The Dark Fantasy Worlds Behind My Books — And the Art They Inspire

A medieval tavern that sits on a cobbled street lit by torches. A dank alley runs down the side of the tavern, littered with debris. A large wooden sign hangs above a lantern in the doorway. The sign reads 'The Dead Duck'. Patrons can be seen inside through the leaded windows, lit by the golden glow of the light within. Several hard-weathered figures can be seen on the street outside.

When I wrote the ‘Blood Rage’ trilogy, I created a whole world for my characters to live in. The world that I wanted to set their story in. It was the world of Armada; a dark, gritty, medieval-style, fantasy world. One of the locations in this world is ‘The Dead Duck’, a tavern whose landlord holds an allegiance to a guild of thieves known as ‘The Crimson Guild’. The image above is an illustration of ‘The Dead Duck’ that I generated using AI, to try and bring the world to life for those who are more visual. I’d like to say here that I have found it very difficult to get AI to produce an image that represents a description I have provided of the image in your head, but I must say that after refining my prompts a few times, I am very pleased with how this one turned out.

The world of Armada has inspired a lot of art for me. I remember sketching some of the scenes to anchor them in my head and support my writing. I have also created other art for merchandise that can be found in my Merch store; here’s an example:

A white ceramic mug with an emblem representing 'The Crimson Guild'; a single drop of blood sits central to the image upon crossed swords where they overlap. Above the swords there is a hooded face, old keys cross in the same manner below, a pouch of gold coins sits on the right, and a quiver of arrows on the left. The Crimson Guild is written on a decorative scroll at the bottom.

I’ve created a short movie clip of the scene where the Ku-Shee chases Conall and Erin through the forest, as well as other images of the creatures that inhabit the world, and scenes from the book. Most of which I plan to share with you all in future blog posts.

If there are any particular scenes, creatures, or merchandise that you would particularly like to see, please let me know in the comments.

Happy Reading!

What If Your City Turned Dark Fantasy?

My ‘Dark City’ Series of posts is almost at an end, and who knows, I may bring it back to life again another day. But for now, I bring you a dark fantasy portrayal of… Perth!

A dark fantasy depiction of Perth City. Glyphs are infused into the buildings, glowing bright, turning Perth into a Vegas-like city from some dark nightmare. A huge tentacled creature rises from the river beneath the light of the blood moon, and dark creatures hide in the shadows.

Perth City. Another place I have yet to visit. Even though I live in Australia, this city is approximately 5 hours flight from Brisbane, and I can get to a number of international destinations in less time than it takes me to get to Perth. However, I still plan to get there one day.

But to visit the Perth of this dark fantasy world it would do you well to ponder these questions:

When the Blood Moon rises over the Swan River, how much blood flows from the ancient runes lit by its glow?

What creatures stir in the mist that coils around King’s Park, and what secrets does it whisper about the forest’s oldest stones?

When the auroras twist crimson and green above the skyline, do they mark the return of the river god, or the opening of a portal to another realm?

What tribute must the fishermen offer at Elizabeth Quay to keep the tentacled behemoth beneath the waters from rising?

Which cathedral bells toll backwards at midnight, and what souls respond to their call?

The creature in the water looks oddly familiar to me… I wonder… could it be… is this the lake dweller from one of my own tales or is it just a coincidence?

Come back next week for the final image in my ‘dark city’ series.

Happy Reading!