The High Seer

The Darkling Souls series is my debut dark fantasy series with five planned books, each focusing on a different darkling "monster," beginning with The High Seer. 

Morally gray heroes are my weakness, and I wanted to explore heroes that weren't so heroic. The series concept is the introduction to the first book: "This is not a story of heroes saving the world from evil. Here the champions are just as dark as the villains they fight, and their deeds as terrible." 

I started developing the magic system and knew right away that I wanted transformational magic with a high cost that mentally or physically changes the users. Next, I wanted to tell a story of real monsters. I wanted vampires that couldn't deny their bloodlust, werewolves that were slaves to beastly urges, naturalists that risked becoming walking trees or living stone, angry spirits that haunted and possessed with vengeance, and seers who risked their sanity and souls. I knew I wanted ancient and bloody lore, superstitions coming to life, and prophecies that could be twisted to come true in unexpected ways because it fit so well with the monster theme. And for me, every good story is also a love story. The cast of characters form deep bonds of friendship, mentorship, camaraderie, and kinship. They fall in and out of love with one another as their choices and mistakes change everything. 

Monsters + Transformational Magic + Superstitions + Romance. Add moral dilemmas, heartbreak, broken promises, some anguish, and a lot of determination...and you've got the Darkling Souls series. 

I'd love to release novellas between the novels to explore the various supporting characters, magics, subplots, and stories that weave into the main conflict. There's so much more to come!

Alex