“The Gray Kings” Excerpt: Krutch

Time for another preview of The Gray Kings, the upcoming third volume in the Graylands saga.

Here, we catch up with “notorious outlaw” Krutch Leeroy as he finds himself in a tight spot….


It occurred to Krutch that, in spite of his rotten reputation and worse luck, he’d only seen the inside of a proper dungeon once.

The room was bare, with no windows or furnishing of any kind save the lone table and seat. It wasn’t lit with a brazier or even candles, but with four glowing crystals posted at each corner that gave off a sterile, cold light. At a guess, he assumed this to be an interrogation room, and took comfort in seeing there were no torture devices. As it was, his only real discomfort were the metal cuffs binding his wrists together.

At least it’s warmer in here than outside, he thought as his captors entered.

The first was Jeremiah Escudo, a young man of Mezan descent by the look of his tanned face and dark hair. He wore basic leathers, looking like a ranger of some sort, but was distinguished by the green cloak worn over his coat. Though outwardly poised, his brown eyes were fierce and focused. In his hands, he carried Krutch’s pistol and the two bandolier belts where he kept the shells.

With him was Major Sonya Brayker—an impressive woman of muscle with short brown hair, dark eyes, and a thick scar down the right side of her face. Though without armor, she wore the recognizable red and blue colors of the Sentry Elite, and she strolled into the room with the swagger of someone in command. Under her arm was a thick folder of papers which she placed on the table without taking her eyes off their prisoner.

“Krutch Leeroy,” she said, chewing on something. “The Krutch Leeroy … right here in my base.”

“It would seem so.”

Continue reading

“The Gray Kings” Excerpt: Lily

Finally!
At long last, the finish line is in sight. The third volume in the Graylands saga, THE GRAY KINGS, is coming soon!

As we approach its release, I’ll be posting previews and other updates.
Let’s start with a returning character, the reluctant demon Lily Blackthorn, as she hunts under less-than ideal conditions….


The sign in front read: MAUDE’S STOPOVER.

It stood alone on the side of the road—a simple, one-story structure of brick and wood with an arched roof. Smoke floated from the stone chimney in the center, almost invisible in the storm. Behind it was an open field that had become an ocean of snowy dunes leading to denuded trees. The road before it curved down the hill leading to Abbey, which twinkled through the haze like stars beyond the clouds.

Inside, Maude—a middle-aged and heavyset woman with bushy hair—busied herself ensuring her patrons were warm and comfortable. The way-station wasn’t a tavern, yet it offered food and drinks. It wasn’t a shop, but there were supplies for sale. Not an inn, but spare cots were available for rest. Given how bad the blizzard had gotten, and with Abbey still a mile or so away, her Stopover stood as a welcome shelter from the storm.

The demon sat on the wooden fence outside, like a crow on its perch, and watched the way-station with glowing red eyes. Snow swirled around her in the droning wind, though the occasional gust became a whining howl that made her coat billow like a cloak. A veil of frost formed over her ash-gray hair, and with every breath, a cloud of steam wafted from her mouth. Despite her outwardly human form, the cold didn’t affect the demon. She was in her element.

She was hunting.

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“The Ghost Princess” Now (More) Available

Good news!

My debut novel and first part of the Graylands saga, The Ghost Princess, is now also available at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Smashwords and more! So, if you’re not reliant on Amazon Kindle or simply looking for an alternative, you now have options.

Links to all available stores can be found here:
www.books2read.com/ghostprincess

Expect The Jinxed Pirate to similarly release on these platforms around April 2025. Until then, you can still find it on Amazon here.

Cheers!

Cover for "The Ghost Princess" by M. Walsh depicting a black tower on the edge of a cliff by a dark sea and stormy skies with a red horizon.
Art by Anthony Jensen

Commentary: Krutch Leeroy

Oh, crumbs.

Once, Krutch Leeroy was nobody.

He was born and raised in Elmlocke, a small country in the Western Empire of the Realm, and lived an uneventful life of relative ease. His father, Krutch Sr., was a carpenter by trade and a rugged man who enjoyed the outdoors. His mother, Mari, was a respected teacher, and his older brother, Carson, was a strong and athletic young man, popular among the townsfolk.

Young Krutch, on the other hand, had little to claim to his name. He preferred to keep to himself, favoring the comfort of indoors as opposed to outside. If he did go out, he stayed in town or the nearby city—having no interest in the wilderness. Unlike his father and brother, he was not particularly strong, athletic, or physically active. Although educated thanks to his mother, his wits were not sharp or very quick.

Aside from a talent for drawing, it could be said there was nothing worth noting about the young Krutch Leeroy Jr. He was loved by his family, and no one would say they didn’t like him, but the truth was, Krutch was regarded as an unexceptional and forgettable individual. Continue reading

Commentary: Katrina Lamont

What happens to the ‘chosen ones’ when they aren’t so ‘chosen’ anymore?

Katrina Selene Lamont was born the only child of Brandon and Diana Lamont, the King and Queen of Vigor. The Kingdom of Vigor was once the most beautiful and powerful in all the Realm, acting as a balance of power between the Two Empires and leader of the world. The Lamont Royal Family had ruled in prosperity for centuries—their bloodline said to go back to the Seraphim.

Tragically, shortly after Katrina was born, the throne was usurped by the renegade general, Armand Tyrell. Aligning himself with dark powers, including a legion of orcs, he overthrew the King and Queen and declared himself ruler, enacting a brutal purge of the royal line. Thanks to the efforts of some still loyal to the Lamonts, the infant Katrina was smuggled from the capital city to safety.

His rule secure, Tyrell began a despotic reign that saw the once prosperous kingdom fall into decay and corruption. However, although believed to have been killed in Tyrell’s takeover, a prophecy foretold of the day when the Princess would return to reclaim the throne, destroy the usurper, and avenge her family. She would then restore Vigor to its former glory and lead the kingdom to a new golden age. Continue reading

Literary Titan Book Award & Interview

In addition to a great review, Literary Titan (formerly Hungry Monster) gave The Jinxed Pirate a Gold Award for this month, which is pretty awesome. 

He also offered questions for an interview
(spoilers ahead)

The Jinxed Pirate has a delightful cast of characters from the mercenary to the tragic warrior princess with a splash of other-worldly beings as well. How did you set about creating such a colorful cast of characters?
I enjoy playing with tropes and conventions usually found in genre stories, and I guess most of my characters came about from just asking questions. Not necessarily looking to deconstruct, but seeing what can happen if a story or character zigged where it might normally zag in a more traditional telling.
What happens if a hero, who’s been led to believe she is the Chosen One, ultimately discovers her destiny meant absolutely nothing? What if the proverbial “Hero’s Journey” ended, not with a great triumph or even a bang, but a fizzle? To exist in a world where there really is tangible, objective “pure evil” … for one thing, just how surreal would that be, but also how would people define their morality in the face of it? And in such a world, where demonic creatures just ARE evil, what if one somehow turned out to be a decent, kind-hearted person? We’ve seen plenty of roguish scoundrels who love a good fight … but wouldn’t something have to be severely wrong with such a person to get that much enjoyment from violence?
I also like mixing tropes or concepts from different genres and seeing how they gel or clash. For example, even though he doesn’t actually appear in The Jinxed Pirate, the Enforcer is essentially a slasher-movie villain thrown into a fantasy adventure. I like seeing what can happen when varying genres intermingle.
Once I start thinking about these question, several characters start to take shape, and then it’s a matter of throwing them all together and taking them to their logical—or absurd, or surreal, or horrific—conclusion. Continue reading