House of the Rain King is now available

Yesterday I published my first novel.

I won't pretend the book was launched with great fanfare and cheering crowds. I'm self-publishing, so nothing really happened when the book "launched", except that it became available in various online stores, and a few lovely people who preordered it received their copies immediately. Today I'm going around to various places online to tell people about the book and, hopefully, pick up a few readers. If I manage to move 20 copies in the first month, I'll be very happy.

I've already written a bit about the book on this blog, so I won't go into great depth again, but in case you missed my previous post:

House of the Rain King is a standalone fantasy novel about ordinary people trying to survive a mythic flood. The story follows Emwort, a young monk struggling to uncover the truth about his god's past before it is lost beneath the rising waters.

It's a novel about climate disaster, faith, and what it means to be a good person. It's also deeply rooted in the Australian landscape where I live, with the animals, plants and birds of the Australian bush forming a backdrop for the story.

If you've enjoyed classic fantasy novels like Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast, Glen Cook's The Black Company, or Ursula Le Guin's The Tombs of Atuan, then I think you'll really enjoy this book.

Advance reviews of the book have been very positive - almost startlingly so. Here are a few choice quotes:

"the best standalone fantasy novel I've read since The Spear Cuts Through Water"

"A stellar Australian debut... this is what fantasy is missing out on"

"imaginative, well-paced, often surprising, and warm-hearted... there are gems of writing and world-building that sparkle"

"a truly wonderful book... some of the characters in this novel will live in my mind for the rest of my life"

I'm totally thrilled that the book is connecting with readers despite my very modest online reach, and I hope that you will also give it a shot.

You can find the book on all major ebook stores or buy direct from my website if you would like a DRM-free copy. The paperback edition will be available through Amazon very soon, hopefully in the next couple of days.

As always, thanks for reading. My next post will return to your regularly scheduled Weird Old Books content. In the pipeline are reviews of books by Michael Moorcock, Clifford D. Simak, and Tyra Banks.