This past Monday I finally finished my first horror fantasy novel, The Cradle of the Worm, and released the beta version on HorrorFam.com on their Freebies page.

The entire text of the novel, as well as the first audio chapter, are all available there. My friends and I will continue to release free audio chapters of the text on podbean and youtube. Here are some scenes from the novel if you’d like a quick glimpse of what you’ll be getting.

Today we released an interview I did with Lauren Spear about writing the novel. I go into my inspirations, my motivation for releasing it for free right now (as a way to cheer up those of us who are stressed out or in self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic), the changes it went through in the 25 years I wrote it, and the reason I’m glad it took that long.

My final vision for the book will include a splash-page map at the beginning of the book (Think The Hobbit or The Phantom Tollbooth) and small maps at the beginning of each chapter, as well as between 10 and 20 rich, full fantasy horror illustrations. Here are two examples of the art I intend to use in the book’s final iteration.

From now on I’ll be releasing new audio chapters, getting the novel professionally edited, and courting publishers. (I’ve begun doing all three of those as I type this.) I’ll be updating you as new chapters and illustrations are completed, and of course when the final novel comes out. In the meantime I hope you enjoy the free beta version! And if you want to do more reading, check out all my free completed comics online.