Good morning! I’m excited to be back here on the Hive to announce that my second novel, Exodus of Gnomes (God Core #2), will be released by Portal Books on March 10th 2021 (you can pre-order the ebook here!).

I received such an overwhelmingly positive response to God of Gnomes’ cover reveal that I figured you wouldn’t mind me flinging its sequel at your eyeballs as well. I even designed the cover myself this time. Behold!

“Art” by me

Shockingly, my pen-and-paper masterpiece was not deemed cover-worthy by my publisher (rude, I know), and so they hired illustrator Raph Herrera Lomotan instead. A single glance at his Artstation profile is enough to reassure anyone that their commission is in brilliant hands.

Sure enough, Raph took my scrawlings (along with a Pinterest board I threw together) and turned them into, well, actual art.

BEHOLD (for real this time!)

Art by Raph Herrera Lomotan

I probably don’t need to tell you how happy I am with the result. Every detail – the gnarly chariot, the luminescent mushroom wheels, the leggy fellow lurking up in the top left – is pretty much exactly how I imagined. It’s as if Raph rescued the montage of images that were squiggling around in my brain and made them wonderfully real.

Not to be outdone, designer Andrei Bat (Bandrei) knocked the typography out of the park and somehow made the art even more eye-catching:

For those unfamiliar with the God Core series, book one (God of Gnomes) introduced Corey – a spirit who is reborn as a crystal with godlike powers over its subjects (and who is less than impressed with this new situation). The trilogy falls into the LitRPG subgenre, featuring game-like mechanics, but it’s just as accessible to non-gamers (source: lots of non-gamers who’ve enthusiastically praised the first book).

Here’s the official blurb (contains spoilers for the end of book 1; read at your own peril!):

A rolling gnome gathers no moss…

 The kobolds’ Core has been destroyed. The Grotto is safe once more, and the gnomes are finally beginning to regroup.

 But when a greater threat rises, their only hope of survival is to embark upon a monumental exodus, abandoning everything they’ve built and striking out across the surface in search of a new home. As the god of gnomes, Corey must place more faith than ever before in his denizens – and a few unexpected allies.

 Driven from their underground realm, the gnomes’ skills and resilience will be tested to their limits by deadly terrain, vicious wildlife, and unseen enemies snapping at their heels. If they cannot survive the perils of the journey and reach their new base before time runs out, then all will be lost.

I learned a lot from writing God of Gnomes, and I hope those who enjoyed it will love Exodus (featuring 100% more badgers!) even more. 

(Side note: if you’ve read God of Gnomes, please consider leaving a quick review on Amazon, Audible and/or Goodreads. We writers are but slaves to The Algorithm, and every single review helps!)

EXODUS OF GNOMES (God Core #2) will be released on March 10th 2021 in ebook, paperback and audiobook (once again narrated by the excellent Adam Sims).

You can pre-order the ebook HERE.