The Madwoman’s Apprentice
Iwy would rather be a farmer than a mage, but what can you do when you accidentally burn a barn down without matches and the local witch hunters are less than understanding about it? Now apprenticed to a witchard (that’s what she calls herself), Iwy has to come to terms with her new powers, while her new master Triand tries to find her next drink, her next flirt, and a way to destroy an ancient magical artefact in order to thwart a powerful wizard’s plans of world domination.
Chased by everything from the witch hunters guild to wizard orders to masked sorcerers, Iwy and Triand embark on a journey to recover a mystical crucible that might just be their only hope. There are prophecies, witch covens, mystical wizard circles, more or less epic battles… and two women who just want to save the world and be home in time for tea.
Quick Glance
AGE CATEGORY: 16+ish. The intended audience was women in their thirties. If you have the reading capabilities of a thirtysomething mildly soused on white wine, go for it.
GENRE: comic fantasy
WORD COUNT: 150k
Read for free at Royal Road!
Meet the Cast
This book is for you if …
… you like DnD campaigns that have gone a bit awry and where the gamemaster is grinning all the time.
… you’re not a spring chicken yourself and would like to see women way over twenty having adventures. (Main characters are 42 and 23 respectively.)
… you like sarcasm, puns and banter but can do without romance.
… you like comic fantasy that has all the tropes you love … or does it?
What to expect:
- Steam level: tea cup you forgot in the kitchen; some adult themes but nothing explicit
- LGBTQ+
- not a YA novel, contains adult themes, main characters may bicker like teens at times but are adults
- content warnings: blood, violence
- booze
- bread knives
- uppity … I mean, wise wizards
- austere … I mean, wise witches
- traditional faceless minions
- no nobles or intrigues. Well, maybe a few intrigues.
Granny Trudy vs the Ancient Ones
A quick little story for The June ’25 Royal Road Community Magazine Contest to challenge myself to write under pressure of actual deadlines instead of the ol’ “I’ll get around to it.”
The prompt: Children of the Sky
What’s it about?
A long time ago, a child fell from the sky … and nothing else happened.
Seventy years later, young hopeful wizard Hungerford Munck shows up at Granny Ermentrude’s bakery. His master was supposed to unite all three Children of the Sky but died before he found them. Together with Trudy, Munck sets out to find the other two, not an easy feat in a world where babies appear in tree trunks and assorted fruit at least once a month, and bring them to the capital. Little do they know what they will actually summon into their peaceful world …
Genre: Fantasy
Word count: it’s ongoing
Read for free at Royal Road!
Journeywomen
Second part in the Triand series: contains spoilers for the first part!