They say that, once upon a time, the dragons of Tir were many. They say that, once upon a time, the dragons of Tir lived alongside people. They say that, once upon a time, the dragons of Tir spoke to them. Whatever the legends say, there have been no human living memories of dragons. Until now.
Three times taller than a human, with wingspans over thirty feet wide, dragons are the terrible creatures of stories and more. Able to spit fire that can’t be quenched with water, strong enough to pluck a man from the ground, capable of withstanding a barrage of arrows, a dragon is unstoppable.
Contrary to popular opinion, dragons don’t spend all their life on the wing. You’d be forgiven for thinking so; they do look peculiar on the ground, hobbling on their folded wings like old men on sticks. But dragons fly only to hunt and to mate. They nest on the ground; the males guard the eggs, the females hunt. When the hatchlings are old enough to leave the nest, the father abandons them to their mother’s care; she hasn’t been bringing him any food and he is dangerously weak. He will hunt and feed, building up his reserves before mating again.
It is a point of interest that all the dragons of the West are male. They’re smaller than the females and easier to capture in this weakened state. And any dragons hatched in captivity all wither and die. No-one in the West is sure why.
* * *
I had one objective for the dragons of Tir; although they are inherently magical creatures, I wanted them to feel real. That’s why they don’t have four limbs and a set of wings; all winged creatures have their wings on their forelimbs.
It also meant I had to figure out how a creature could breathe fire. That wasn’t easy at all! But after a few aborted ideas, I eventually settled on a gland that spat a chemical that ignites under pressure. I also spent a lot of time reading about pterosaurs; they were flying lizards at the time of dinosaurs, which gave me a good idea about likely sizes and shapes. I also read about tyrannosaurs too, because what’s a dragon but a flying dinosaur?
Armies march, dragons scorch the skies, and those who yet remain free hatch a desperate plan. They place their faith in the one man they shouldn’t: Thomas Rymour. He may be the prophet who cannot lie, but Tom only cares about finding the hidden realm of Faerie.
Elfs, dwarfs, Faerie creatures, dragons, magic, and quests. You’ll find it all in The Fey Man, the first book in the Realm Rift Saga.
Will Tom satisfy his compulsion? Can he break free and help save the world? Or do the creatures of Faerie have their own plans?
“The Fey Man immerses the reader in a compellingly conceived alternative realm created with a powerful sense of character and place.” – Brian Sibley, writer of The Lord of the Rings BBC Radio Drama
★★★★★ “This is one of the best epic fantasy books that I have read.”
★★★★ “As a study of a man in the throes of addiction, or maybe withdrawal…[Thomas Rymour] was particularly well drawn.”
★★★★★ “I smashed through this quickly as it's a real page turner and enjoyed it thoroughly. The setting is familiar enough that entering it is enjoyable and welcoming and at the same time novel enough that you care about the characters and the plot.”
