If you’ve visited this website in the past, you probably saw a very different banner from what I’ve got now sitting at the top. That beautiful piece of artwork depicts the main character from my upcoming book, The Luminous Legend, who’s name is Alamor. I was lucky enough to commission a piece from an incredible young artist named Pam Hage, which will now serve as the artwork for the cover the book. As we get closer to the release of the book, I plan to put a full write-up here on this website that details the process Pam and I went through conceptualizing the art, including some of the early sketches that she did.

The real exciting part is that may not be long of a wait; I’m happy to say that the finish line is in sight, and I expect to complete the book within the next couple of months. I think it’s fair to say that a summer release is extremely likely, at this point. So, with that said, I’d say  it’s time to drop another excerpt from the book here.

This preview features one of my favorite parts of the book- a massive monster the size of a battleship. I’m a complete fanatic for the Kaiju genre and all giant monsters, so it was beyond fun to write about my own giant beasts, especially when they meet in a battle that’s just like something out of a Godzilla movie. This excerpt introduces us to the ‘good’ monster, who I had illustrated by the amazing artist Colin Lawler (said illustration can be found above). It ended up being easily the single greatest piece of art I’ve ever picked up at a comic con.

Allow me to let you read a bit about Samuras, the Queen of the Ocean. This is just a taste of what to expect from her when the book launches later this year!

A rumbling growl reverberated from behind the devastated wall of stone once more. What little remained of the landslide shuddered, and Alamor saw a huge claw tear through a portion near the top.

The rest of the rock heap fell apart as a colossal shape stormed into the cavern. It plowed through the six Longjaws, striking the predators with such horrific impact that the Longjaws’ mangled bodies were thrown more than halfway throughout the cavern. When the massive form came to a halt, it sent a whelming wave racing across the rest of the cavern. Alamor held onto Tiroku with all of his strength as the wave hit them and tossed them throughout the water. Alamor felt his body spin and tumble backward as though he fell through the air, his vision a blur of blue and darkness.

When his and Tiroku’s bodies finally settled, he fought through the disorientation to straighten in the water and regain his senses. Thankfully, Tiroku’s mask once again stayed intact. Alamor looked behind them and saw that his companions were also thrown a fair distance across the cavern—the same for the remaining Longjaws, who now gathered at the very entrance to the cavern after being hurled away.

Out of the corner of his eye, Alamor noticed another Longjaw just a few feet from him. He was momentarily startled, but he quickly saw that the aquatic predator was no longer a threat. Its eyes were lifeless, it’s jaw hung uselessly, and its fins were torn apart as its limp, crumpled body floated through the water. It must have been one that was hit by the huge shape that hurtled out of the cave-in nearby.

Alamor froze, then, when his eyes looked past the Longjaw at the monstrous figure before him.

Samuras had come to a halt no more than thirty yards from where he floated.

The Onda’s guardian was a titanic reptile, as large, if not, larger, than the Balcryst had been. Deep, cerulean scales coated her gargantuan form—a thick, stocky frame that made her appear even more massive than Garadev. Her long tail was club-like, and each of her powerful legs ended in a claw the size of a farmhouse. A mane of sponge-like frills wrapped about her neck. The frills were white in color, but blue streaks of mysterious energy pulsated within, their light cutting through the stygian waters. Her head was bulky, the same for her snout, which housed fearsome jaws that could crush an armored galleon.

She aimed her thin, reptilian eyes down at the two humans before her.

Alamor could not even blink. His mind registered no thoughts other than paralyzing awe and terror as he beheld the most incredible living creature he could have ever imagined.

Samuras eventually lifted her head and looked out across the cavern. Her face was wrought with fury at the sight of the Longjaw pack. Her jaws fell open, and she released a booming roar that shook the island all the way to its rocky shores.

At once, the Longjaws retreated. Each predator turned and sped away back into the tunnel from where they emerged, with every intent to swim on until they passed far beyond Waverock’s depths, never again to return to one of Samuras’s chosen domains.

The Queen of the Ocean had issued her edict, and the inferior creatures would never dare to defy her anger.

Samuras, too, left the cavern, but while the Longjaws swam into the tunnel, she darted toward the portal high above in the tower-like chasm. She raced to the pinnacle with unequaled speed, and though the opening was smaller than her monstrous form, it did not halt her advance.

 

Samuras burst through the portions of solid rock that her body did not fit through, shattering it without effort. Streams of water and stone soared skyward as she emerged from the island’s depths for the first time in many days.

She did not relish in the warm sunlight or clean ocean air that had been denied to her for so long, though. Samuras immediately sought the scent of the miserable creatures that had not only returned to her territory after she drove them away long ago, but had ambushed her and locked her away beneath Waverock.

When she finally detected Garadev’s presence in the distance, rage flickered within her eyes.

Samuras threw back her head and loosed a mighty roar that soared across the waters in all directions—a warning to Garadev and his brethren that the Queen of the Ocean had reawakened, and that she was coming for them.