My new dark fantasy, A Maker of Magic, was one of grief, sorrow, and love. I understand that may sound a little strange, but that’s why I wanted to explain how I came to write this story. It was rather spontaneous and came together in about three months.

In December of 2024, I had just returned from a Christmas vacation in Quebec, Canada. As my wife and I prepared for Christmas Day with our kids, I received a phone call from my brother. My father collapsed and was admitted to the hospital. He might not have long. I immediately jumped in my car and drove from Virginia to my hometown of Phillipsburg, New Jersey. On the drive, the song Scars in Heaven by Casting Crowns came on the radio. I couldn’t stop crying. I knew this was the last time I would see my Dad.

He died on Christmas Eve at the age of 88. My dad was a Marine Corps veteran, serving 22 years in the Corps including two tours in Vietnam. He was one of the reasons I joined the Navy, or rather he pushed me into it since college didn’t work out for me. He forged the man I am today.

For the next three months, I traveled between Virginia and New Jersey to help my brother with funeral arrangements, helping take care of my mother, and getting things settled. At night, I sat in that empty house I grew up in and listened to the whispers lingering there. It felt so different, sitting there in the quiet. The only sound echoing through the house was the TV in my Mom’s room as she sat quietly alone. It was a cold emptiness and that void filled me with grief.

I remembered my life growing up there. I was a big fan of the old horror movies, the Universal monsters. I used to build these models of Dracula, the Wolfman, and others that had these “glow in the dark” features. As I recalled these pieces of my past, a story filled that empty void. A story of love, of family, fighting against a dark and terrible enemy. I opened my laptop and began writing. That was the start of A Maker of Magic.

As a writer, we always put part of our soul into each story. The grief, sorrow, and love I was feeling at that moment seemingly supercharged my imagination and this story just flowed out of me. I never even thought about anything like this before. It just came to me, and in those three months, I wrote this entire book. It was about love, about family, good vs. evil, and service to your nation. These are all things my father instilled in me and so I can honestly say he is a big part of this story.

Although the story centers around the Blademancer and the Enchanter, Levi Richter and Danielle Nichols, it was Levi’s father, Jurgen, that centered the story for me. In Jurgen, I emulated my father: his strength, authority, love, and leadership. I put my father into the heart of the story as Levi’s guiding light. As I wrote those pages, it was as if my father was guiding me through it all.

I can honestly say that, my Dad and I were polar opposites. I liked fantasy and he loved westerns. He never really understood my quirkiness in my love of fantasy and science fiction, but when I joined the Navy and rose through the ranks, we connected more and more. I wanted to gain my father’s approval in everything I did. I think that, through this book, I finally have.

My mother didn’t last long after my father. She died about a year later. She never got to see this book completed, but I knew she would like it. The book is dedicated to both my Mom and Dad.

A Maker of Magic is something that sits deep in my heart and soul. It’s such a beautiful and powerful story, but to me, it means so much more. It’s my way of saying “thank you” to the parents that raised me. In life, and in death, they’re still with me.