I don’t have much to say.
Progress on The Gray Kings is moving as ever, but painfully slow. I’m still working on the second draft and getting what writing I can done in my free time—which isn’t much.
The price of a 40+ hour work week.
It sucks.
But I thought I’d update the site anyway with an excerpt.
There’s a good chance this won’t end up in the final draft—or at least not in this form—but I figure I’ll post it anyway. Continue reading
Ugh. I hate this.
So in my last update on The Gray Kings, my plan was to start the second draft in January. And I said if all went smoothly, I hoped to get the book done and up for sale by the end of the year.
Well, suffice to say, things have not been going smoothly. Bleh. Continue reading
Been a while, eh?
So remember back in April when I said I was halfway through the first draft of The Gray Kings and hoped to be done sometime in the summer?
Turns out I was way off on that one. Continue reading
Well, another year has come and gone. Hope everyone had a good one.
With 2018 upon us, I’d thought I’d write up some updates on my writing and plans for the future. Continue reading
“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
“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
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
“Two protagonists struggle against power-hungry tyrants and their own cursed natures in this sequel.
“The Graylands is a constellation of lawless towns, strewn between the Two Empires, which are waging war with each other. Katrina Lamont, an alcoholic and former Chosen One, drifts from one dismal watering hole to the next, hoping to smother memories of losing her kingdom, Vigor, 10 years ago. But the specter of Jagger Ryggs, thief and love of her life, persists. Pirate Krutch Leeroy, meanwhile, is a mild-mannered drifter cursed as a youth by a sorceress who mistook him for a great warrior. Thanks to her spellwork, the pirate’s name is whispered throughout the Graylands with fear and respect. After sleeping off yet another night of trouble that only a pirate lord can find, he awakes at a mission and meets the vivacious, adventure-starved Audra Fay. Elsewhere in the Graylands are the wealthy Synclaire siblings, Deck, Lock, and Cassie. They left Vigor when the savage Armand Tyrell took power. Can any of these personalities resist the pull of Seba, a city crawling with human—and goblin—filth run by war profiteer Sebastian Clock, who hunts for a gauntlet enchanted with dark magic? In this second trip through the Graylands, Walsh (The Ghost Princess, 2015) takes readers on the scenic route through a hellish fusion of Tolkien and HBO’s Deadwood. And despite the potential for overwrought battles among orcs, wizards, and succubi (Lily Blackthorn makes a welcome return), the author proves that character is king. Katrina’s desire to find Vigorian survivors—or any kindred spirit—is heartbreaking. Likewise, Krutch’s epiphany that ‘maybe it was time he stopped running and made his curse his power’ is as thrilling as most sword fights. That said, the action is superb (‘the fat man was split open where his neck met his right shoulder. His head curved to the side with a baffled look on his face’). Fans of the first novel should expect a more leisurely plot that widens the physical and emotional scopes of Walsh’s dusty realm.
“An action-packed, phantasmagoric tavern crawl.”
Just got my first review for The Jinxed Pirate by Literary Titan Book Review:
“Adventures like these don’t come very often. Riddled with intrigue and building up a world The Jinxed Pirate by M. Walsh is a definite read. We have a delightful cast of characters from the mercenary to the tragic warrior princess with a splash of other-worldly beings as well. All of their lives and paths will come together in an excellent adventure where you might find yourself rooting for the bad-guy without realizing it. Each character is on a journey of sorts and where it leads them is anything short of ordinary. What happens when the warrior princess can’t save her people? What about the mercenary who doesn’t seem all that interested in what he’s doing? Our title character himself even seems to shift his shape depending on what his needs are. The carnal animal driven only by his desires. These all come together with fantastic story-telling and riveting action to create a beast of a tale. Continue reading
Here we go…the next chapter in the Graylands saga is up for sale.
Being dead inside isn’t for everyone…
Graylands is where people go when they don’t want to be found.
Within this unsettled country of drifters and outlaws is a city where the worst of the worst gather. A place of thieves, brigands, and murderers known as Seba. In Seba, law is an illusion and order is kept through cruelty and bloodshed.
On the run from Sentry Elite and bounty hunters, supposed pirate Krutch Leeroy finds himself in this bloody city where his infamous reputation garners him the attention of Seba’s various feuding powers. Despite his efforts to lay low, Krutch is soon caught in the center of backstabbing schemes and deadly plots.
Meanwhile, after the disaster on the Blind Cliffs, fallen princess Katrina Lamont finds herself nearing rock bottom. Her drinking and temper worse than ever, she sets out on a desperate quest to find what remains of her people. Her journey will also lead her to Seba, where she will tread the line between salvation and damnation.
Amidst this are the Synclaires—a family just moved to Graylands in the hope of a fresh start. However, chance of fate and rash decisions will draw the family into a sinister plot that threatens to bring tragedy and doom to their door.
As Krutch, Katrina, and the Synclaires face threats from all sides, they will each unwittingly find themselves caught in a battle that may destroy the delicate balance keeping Seba from consuming itself in chaos.
Paperback copies are $14.95 (plus shipping) and can be purchased on Amazon.
Also available on Kindle for $2.99
Hope you enjoy.
M. Walsh 