Fiction by Cameron Montague Taylor
NOVELS
The Dark Arm of the Maker
Royal Chef Neveshir Sevelin is a Karán: a man born with dangerous magic running through his veins. Like all Maker-touched, he can use fire to transmute, but only Karán have the power to kill with it. Though most Karán spend their careers bound in service on the war-front, Neveshir has sworn off killing. He roams free in Alkaya where he uses his talents to craft culinary masterpieces for his former shieldmate and dearest friend, Shah Melík Saf Kanh, ruler of all Esenia.
When a terrible disease breaks out in the city, however, Neveshir is asked to revisit the powerful magic he hasn’t used in decades — a request that has the Maker’s Guild up in arms. Neveshir can’t blame them. He knows what he is: a poison-blood who was Maker-made to take lives, not save them.
Then Melík falls ill. The disease spreads beyond the Guild’s ability to control, showing a malevolence that defies medicine and forces Neveshir to consider more extreme measures. In order to discover the source of the disease, transmute a cure, and save the man he’s not supposed to love, Neveshir must overcome his fear of his own nature — before it’s too late.
When a terrible disease breaks out in the city, however, Neveshir is asked to revisit the powerful magic he hasn’t used in decades — a request that has the Maker’s Guild up in arms. Neveshir can’t blame them. He knows what he is: a poison-blood who was Maker-made to take lives, not save them.
Then Melík falls ill. The disease spreads beyond the Guild’s ability to control, showing a malevolence that defies medicine and forces Neveshir to consider more extreme measures. In order to discover the source of the disease, transmute a cure, and save the man he’s not supposed to love, Neveshir must overcome his fear of his own nature — before it’s too late.
The Oceana Series
Epic Nautical Fantasy with LGBT+ Protagonists
Book One: Wicked Waters
Mercenary sailor Jack’s past comes back to haunt him when his crew receives a commission during the height of hurricane season. Charged with returning the all-too-familiar Prince Valory to the capital by way of the isles, Jack and schooner Windjammer battle storms and sea-monsters alike in Oceana’s treacherous waters.
Jack’s new patron, however, is no ordinary nobleman. A hardened soldier and powerful commander, Valory boards Windjammer to scour the isles for signs of the mysterious new threat at Oceana’s borders: an evil that burns innocents alive and smashes ships to pieces.
Yet Jack isn’t without secrets of his own — secrets that unravel under the growing intensity of a forbidden attraction to his patron. Forced to reclaim his lost title, Jack comes face-to-face with the past he thought he’d outrun. As Windjammer races to defend Oceana from invasion, he and Valory must work together to untangle the threads of the dark alliance threatening their home, crew, and kingdom — or risk losing everything in the process.
Jack’s new patron, however, is no ordinary nobleman. A hardened soldier and powerful commander, Valory boards Windjammer to scour the isles for signs of the mysterious new threat at Oceana’s borders: an evil that burns innocents alive and smashes ships to pieces.
Yet Jack isn’t without secrets of his own — secrets that unravel under the growing intensity of a forbidden attraction to his patron. Forced to reclaim his lost title, Jack comes face-to-face with the past he thought he’d outrun. As Windjammer races to defend Oceana from invasion, he and Valory must work together to untangle the threads of the dark alliance threatening their home, crew, and kingdom — or risk losing everything in the process.
NOVELLAS
Weaver – an Ilia ‘verse novella
Paranormal Gaslamp Fantasy | Sapphic Romance
Second-rate ghosthunter Anya Iteri comes from a family of metalweavers — powerful mages who can forge iron, shape steel, and even bend blood. Down on her luck and struggling for work, Anya bribes her little brother, a city guide, to let her drum up business on one of his tours.
The plan is simple. Summon a hibernating ghost to give the tour a good show, return it to its slumber, and collect a hefty tip. But the moment the tour begins, Anya encounters a ghost of a different kind: Eleira Soti, talented hunter and former love of her life, newly returned to the city after years away. El’s familiar face leaves Anya fighting distraction and attraction alike on her way into the city’s most haunted grounds.
The night goes from bad to worse when the wrong ghost gets summoned and fingers are pointed Anya’s way. A malignant spirit emerges from the veil, bent on destroying the tour and everyone on it. Racing against time, Anya must team up with El to trap the ghost, save her brother, and prove, once and for all, that her abilities aren’t as second-rate as others think.
The plan is simple. Summon a hibernating ghost to give the tour a good show, return it to its slumber, and collect a hefty tip. But the moment the tour begins, Anya encounters a ghost of a different kind: Eleira Soti, talented hunter and former love of her life, newly returned to the city after years away. El’s familiar face leaves Anya fighting distraction and attraction alike on her way into the city’s most haunted grounds.
The night goes from bad to worse when the wrong ghost gets summoned and fingers are pointed Anya’s way. A malignant spirit emerges from the veil, bent on destroying the tour and everyone on it. Racing against time, Anya must team up with El to trap the ghost, save her brother, and prove, once and for all, that her abilities aren’t as second-rate as others think.
Deathmark – An Ilia ‘verse novella
Paranormal Gaslamp Fantasy | MM Romance
By day, Cyprian Cavish is a waterweaver — a powerful mage capable of bending water and turning liquid to ice with a snap of his fingers. By night, he’s a famed Ilian monster hunter, keeping the city safe by hunting demons and banishing evil spirits.
All his life, Cyprian has had one rule: no one dies on his watch. But hunters can’t work alone, and Cyprian’s teammate, the infuriating and fabulous Jael Soti, harbors a terrible curse — one that kills him repeatedly, but won’t let him stay dead.
To make matters worse, Cyprian is completely and irrevocably in love with him.
When the curse turns malignant without warning, threatening to kill Jael once and for all, Cyprian puts together a team of hunters to find the weaver who hexed Jael’s family. The search takes them to a dark corner of the city where the hunter becomes the hunted, and nothing is as it seems. With Jael fading and the clock ticking ever faster, Cyprian must fine a way to cure the curse and save his team…
Or he’ll watch Jael die for the last time.
All his life, Cyprian has had one rule: no one dies on his watch. But hunters can’t work alone, and Cyprian’s teammate, the infuriating and fabulous Jael Soti, harbors a terrible curse — one that kills him repeatedly, but won’t let him stay dead.
To make matters worse, Cyprian is completely and irrevocably in love with him.
When the curse turns malignant without warning, threatening to kill Jael once and for all, Cyprian puts together a team of hunters to find the weaver who hexed Jael’s family. The search takes them to a dark corner of the city where the hunter becomes the hunted, and nothing is as it seems. With Jael fading and the clock ticking ever faster, Cyprian must fine a way to cure the curse and save his team…
Or he’ll watch Jael die for the last time.
NOVELS
The Dark Arm of the Maker
Royal Chef Neveshir Sevelin is a Karán: a man born with dangerous magic running through his veins. Like all Maker-touched, he can use fire to transmute, but only Karán have the power to kill with it. Though most Karán spend their careers bound in service on the war-front, Neveshir has sworn off killing. He roams free in Alkaya where he uses his talents to craft culinary masterpieces for his former shieldmate and dearest friend, Shah Melík Saf Kanh, ruler of all Esenia.
When a terrible disease breaks out in the city, however, Neveshir is asked to revisit the powerful magic he hasn’t used in decades — a request that has the Maker’s Guild up in arms. Neveshir can’t blame them. He knows what he is: a poison-blood who was Maker-made to take lives, not save them.
Then Melík falls ill. The disease spreads beyond the Guild’s ability to control, showing a malevolence that defies medicine and forces Neveshir to consider more extreme measures. In order to discover the source of the disease, transmute a cure, and save the man he’s not supposed to love, Neveshir must overcome his fear of his own nature — before it’s too late.
When a terrible disease breaks out in the city, however, Neveshir is asked to revisit the powerful magic he hasn’t used in decades — a request that has the Maker’s Guild up in arms. Neveshir can’t blame them. He knows what he is: a poison-blood who was Maker-made to take lives, not save them.
Then Melík falls ill. The disease spreads beyond the Guild’s ability to control, showing a malevolence that defies medicine and forces Neveshir to consider more extreme measures. In order to discover the source of the disease, transmute a cure, and save the man he’s not supposed to love, Neveshir must overcome his fear of his own nature — before it’s too late.
The Oceana Series
Epic Nautical Fantasy with LGBT+ Protagonists
Book One: Wicked Waters
Mercenary sailor Jack’s past comes back to haunt him when his crew receives a commission during the height of hurricane season. Charged with returning the all-too-familiar Prince Valory to the capital by way of the isles, Jack and schooner Windjammer battle storms and sea-monsters alike in Oceana’s treacherous waters.
Jack’s new patron, however, is no ordinary nobleman. A hardened soldier and powerful commander, Valory boards Windjammer to scour the isles for signs of the mysterious new threat at Oceana’s borders: an evil that burns innocents alive and smashes ships to pieces.
Yet Jack isn’t without secrets of his own — secrets that unravel under the growing intensity of a forbidden attraction to his patron. Forced to reclaim his lost title, Jack comes face-to-face with the past he thought he’d outrun. As Windjammer races to defend Oceana from invasion, he and Valory must work together to untangle the threads of the dark alliance threatening their home, crew, and kingdom — or risk losing everything in the process.
Jack’s new patron, however, is no ordinary nobleman. A hardened soldier and powerful commander, Valory boards Windjammer to scour the isles for signs of the mysterious new threat at Oceana’s borders: an evil that burns innocents alive and smashes ships to pieces.
Yet Jack isn’t without secrets of his own — secrets that unravel under the growing intensity of a forbidden attraction to his patron. Forced to reclaim his lost title, Jack comes face-to-face with the past he thought he’d outrun. As Windjammer races to defend Oceana from invasion, he and Valory must work together to untangle the threads of the dark alliance threatening their home, crew, and kingdom — or risk losing everything in the process.
NOVELLAS
Weaver – an Ilia ‘verse novella
Paranormal Gaslamp Fantasy | Sapphic Romance
Second-rate ghosthunter Anya Iteri comes from a family of metalweavers — powerful mages who can forge iron, shape steel, and even bend blood. Down on her luck and struggling for work, Anya bribes her little brother, a city guide, to let her drum up business on one of his tours.
The plan is simple. Summon a hibernating ghost to give the tour a good show, return it to its slumber, and collect a hefty tip. But the moment the tour begins, Anya encounters a ghost of a different kind: Eleira Soti, talented hunter and former love of her life, newly returned to the city after years away. El’s familiar face leaves Anya fighting distraction and attraction alike on her way into the city’s most haunted grounds.
The night goes from bad to worse when the wrong ghost gets summoned and fingers are pointed Anya’s way. A malignant spirit emerges from the veil, bent on destroying the tour and everyone on it. Racing against time, Anya must team up with El to trap the ghost, save her brother, and prove, once and for all, that her abilities aren’t as second-rate as others think.
The plan is simple. Summon a hibernating ghost to give the tour a good show, return it to its slumber, and collect a hefty tip. But the moment the tour begins, Anya encounters a ghost of a different kind: Eleira Soti, talented hunter and former love of her life, newly returned to the city after years away. El’s familiar face leaves Anya fighting distraction and attraction alike on her way into the city’s most haunted grounds.
The night goes from bad to worse when the wrong ghost gets summoned and fingers are pointed Anya’s way. A malignant spirit emerges from the veil, bent on destroying the tour and everyone on it. Racing against time, Anya must team up with El to trap the ghost, save her brother, and prove, once and for all, that her abilities aren’t as second-rate as others think.
Deathmark – An Ilia ‘verse novella
Paranormal Gaslamp Fantasy | MM Romance
By day, Cyprian Cavish is a waterweaver — a powerful mage capable of bending water and turning liquid to ice with a snap of his fingers. By night, he’s a famed Ilian monster hunter, keeping the city safe by hunting demons and banishing evil spirits.
All his life, Cyprian has had one rule: no one dies on his watch. But hunters can’t work alone, and Cyprian’s teammate, the infuriating and fabulous Jael Soti, harbors a terrible curse — one that kills him repeatedly, but won’t let him stay dead.
To make matters worse, Cyprian is completely and irrevocably in love with him.
When the curse turns malignant without warning, threatening to kill Jael once and for all, Cyprian puts together a team of hunters to find the weaver who hexed Jael’s family. The search takes them to a dark corner of the city where the hunter becomes the hunted, and nothing is as it seems. With Jael fading and the clock ticking ever faster, Cyprian must fine a way to cure the curse and save his team…
Or he’ll watch Jael die for the last time.
All his life, Cyprian has had one rule: no one dies on his watch. But hunters can’t work alone, and Cyprian’s teammate, the infuriating and fabulous Jael Soti, harbors a terrible curse — one that kills him repeatedly, but won’t let him stay dead.
To make matters worse, Cyprian is completely and irrevocably in love with him.
When the curse turns malignant without warning, threatening to kill Jael once and for all, Cyprian puts together a team of hunters to find the weaver who hexed Jael’s family. The search takes them to a dark corner of the city where the hunter becomes the hunted, and nothing is as it seems. With Jael fading and the clock ticking ever faster, Cyprian must fine a way to cure the curse and save his team…
Or he’ll watch Jael die for the last time.
FLASH FICTION
Spring has sprung with April’s flash fiction roundup.
March was a mad month this year, folks. Come on in and process the madness with another round-up of flash fiction prompts.
February’s flash fiction prompt roundup is here! Sharpen your pencils, check ’em out, and join a discussion about editing in the comments.