New Release Announcement

joelcmckay
Jun 1
4 min read

Well, as teased earlier this year the news is thusly: my first full-length novel The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan is due out August 15th from Amazon and wherever else we can make it available.

Pre-Orders for the ebook are live here.

Paperback copies will be available for order August 15th.

Here's the gist:

Two thieves. One legendary treasure. Zero trust.

Deena Rae at eBookBuilders really outdid herself designing this cover and interior layout.

Wincott is a washed-up burglar with a bad back, frozen toes, and a goblin kill count that’s making his life very complicated. When he flees into the long-abandoned mountain city of Roan—just ahead of a bloodthirsty goblin horde—he finds himself knocked out cold by none other than his estranged son: Sish Torren, a fast-talking rogue with a short sword, shorter temper, and a talent for backstabbing... sometimes literally.

Roan is rumored to house an ancient treasure. It’s also filled with deadly traps, crumbling ruins, and the kind of secrets that swallow people whole. Wincott and Sish reluctantly join forces—not out of love, but because no one survives Roan solo for long. Especially not with mercenaries, monsters, and a certain vengeful former crew barreling toward them.

The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan is “Dungeons & Dysfunction” meets Ocean’s Eleven—if everyone in the crew had unresolved trauma and zero impulse control. A darkly funny, fast-paced fantasy adventure full of sharp blades, sharper tongues, and just enough heart to keep you rooting for the worst people to do the right thing... eventually.

Perfect for fans of Nicholas Eames, Joe Abercrombie, and heist stories with emotional baggage and bite.

Here's the background:

Six or seven years ago I took off for a solo weekend writing retreat in the Robson Valley. I got one story done that weekend that never saw the light of day, but it did create a place ... Fort Shatterstill, a lonely, abandoned mountain fortress overlooking a vast wintry valley. A place that, on the surface at least, rarely sees summer.

I had another thought that weekend too, an image in my mind of a thief running up a snowy mountainside, escaping something before vanishing inside the mountain after treasure...

The short story and the idea stuck around a while. I tried writing a story around it more than once but never really got anywhere. Then, in 2021, an idea hit me: not one thief but two. They stumble upon one another. They don't like one another. And they're father and son.

The dynamic reminded me a bit of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but a little more ... dark, which is my style anyway. Probably bigger than that, I wanted it to be darkly funny. And I wanted the story to be fun, an ode to one-off adventure stories of decades past. Something you don't have to think too hard about.

The 2021 #NaNoWriMo competition was the impetus to make headway. I tackled it that November, cranking out 50,000 words that month, another 40,000 the following month and then finishing the draft of The Dungeoneers and the Treasure of Roan in January 2022. Then ... nothing for three years. I got focused on other books, other projects, pretty well all of which (except one other fully-written novel) are published today.

Late last year, I finally got fed up and started editing. Two more versions of it saw the light of day before it was finalized for publication. To say I'm proud of it would be an understatement. I've spent much of the last half a decade writing and building a profile as a horror author, but this is not that. This is young adult fantasy adventure fiction, exactly the kind of thing I would've wanted to read when I was fourteen and getting deep into Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms.

A massive thank you goes to Deena Rae at eBookBuilders who knew exactly what I created and designed the amazing cover you see above. She also did all the interior formatting, description and really brought this thing to life. Deena, thank you.

Another thanks for to my publicist Mickey Mikkelson for the sage advice on a publication path, connections and, as always, promotions.

And to my brother, this one's for us and kids like us.

Anywho, since we're on the topic of fantasy...

Here's a list of fantasy books that have influenced me greatly: