in the Protectorate and the Quantum Quintet.

Action Figures – Issue Six: Power Play – The Squad finds itself outnumbered and under-powered after one of their members goes missing – and at the worst possible time as foes from their past reappear, more dangerous than ever and ready to exact revenge.

Action Figures – Issue Seven: The Black End War – On Earth, Carrie Hauser is a hero, but on the far side of the galaxy, she’s just another soldier on the front lines of an interplanetary war against the terrorists in the Black End.

Action Figures – Issue Eight: Crawling from the Wreckage – Carrie returns to Earth to reclaim her life, but life has moved on without her. Does she have a place with her team, her friends, or her family anymore?

Action Figures – Issue Nine: Hell Hath No Fury – Black Betty is back, and ready to unleash Hell — literally, but can the Hero Squad trust Dr. Enigma to have their backs? Or does she have her own dark agenda?

Action Figures – Issue Ten: Unintended Consequences – The Hero Squad learns that hard way that no good deed goes unpunished and the sins of their past have not been forgotten.

Action Figures – Issue Eleven: Zero Day – It’s the final showdown between the Hero Squad and ShadoWorks, in this, the epic conclusion to the Action Figures core series.

Action Figures: Legacies – In the wake of Zero Day, Aja Pershing, daughter of the murderous Manticore, finds herself on a collision course with the latest young woman to adopt the mantle of the vigilante known as the Silhouette. The first sequel to the core Action Figures series. Tentatively set for 2025 release.

The Action Figures Omnibus – Volume One: Stepping Up – Collects the first three books in the series (Secret Origins, Black Magic Women, Pasts Imperfect) and features a new foreward by Patrick Hodges and a new introduction by the author.

Beneath the Mask: A Superhero Romance Anthology – Features the superhero noir tale Like a Knife in the Heart featuring the Sapphire Silhouette. Set in the Action Figures universe. Currently out of print.

How Long Will the Series Run?

The core series has finished its run, ending with issue eleven. Two spinoff titles are currently in the early planning stages, with the first of those books, Legacies, set for a 2024 release.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Secret Origins, short stories set in the Action Figures world, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

Station Identification Time

FYI, I’m posting this today in place of the normal weekly post because A: nothing really happened this week, and B: I forgot to post in on Thursday. D’oh.

Who Am I?

I’m a writer originally from Falmouth, MA who now lives in Oxford, MA with my awesome wife Veronica, two dogs, and three cats who don’t like to let me sleep in.

After 15 years with the Falmouth Enterprise, where I worked as a general and political reporter, blogger, and editor, I left the news industry to focus on my creative writing.

In addition to my novels (more on that in a minute) I’m a freelance writer, and I’ve produced scripts for Pastimes Entertainment of Revere, MA and the Connecticut Renaissance Faire.

When I’m not writing, I’m busy as a stage combat director and choreographer in the central Massachusetts area, and I teach stage combat at the Hanover Theatre & Conservatory for the Performing Arts.

What Do I Write?

Action Figures is a YA superhero adventure series featuring a team of young superhumans who set out to make a name for themselves in the superhero world and quickly find themselves in over their heads. Fun, full of humor and action, populated with likable characters (including some of the villains), and suitable for teen readers and adults who still love superheroes. Oh, and no love triangles. Ever. The first book, Secret Origins, and the last book in the core series, Zero Day, both reached the #1 spot on two Amazon best-seller lists, Hell Hath No Fury, reached #1 on one Amazon best-seller list.

The sequel series, Legacies, is set to begin in 2025.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot is my response to all the overly serious fantasy novels out there that have forgotten how to have fun. The series follows two hard-luck adventurers for hire with a knack for biting off more than they can chew and their friends as they explore ancient ruins, fight deadly monsters, go on epic prophecy-driven quests for artifacts of great power hidden in highly inconvenient locations, and cross a lot of rickety rope bridges along the way. The first book, Scratching a Lich, received a gold medal for fantasy fiction from BellaOnline, a resource for women in writing, which also recognizes feminist writers and their work. The first five books are available in audiobook format.

Beneath the Mask is an anthology of superhero romance stories. The collection, scheduled for a February 14, 2021 release, features ten stories, including my story Like a Knife in the Heart, starring a new character, the Sapphire Silhouette. Currently out of print.

Cheap Thrills Digest is a short story collection featuring introductions to my two series, plus an original novelette-length horror story, Lost Souls, which is exclusive to CTD. If you’re curious about my writing, you can grab this for just $7 in print or 99 cents in e-book format.

The Final Summons is the first anthology from the New England Speculative Writers. The collection features 14 fantasy, horror, and science fiction stories by NESW members, including my story The Going Rate for Penance, which is set in the world of Strongarm & Lightfoot.

Freedom Winds is a mini-comic I wrote for Underdog Comics, and you can read it for free at any time here, here, or here.

Copyright 2018 Tessa Beatrice/Underdog Comics

The Great Rock & Roll Time Trip Tour is a modern fantasy novella that explores one woman’s post-pandemic life — or lack thereof. Tina Tharpe, a classic rock radio DJ, discovers she can travel through time to witness the great rock concerts of the 20th Century. Getting to relive rock history is great — until her present begins to change in unexpected ways.

Art by Patricia Lupien.

Well-Behaved Women is an urban fantasy trilogy for feminist audiences. After returning to work following a near-fatal shooting, Sergeant Rose Booker encounters a woman claiming to be the reincarnation of Julie d’Aubigny, the infamous 17th Century French swordswoman. Things only get stranger from there as Rose and Julie cross paths with a crime boss with a knack for exacting bloody revenge on his enemies. This is more serious and mature than my other projects — not recommended for young readers. Book one, Awakening, is now available. Book two, Transition, was released in April 2019, and book three, Endtimes, was released August 2019. The entire trilogy is available in audiobook format.

Meet the Innsmouth Look Publishing Team

Heather Auden is a professional actor and audiobook narrator. She narrates The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot series and did the second and third books of the Well-Behaved Women trilogy. You can find her other audiobook work on Audible.

Bethany Boles is a professional actor, a former PA for the Jim Henson Company, and is active in the children’s television production industry in California. She narrates the Action Figures series.

Kim Budnick joined the team in 2024 to edit The Great Rock & Roll Time Trip Tour.

Darci Cole is an author and narrator, who narrated the first book in the Well-Behaved Women trilogy. You can find her other audiobook work on Audible, and buy her debut novel, Target, on Amazon.

Patricia Lupien is a graphic artists and designer who is responsible for the covers that grace all books produced by Innsmouth Look Publishing. Visit the Art Store page to buy her art on a variety of products.

Julie Tremblay began as a beta reader for Innsmouth Look Publishing before taking over as regular editor on all the company’s novels.

What Will I See Here?

I post weekly updates that include progress reports on various projects, cover art reveals, new release announcements, a schedule of appearances and book-signings, the occasion essay on writing, and whatever random bits and pieces capture my attention.

Where Can You Find Me Online?

Official website

Weekly newsletter

Amazon author page

Facebook

Bluesky

BookBub

Instagram

Goodreads

Tumblr

LinkedIn

The Story Graph

Weekly Update – April 1, 2025

Happy April Fools Day to those who celebrate…for whatever reason.

Like many people, I’ve come to find April Fools Day more of a pain in the ass than a source of amusement, mostly because people, as a rule, simply aren’t funny — and they prove that on this day with practical jokes that are often thoughtless and mean-spirited. John Scalzi has a saying: “The failure mode of clever is asshole,” and man if that isn’t gospel truth.

Many, many years ago, a then-girlfriend called me at work, sounding distraught, and told me she’d been in a car crash — with my car, which she was borrowing at the time. I freaked out, so much so that she immediately pulled the plug on the “joke” and told me she was kidding; the car was fine, and more importantly, she was fine. Everything was fine.

Except for me. I was PISSED.

That’s why most April Fools Pranks fail: they toy with people’s emotions and send them spiraling. I know a LOT of friends who had a partner announce with completely seriousness that they wanted to break up. I know several guys who got the, “I’m pregnant!” bombshell — and not all of them were relieved to find out that wasn’t true.

So, yeah, April Fools Day doesn’t bring out the comedic best in people as far as I’m concerned; it’s an excuse for dickish behavior masquerading as humor.

So that’s why I’m not going to screw with anyone with a fake announcement that I’m retiring from writing and none of my current projects will see completion. I’m not, and they will. Promise.

Anyway, what I hope you take away from this little diatribe is: don’t participate in April Fools Day, and don’t believe anything anyone says today, because chances are it’s bullshit. Stay sharp and stay safe.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies: Edited, awaiting cover art. Set for release in early 2025.

Action Figures – Untitled sequel to Legacies – Third draft completed.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Fourth draft complete.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

MISC.

I am having issues with my newsletter service provider, so if you want to keep tabs on my projects, your best bet is to simply follow this blog and have its posts delivered directly to your inbox.

Well-Behaved Women – A Series Overview

What’s it About?

Rose Booker remembers how she died. Both times.

Rose’s pursuit of the truth behind those memories leads her to discover that she was in a past life the legendary pirate queen Mary Read — and that she’s not the only infamous historical figure who has returned from the dead.

Who is this Series For?

Well-Behaved Women is an urban fantasy trilogy featuring a predominantly female cast. I wrote it for everyone looking for an action-packed adventure tale driven by complex heroic (and villainous, and somewhere in-between) LGBTQ women.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

No. The series contains violence, language, and sexual content that make it inappropriate for younger readers.

What are the Books in the Series?

Awakening: Nearly a year after being shot and left for dead, Sergeant Rose Booker returns to active duty with the Worcester Police Department, hoping to put the past behind her — except she’s not sure it’s her past that’s haunting her.

When hard-drinking hellraiser Julie d’Aubigny enters Rose’s life, she promises to reveal the truth behind Rose’s nightmares — or are they memories? — of her death at the end of a hangman’s noose.

But first Rose must stop the mysterious madman waging a bloody campaign of vengeance that threatens to turn the city’s streets red. All she has to do is uncover his identity — and his own dark secret.

Transition: The adventure continues as Rose and her friends deal with the aftermath of the events in Awakening and face off against a new, deadlier enemy hellbent on revenge.

Endtimes: Rose, Anna, and Julie face the fight of their lives in the conclusion of the Well-Behaved Women trilogy.

All three titles are available to read for free through Kindle Unlimited, and are available as audiobooks on Audible, narrated by Darci Cole (Target) and Heather Auden.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Awakening, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

Weekly Update – March 25, 2025

Alas, vacation is over. I had a couple of decent writing days — I’m chipping away at the ninth Strongarm & Lightfoot book — but mostly last week was about relaxing and spending quality time with my wife and our fuzzies. My stage combat classes are winding down for the season, so I’ll be getting back a lot of my Saturdays, which means more time to get the current project wrapped up — probably not until the back half of the year, and hey, I’ve got three other books in the pipeline for cover art, so things will be happening in 2025.

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies: Edited, awaiting cover art. Set for release in early 2025.

Action Figures – Untitled sequel to Legacies – Third draft completed.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Fourth draft complete.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

MISC.

I am having issues with my newsletter service provider, so if you want to keep tabs on my projects, your best bet is to simply follow this blog and have its posts delivered directly to your inbox.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Series Overview

What’s it About?

Derek Strongarm and Felix Lightfoot are a pair of hard-luck adventurers for hire with an unfortunate knack for landing jobs that pay too little and threaten their lives too much. Erika Racewind is a hardened elven warrior who doesn’t like people, except maybe when she’s killing them. Winifred Graceword is a kindhearted elven priestess skilled in the healing arts. David is a young sorcerer on a path to discover who he really is — and whether that person has a last name, because going by just “David” is getting old fast.

Together these companions travel across the land of Asaches looking for adventure and the glory and riches that come with it. Mostly the riches, though, because you can’t buy food and beer with glory.

Who is this Series For?

Sword-and-sorcery fantasy fans looking for something a little lighter than most of the fare currently on the shelves. If you want heavy, dark, serious stories with lots of death, destruction, torture, rape, and political intrigue, go read something else because you won’t find it here.

What you will find is a fast-paced adventure filled with colorful characters, rip-roaring action, humor, and gentle jabs at the classic elements of fantasy fiction.

Which is not to say this series is a comedy or parody. There is still drama aplenty, but as a rule I don’t take things too seriously. You can read these books and not feel like you need a hug and a room full of puppies afterward.

Basically, if you like fare like The Legend of Vox Machina and Dungeons and Dragons – Honor Among Thieves, this is the series for you.

Is it Suitable for Young Readers?

Not really. The series is a hard PG-13/light R for violence, language, and sexual content. It is suitable for older teens, but not for the YA crowd.

What are the Books in the Series?

Scratching a Lich: Derek and Felix find themselves entangled in an urgent quest to slay a legendary lich before he can trigger a world-ending apocalypse – as insane undead sorcerers are wont to do. Together with Erika Racewind, bodyguard for a mysterious young wizard named David, and Winifred Graceword, they head out to discover lost cities, recover long lost magical artifacts, and slay great evils in order to fulfill curiously specific prophecies – as mismatched, ragtag groups of adventurers are wont to do.

Assassins Brawl: The companions are hired to safeguard a spoiled brat of a princess targeted for death by the assassin Ruined Isys, but as is often the case, there’s more going on here than meets the eye. Now all they have to do is determine who is behind the plot before they get caught in the crossfire.

Blades of Glory: Derek, Felix, and company are up for a job that seems a little too simple for a payday that seems a little too generous – but unfortunately, so are the famed adventurers of fortune known as the Noble Blades. Which of them will be the first to find a stolen ceremonial mask that is absolutely positively completely normal and not at all some lost artifact possessed of dark power?

Sworded Affairs: The company takes a job to dispose of a potentially dangerous magical artifact only to become snowbound in an isolated city besieged by flesh-hungry beasts — and under assault from within by a dark conspiracy.

Elfish Motives: Winifred Graceword is called home under mysterious circumstances, which lead to the company revisiting the lost even city of Wihend. But what do the four clans want with their long-abandoned ancestral home?

Twins and Losses: The company finally returns home to Ambride, only to become immediately embroiled in a scandal threatening to consume the Ambride Academy of Magic.

Draconian Measures: David is charged with a diplomatic mission that could unite Asaches’s fractured magical academies, but first he has to contend with a maniacal warden, political upheaval, and an enormous dragon terrorizing the coastal city of Atebo.

A Wanton Criminal: The companions find themselves in the middle of a power struggle that threatens to tear apart their adopted home of Ambride. Tentatively set for an early 2025 release.

The Final Summons – An Anthology of the New England Speculative Writers: Featuring The Going Rate For Penance, a short story set in the Strongarm & Lightfoot world. Mercenaries Jessica and Samantha Summerland receive an assignment from their least favorite client, and one way or another, this will be their last job.

How Long Will the Series Run?

Unknown, but tentatively ten books.

Are They Available As Audiobooks?

The first four books, narrated by Heather S. Auden, are currently available on Audible.

Where Can I Learn More?

Read can read sample chapters from Scratching a Lich, buy signed copies, connect with me through social media, and get regular updates at my website: innsmouthlook.com

Weekly Update – March 18, 2025

Another slow-ish week this week. I’m on vacation from the day job, so I’m alternating between days of doing stuff that needs to be done and relaxing and home with Veronica. I’d rather have more of the latter than the former, but life happens, you know?

WRITING PROJECTS

Action Figures – Legacies: Edited, awaiting cover art. Set for release in early 2025.

Action Figures – Untitled sequel to Legacies – Third draft completed.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – A Wanton Criminal: Fourth draft complete.

The Adventures of Strongarm & Lightfoot – untitled book nine: First draft underway.

APPEARANCES & EVENTS

Nothing currently scheduled.

MISC.

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