Writing

I wrote a novel.

The Hollow

Nom is a cynical wanderer, living on the fringes of a dying world, until a group of strangers offers him a chance to redeem his past and save the future. The Hollow, a realm of darkness and horror, threatens to swallow everything he holds dear, and the key to stopping it lies in Rabidi, the fallen capital of his youth. But to get there, they must journey through a wasteland of twisted magic and merciless enemies, haunted by ghosts and hunted by zealots. As they struggle to survive and unravel the secrets of the Hollow, Nom and his companions discover a sinister force that seeks to harness its power for their own twisted purposes. Will they be able to stop them in time, or will they succumb to the darkness within?

Prepare for an epic and darkly unique fantasy world, where action and adventure meet serious introspection and heartfelt moments. This story is intended for an audience who can appreciate the complex characters and the reflection of life’s imperfections that is woven throughout the narrative. While there are no explicitly mature scenes, the content is at times bleak and explores the grittier side of humanity.

Word count: 81,000

Available at

Map of the World

map

This map is from the perspective of the northern kingdoms, where much of the world inside the Hollow has been forgotten, although some lost places involved in this story have been added to the map. The decline in civilization has cut off many former maritime connections, reducing our overall worldview.

The original map is a huge graphic with lots of detail, so here is an SVG version of the entire world. The following link will open the map image in a new tab. Zoom and pan with your browser to view it:

Glossary

For some reason I’ve always liked novels with glossaries. I tried not to include spoilers. Pronunciations (in blue) are as on wikipedia.

The Aerie – an outpost high in the Rachis mountains, possibly for scientific study

Pulvis Adustio (POOL-vees ah-DOOS-tee-oh) – a relentless seerhunter, and a commander in the Guild of the Sun. a.k.a. “Dusty” (DUHS-tee)

Alaigbara (ah-lag-BAR-ah) – a merchant in Alara, husband to Nbaje, and father of Beruku

Alara (uh-LAR-uh) – a new settlement on the east coast of Mamidi Daruni, populated by refugees from across the Loralia Sea, mainly Uluria

Ahden (AH-den) – a tall and affable young warrior from Whithom, usually carrying a greatsword scabbard-in-hand, longtime friends with Dev and Omega

The Berm – the fluctuating borders of the Hollow, appearing to many as an incline or ridge going down into the Hollow

Beruku (beh-ROO-koo) – a lost boy in Alara, son of Nbaje and Alaigbara

Braeside (BRAY-syd) – a city in the north, well outside the Berm in the kingdom of Andion

The Braesider (BRAY-syd-er) – a talentless bard from Braeside, currently touring in Elocant

Bulletin – a place where day laborers gather to wait for work

Breeyant (BREE-ahnt) – seerhunter disciple in the Guild of the Sun, under command of Adustio

Caberia (kah-BEHR-ee-ah) – a kingdom in the north, vassal to Éabha

Casey (KAY-see) – a woman in Elocant who runs a bead and breakfast, wife of Phylo

Casowari (kass-oh-WAHR-ee) – man-at-arms at the Aerie

The Chosen – people entirely tattooed or branded with glyphs, who have voluntarily given their bodies over to the power of darklight, become tuned to nearby elements as they take damage, and increasingly out of control

Conflictor – a being of darklight with hyper keen senses of perception, and uses its observations to manipulate a victim between anguish and hope, in an attempt to drive them to extreme acts that lead to their death, or of someone close to them

The Corrupt – a human who is beyond shattered, having taken darklight into themselves until they are animated solely by it and no longer a human with free will

Cracky – an eccentric scientist at the Aerie, obsessed with flight

The Cradle – a fertile area south of the Rabidi plateau, part of the Rabidi empire, and a major source for food, trees, and other resources

Darkhorse – riding mounts that were once horses, now twisted by darklight into horrible creatures

Darklight – a dark aura illuminating the world within the Hollow, thought to be the manifestation of whatever power twists reality there

Darkseer – an apocryphal being who is thought to be tied to the source of darklight, and generally considered unlucky harbingers of doom, disaster, or misfortune

Debella (day-BEL-ah) – capital of Caberia, located on the northern coast of the continent

The Dessicated – people who spent too much time in the Hollow, whose will and identity have been deadened to the point of catatonia

Dev (DEHV) – a young man from Whithom, good at repairing things, longtime friends with Ahden and Omega

Dkheym (d-KHAYM)

Dibbs – second mate aboard the >Pelican

Dragon’s Blood – a big blob of sticky resin-like goo, translucent red, smelling of sickly sweet rot, which traps animals and insects, tiring or suffocating them to death, ultimately absorbing them

Dray – a bartender in Endo

Ellu (EH-loo) – mythical creatures of nature, thought to be tricksters, and kidnappers of children

Elocant (AY-loh-kahnt) – a northern farming town inside the Berm, now considered a gateway to the Hollow by scavengers

Endo (EN-doh) – an old city managing to survive in the Hollow, once a major seaport and city-state

Engurru (en-GOO-roo) – the Rabidian realm of the dead, thought to be mystical underground waters

Farseer – a seer who never wears goggles, allowing them to trace the effects of darklight far and wide, at the cost of their sanity

Ferox – (FAY-roks) – a semi-secret settlement of seers on top of the Tortoise

The Firebird – a Rabidian deity thought to deliver the fates of humans to Simtu

The Forum – a bar and recruitment center in Slipshod

The Gate – a funeral area on the cliff rim of Rabidi, where cremations and rememberances were held

The Gatekeeper – the person who runs the funerals at the Gate in Rabidi

Gitko – (GIT-koh) – the beloved innkeeper in Elocant

Glyphs – symbols drawn or carved into something, in an attempt to control it with darklight

Gubbu (GOO-boo) – an entrance to Engurru

Gunnar, Highmaster (GUN-ar) – a martial trainer and weapons master at Whithom’s court

Guild of the Sun – a loose order of seerhunters who train mentally and physically to doggedly pursue their quarry

Halqu (HAHL-koo) – a man in Rabidi, and Nom’s friend

The Hollow – an area of warped perception and twisted reality that is expanding, laying waste to people and places

Iluquiek Territories (il-OO-kwee-ek) – tribal territories in the northern arctic continent

Isokan (EE-soh-kahn) – The Ulurian concept of oneness with nature, body, and mind

Jinns – seerhunter disciple in the Guild of the Sun, under command of Adustio

Kibru (KEE-broo) – Rabidi’s sister city in the Cradle, far below it on the Kibru River

Keenow (KEE-now) – a scavenger in Luxenta, working out of Slipshod

Khargis (KAR-gis) – a sadistic slaver and soldier in Zulm

Loralia Sea (loh-RAH-lee-ah) – the ocean east of the central continent

Lost place – places in the Hollow are warped, then abandoned, and ultimately lost, unfindable to all but those who had a direct connection to it

Kalabursi (kah-lah-BUR-see) – a Rabidian term for miners, once a respectful title, later twisted into a derogatory epithet

Luxenta (look-SEN-tah) – a lost place along the Old Road, near the Rachis mountains, now home to a cult of seer worshipers

Lotham (LOH-thum) – leader of Elocant’s town council, and runs the outfitters shop

The Mage – a mysterious figure, presumably a seer, manipulating events in the Hollow

Mamidi Daruni (m?-MEE-dee d?-ROO-nee) – a huge piedmont plateau south of the Rachis mountains, full of desert, plains, and savannahs

Mittik (MIH-tik) – a small rehabbed windship named by Omega

Nbaje (n-BAH-jee) – a merchant in Alara, wife to Alaigbara, and mother of Beruku

Niuraak (nee-oo-RAHK) – a seer in Zulm, originally from the Iluquiek territories

Nom (NOHM) – an aging man working as a guide in Elocant, formerly a laborer from Rabidi

The None – sentient manifestations of pure darklight, invisible though corporeal

Omega (oh-MEH-g?) – a young woman from near Whithom, a reluctant seer, and longtime friends with Ahden and Dev. a.k.a “Oa” (OH-?)

Omnos (OM-nohs) – former and last elected emperor of Rabidi, and a farseer

Omuti (oh-MOO-tee) – an eccentric drunk woman in Alara

Onu (OH-noo) – a longtime pathfinder through the Rachis mountains, undauntingly cheerful

The Pelican – flag ship of the Pod

Petra (PAY-trah) – a brutish kalabursi slave in Zulm

The Petrel – a cargo ship in the Pod

Phylo (FEYE-loh) – blacksmith in Elocant, Casey’s husband, and Nom’s friend

The Pod – a cargo fleet of ships out of Endo, commanded by Qayid

Qarittu (kah-REET-oo) – a young girl from Rabidi

Qayid (kah-YEED) – old sea captain in Endo, commander of the Pod

Rabidi (r?-BEE-dee) – a lost place, capital of an empire swallowed and erased by the Hollow

Rachis Mountains (RAY-kis) – major mountain range spanning almost the entire central continent, east to west

Reticulum (reh-tee-COO-loom) – a lost state on the western part of the central continent, that stretched up to the northern central coast

Revenant – an undead echo or reflection of a life, somewhat sentient and malicious

Rock creatures – animated creatures made of stone, often modeled after marine life

Rollins (RAH-lins) – a concatenation of ‘The Royal Lands,’ a once wealthy area between Elocant and the Rachis Mountains that is a frequent destination for scavengers to the Hollow

Sage – a wise and knowledgeable person

Samveld (SAHM-veld) – a northern kingdom, rival for resources with Whithom and Caberia

Saqummatu (tsah-kuu-MAHT-oo) – a day laborer in Rabidi, and Nom’s wife. a.k.a. Saqu (TSAH-kuu)

Saythi (SAY-thee) – Nom’s dog

Seer – a person who can see and maybe manipulate darklight within the Hollow, and often must wear special goggles to protect their mind from its effects

Seerhunter – those who hunt down and kill seers, usually with the belief that it will reduce the power of darklight and the hollow

Shades – a victim posessed by a shadow being

Shadow beings – creatures of shadow with glowing red eyes, that envelop sleeping people and animate their bodies to sleep-walk to their dooms

The Shaman – a cult of seer worships that have inhabited Luxenta

Shanayn (shah-NAYN) – a man in Rabidi, and Nom’s friend

The Shattered – those whose minds have been broken and rearranged by darklight, and are now unpredictable and dangerous, but believe they doing the right thing

The Shearwater – a guard ship in the Pod

Simtu (SEEM-too) – thought by Rabidians to be the guardian of the underworld

Sire Valta (SEYE-er VAHL-tuh) – a cruel, and deceased, warrior that chased Ahden, Dev, and Omega through the Berm

Sleep phantoms – tall, thin, shadowy creatures that seemingly float, and use long pipes to blow smokey powder into occupied buildings

Slipshod – a backwoods settlement in the Rachis Mountains that serves as a jumping off point for expeditions and adventurers

Sojourner – a second tree line, caused by darklight, that appears sporadically in different parts of the Rachis mountains

Solus (SOH-loos) – a skilled seer and swordsman in Alara

Talon Range – a small mountain range on the east coast of Mamidi Daruni

Tanaga (t?-NAH-gah) – first mate aboard thePelican

Tattirgak (TAT-eer-gak) – a small rehabbed windship named by Omega

Tomani (toh-MAH-nee) – a young woman in Elocant working at the inn, daughter of the baker, likes to sing

Trade Consortium – a fellowship of merchants and traders in the north, outside the Hollow

Uluria (oo-LOO-ree-uh) – a country on the eastern continent, squeezed by Jowz and Dastia, from which some citizens emigrate to Alara

Wards (a.k.a. apotropaics) – darklight warped to turn away harm or evil influences

Whithom (WIT-hohm) – a maritime kingdom far in the northwest, also the name of its capital

Windships – wind propelled land ships on Mamidi Daruni that rely on heavy machinery to roll, made possible by Rabidian steel and craftsmanship

Windreapers – captain and crew of windships

Zulm (ZOOLM) – a slave town in the center of Mamidi Daruni, built on the ruins of Rabidian iron mines