Oblivion's Gate: Book I - Title Revealed!

The time has come!

There are three checkpoints that always get me excited as I near the publication and release of a new book. Those three points are:

3 - The title reveal

2 - The cover reveal

1 - The actual release, of course.

The time has come to check #3 off on my list. That's right! It's title time! But wait! I'm introducing a whole new series too, aren't I? I guess we better start by talking about the new series as a whole, huh? Well then...

Welcome to

The Oblivion's Gate trilogy will be based around the interactions of two young men, Aaron Flanagan and Dan Barker. The trilogy will be a mix of mystery, fantasy, and science fiction. It will explore a modern world shrouded in myth, legend, magic, and science. It will travel between dimensions and explore the truth behind ancient beliefs, the world of “unexplained science” (aka magic), futuristic technology, and other sorts of hypothetical fun. Meanwhile, the series will also take us into the minds of heroes, slaves, and villains. We’ll see love and romance, vengeance and agony, heroism and friendship, deception and hatred. 

To be upfront, this trilogy may be a bit dark at times. I don’t see Oblivion’s Gate making a good bedtime story for children. Teen and YA (Young Adult) readers should be okay; it just won’t be age appropriate for most children… You know what? Let me put it this way: if you were creeped out by Pirates of the Caribbean or the Harry Potter movies, you’ll probably get creeped out the same way by parts of Oblivion’s Gate. That’s about the level I’m talking about. As I said, the books will go inside villains' minds, and that can make for some sinister subjects. If the Oblivion’s Gate books were a movie franchise, I would rate them PG-13 throughout. Does that make sense?

All right! Now let’s talk about Book I.

The most important question to be considering as you read the book is, why?

 
You see, the series (Book I's prologue) begins in 2018. For five years the world has been careening dangerously in the aftereffects of an escape, an agreement, and a murder. These three events form a treacherous riddle that Michael Maccini, the King of Hearts, and Aaron Flanagan, his apprentice, are struggling to solve. In search of new leads, King Michael drags his young counterpart back to the decrepit realm of Mimgardr on the edge of the Underworld. Only there does the king believe they can find the answers they seek and the motivation they require. Only there, at the scene of it all, will the king and his apprentice finally use magic to relive and examine memories of five years ago.

That's not all the important stuff about the prologue, but if I told you everything there would be no reason to read it, would there? And so we begin chapter one and find ourselves back in August 2012. At the time Aaron and his best friend Dan Barker were just two young adults working retail in Leesburg, Virginia. But at the strike of noon their lives will change forever as they come face to face with the world-renown magical legend, Merlin the Great. Dan and Aaron are soon introduced to a world of giants, elves, dwarves, magic, and myth. Their former world is unraveled and a new life beckons them onward. Unfortunately, that new life threatens to destroy them when a council of banished sorcerers begins searching for an apprentice of their own. And adding to their troubles is the appearance of a strange hooded figure, in whose wake flow terror and tragedy.

I hope you’re ready to join Dan Barker and Aaron Flanagan as they begin the days of their apprenticeship. I hope you’re ready to spend some time with your favorite myths, creatures, and legendary locations. I hope you're ready for comedy, love, and tragedy to take their turns upon the stage. I hope you’re ready for the marvelous new adventure that is…