Introducing my first novel, Ellamir! Although it's too early to be doing any serious marketing, I've had such a great response to the story among the Bluesky author community that I wanted to get some information onto the website before the official book page is published later in 2026, and something to send to early adopters of my recently-launched email newsletter.
I often describe Ellamir as a Regency romance meets high fantasy crossover novel influenced by (and often blatantly referencing) some of my favourite authors: Jane Austen, Patrick O'Brian and J R R Tolkien (with maybe a little Evelyn Waugh too, when I'm feeling anachronistic). My aim is to write something that lovingly pastiches the great Georgian romances whilst simultaneously poking fun at them a little: indeed, several of the major characters are borrowed, deliberately ill-disguised, from my two favourite Austen novels Emma and Pride & Prejudice (the eponymous. The initial inspiration was to explore what might happen if these haughty, highly class-conscious citizens of a rural village were to find their quiet idyll invaded by a party of adventurers from a Dungeons & Dragons campaign.
I also wanted to infuse my story with themes that resonated with me from those two Austen works, particularly their resolute and independent-minded heroines - one of them I'm calling "Found Feminism", and I'll expand on this in another article very soon. Another theme is one which I'm intensely curious to know what she would have thought of - a woman choosing independence without marriage (as Emma thinks she will), in a society where everything a woman owned became the legal property of her husband upon marriage - except in circumstances that might easily have been scandalous in Regency Britain. I can't say much about that without going way over my spoiler red line, but suffice to say that early readers and collaborators are very into it!
This is the first sketch I ever wrote for Ellamir, which became the opening scene:
There can be few occasions in the communal life of a respectable village more likely to excite comment than that of the imminent arrival of a new and as yet unknown neighbour. A newcomer, by virtue of their wealth, circumstance or infamy, may have so considerable an effect upon the fortunes of the community that it cannot but be expected that they should be the subject of much speculation, in proportion to their supposed consequence. So it was, then, that rumour of a gentleman of such substance as to be able to purchase the Keaning estate had great capacity for speculation, so many speculations, indeed, that a single sitting of an eminent lady’s morning gathering in the neighbouring village of Upthorpe Thoroughbourne could scarcely be sufficient to entertain them all.
“A very good fortune, no doubt,” said Lady Lamont, who held a certain authority but little reputation for accuracy, “yet, I am persuaded, not possessed of a title; for were an ennobled gentleman in search of a seat in these parts, I should certainly have heard of it.”
To this assertion, her ladyship’s assembled friends and those neighbours whom she condescended to invite were all ready to agree: undoubtedly, they said, nodding to each other, it must be so. It had better be so, a few of them reflected privately, for it was fairly well understood that any person of noble blood coming into the neighbourhood that might implicitly challenge Lady L’s primacy of societal rank could not but be the object of her most determined resentment.
“Possessed not of a title, perhaps,” said Miss Minton slyly, “but might he be possessed of a wife?” This was more to the point for the younger ladies, who would be prepared to overlook a deficiency in noble blood where ample means and good character were present, for Upthorpe was a parish lamentably little populated with single gentlemen of good fortune, and many were in want of a husband.
“Could Mr Yates not provide any further information, Lady Lamont, even to yourself?” asked Mrs Tinsley, a genteel woman much to be relied upon to support her distinguished friend’s self-enamour. Lady Lamont shook her head, smiling approvingly at the compliment.
“I believe not, my dear Mrs Tinsley, not even to myself. No doubt an attorney of Mr Yates’ experience will have a legal reason for guarding the details of the conveyance with secrecy. However, with a little natural penetration, perhaps one may draw a conclusion or two, and I must tell you that I do have reason to greatly fear…”
Lady Lamont paused, teacup and saucer poised beneath her imperiously pursed lips, and dutifully her audience widened their eyes and leant forwards: whatever was liable to inspire great fear in their venerable patroness was indeed a matter of significant concern and undeniable interest, or at the very least, it was their duty to appear as if it was. Certainly it was known to all that some odd stories had been circulating among the lesser residents and servants: a tale of a peculiarly large wolf killed at a farmstead not fifteen miles hence; a sighting of a party of dwarves on the High Road, armed to the teeth and bemoaning, as usual, some injustice or other; a swarthy fellow passing through the village who was rumoured by the patrons of the tavern he frequented to be a rogue; and worst of all, reports of elvish activity not far north of the parish boundary. It seemed that suddenly, threats to civilised life were being spoken of everywhere. What monstrous new horror had now been brought to Lady Lamont’s attention?
"Yes, I greatly fear," she repeated, "that the abbey and its lands have been purchased with new money!”
If you liked what you read, and you're not yet following along with me on the journey, please do connect with me on social media and Discord, and sign up for my newsletter for a monthly update on Ellamir! You can also read more about Ellamir in the series of companion articles that I'll be publishing going forward.
