Hey all,

A quick update and a book recommendation.

As many of you know, I spent much of my career as a game developer, and I published my first book while I was working at Obsidian Entertainment.

One of my fellow Obsidian designers just launched her own book, House of Ash & Brimstone, and I wanted to mention how much I’ve been enjoying reading it.

House of Ash & Brimstone is an urban fantasy novel following Gisele Walker, a half-demon, in a society demons and humans coexist on Earth. I’m not generally a huge urban fantasy reader, but I loved this right from the start – most likely because it opened straight into an arena fight with a minotaur.

I think most people are going to compare this to Buffy, and I wouldn’t say that’s wrong – there are some similarities in terms of the setting vibe, the dialogue style, and the relationship with a love interest. This isn’t a high school series, though, and to me, it’s probably a little closer to what the Dresden Files might have looked like if Harry had been a little less experienced in the first book.

Even more than that, though, the focus on demons gives me a pretty strong Devil May Cry vibe. It’s a little more grounded, with the combat not feeling as anime-like, but I think fans of Devil May Cry’s style of setting would enjoy this.

I just picked up the book yesterday, and I haven’t finished it yet, so I can’t give any detailed analysis of the magic system yet. There is magic, though, and it definitely does have limitations, one of which was mentioned as soon as it was introduced. I’m looking forward to seeing more of that.

I’d recommend the book, and it can be found here.

In terms of my own book status, I’ve sent Diamantine off to beta readers, and I’m working on continuing to edit it, as well as prep for the third Arcane Ascension and Weapons and Wielders books. AA3 is planned to be my next release.