closer to the finale As I move closer to the finale of this story, I’ve realized something I didn’t expect: endings have their own architecture. They aren’t simply the last pages of a book—they’re the convergence of every choice, every consequence, every quiet turn that happened along the way. And as I stand at this threshold, I’m discovering that the story is beginning to shape itself in ways my outline never fully predicted. Jack’s path has always carried a certain gravity.

Post-DragonCon Update It’s nice to be getting back to my blog since early June with a post-DragonCon update, and it feels good to be settling back in after DragonCon and getting my creative workflow moving again. DragonCon always has a way of shaking loose new ideas. Sitting in on the Writers’ Track panels this year reminded me why I enjoy building worlds and stories in the first place. I came home with a notebook full of thoughts, and more importantly, the energy to act on t

DrangonCon With DragonCon behind me, I’ve spent the last few days getting my creative house back in order. The first major task was reorganizing my Scenes Bible — something I’ve needed to do for a while. Characters are now sorted into their proper communities, and the settlement nodes finally reflect the social geometry of the story the way I intended. That cleanup opened the door for the next step: returning to Angels Unawares. I’m about halfway through the third book of the

I grew up as a preacher’s kid I grew up as a preacher’s kid, moving from town to town, watching how different communities lived, believed, struggled, and held themselves together. I didn’t realize it at the time, but those early years were teaching me how people carry their stories — how they inherit wounds, how they cling to hope, how they shape their own meaning inside the worlds they’re given. That curiosity eventually led me to study History and American Studies, where I

Kill Your Darlings Some time ago, I came across a craft book with a title along the lines of Kill Your Darlings. I dismissed the idea at first. It felt flippant, almost cruel — the kind of advice tossed around in writing circles without much thought. But as I kept drafting, reading, and watching stories unfold on screen, that phrase settled somewhere in the back of my mind. Apparently, I’d dropped it into an idea barrel and let it ferment. Then, while re-watching John Wick, I

Kinship Covenant Kinship Covenant has lived quietly on Amazon for nearly a month. For those who walked with Jack through Waking in Sheol, this is the next turn in his long arc. For new readers, it continues the quiet, grounded fantasy that defines Social Fantasy. The book lives here: https://www.amazon.com/Kinship-Covenant-Legacy-Belonging-Prophecies/dp/B0GVNRRHNZ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0 And Kindle Unlimited readers can explore the whole Sheol Prophecies there as well.

DragonCon Author I’ll be moving through DragonCon this year — mostly in the Writers Track and the creative spaces. If you happen to spot the cowboy hat with the National Park pins, feel free to say hello. I’m always glad to meet readers and fellow wanderers who travel through a softer kind of fantasy — a social fantasy.

Kinship Covenant Over the past week, two important milestones arrived for The Sheol Prophecies , my quiet, mythic fantasy series set in the world of Eldriko. Kinship Covenant , Book Two of the series, is now officially published. And Waking in Sheol , the novel that begins Jack Marshall’s journey, has been released in a newly revised edition with cleaner architecture and refined storytelling. Waking in Sheol remains the doorway into Eldriko — a literary fantasy about a man w

Early Waking in Sheol Reviews Early Waking in Sheol reviews have begun coming in from Reedsy Discovery and Goodreads readers, and I’ve been deeply moved by the themes they’re noticing — grief, memory, companionship, and the quiet work of healing. “This is an enjoyable read for anyone who likes Outlander, Lord of the Rings, and the like.” — Reedsy “Waking in Sheol is one of those rare stories that feels both intimate and mythic at the same time.” — Goodreads “If you enjoy fant

If you’re on Goodreads If you’re on Goodreads, I’d love to connect with you there — it’s where I keep track of what I’m reading and where Waking in Sheol has begun finding its early readers. If you’ve read it, I’d be grateful to hear your thoughts.

On the Nature of Social Fantasy On the Nature of Social Fantasy Social Fantasy is a form of speculative fiction that centers the lives of ordinary people within a fantastical world. It shifts the focus away from kings, wizards, and chosen ones, and toward the social fabric itself—the relationships, wounds, and quiet acts that shape a community. I wasn’t looking for a new idea when it found me. I had settled in to watch the first episode of a series about the Manhattan Pro

Early Critical Response to Waking in Sheol • I’m excited to share the early critical response to Waking in Sheol, which arrived today through a professional review on Reedsy Discovery • Professional Review — Reedsy Discovery Rating: ★★★★ — “Loved it!” Reviewed by: Mary Hymel When Jack wakes up in a strange land, his search for answers leads to reunion, a quest to find a lost artifact, and fulfilling a prophecy. Synopsis Waking in Sheol is the founding text of Social Fan

Why Social Fantasy Why Social Fantasy? Watching the series “Manhattan,” I realized that while it featured the great names of that project, its true power lay in its social history—the lives, structures, and ordinary rhythms beneath the headlines. Epic fantasy, by contrast, has long centered on kings, queens, knights, and thieves. But what if fantasy turned its gaze to toward common folk—the workers, families, wanderers—whose choices ripple through society? Social Fantasy asks

Anchors in Social Fantasy Artifacts are anchors in Social Fantasy. They are not mere objects, but covenantal symbols — carriers of memory, resonance, and mythic guidance. In Waking in Sheol, the compass rose becomes such an anchor, orienting survivors toward dawn and covenant. Anchors hold fast against chaos. They remind us that survival is not only about endurance, but about meaning. Each artifact carries the weight of story, binding ensemble voices into a chorus of covenant

Survivors as Ensembles Survivors are ensembles in Waking in Sheol , carrying the chorus of Social Fantasy . Every ensemble is covenant — a chorus of voices bound together in mythic storytelling. In Social Fantasy, survival is never isolated. It is communal, resonant, and covenantal. The survivor ensemble in Waking in Sheol embodies this truth. Each voice adds cadence, each memory adds depth, and together they form the chorus of Social Fantasy. Hardback available now: Bu

Social Fantasy as Covenant Communities in Waking in Sheol are covenants in Social Fantasy, forged in the pages of Waking in Sheol. Every covenant is more than survival — it is resonance. In Waking in Sheol, communities rise from silence into shared memory, binding myth and story into living covenant. These are not just alliances of necessity, but thresholds of kinship, where survivor ensembles become the heartbeat of Social Fantasy. This is the founding cadence of a new genre

Social Fantasy as a Threshold Stories are thresholds in Waking in Sheol . Those stories find traction in Social Fantasy as a threshold. Every story opens a passage — a crossing from silence into resonance. In Waking in Sheol , those passages are not just personal journeys, but communal thresholds. They mark the founding cadence of Social Fantasy, a new genre of epic fantasy where myth and memory intertwine to form covenant. Social Fantasy as a threshold is a creed for reader

Social Fantasy 🌌 The Social Fantasy Manifesto Opening Declaration Social Fantasy is a genre that, like Social History, centers the lives and structures of ordinary people. But instead of reconstructing the past, it imagines societies through the lens of fantasy — dignifying wounds, exploring power, and rehearsing communal restoration in worlds both strange and familiar. The Call We live in a fractured world, marked by injustice, inequality, and longing for belonging. Socia

Not the Same. Not Sorry. I’m not the same as everyone else. My story doesn’t follow the same old trail. I don’t write to fit your outline—hook on page 6, inciting incident on page 14, antagonist on page 19.I write to evoke, to echo, to fracture and restore. Sheol is not a formula. It’s a mythic world. It ’s layered with emotional cadence, symbolic doubling, and ritualized truth. It doesn’t ask for permission. It invites resonance. If you’re looking for a cookie-cutter manu

An AI Interview of a Debut Fantasy Author Exploring mythcraft, emotional cadence, and the descent into Sheol Introduction What follows is a layered conversation between myself and an AI companion—part interview, part ritual, part mythic reckoning. These questions were originally shaped for a press kit, but they’ve become something more: a glimpse into the emotional and ancestral terrain behind Waking in Sheol . This isn’t just about writing a book. It’s about crafting a conti