An Unfound Door

An Unfound Door is a gothic dark fantasy novel about monsters and magic and power in decay.

Agnes, the adult daughter of an ailing king, has quietly managed the affairs of Faloren Castle for years. When a fearsome demon attacks her in a forest at the border of the kingdom, Agnes asks her knights to spare the monster’s life. Magic has become a forgotten art in Faloren, and Agnes hopes the power embodied by the monster may one day prove useful in mending the kingdom’s fallen fortunes.

On her return to a vast but decaying castle, Agnes finds the beast waiting for her, now in the form of a man who calls himself Fhiad. Posing as a scholar, Fhiad tells Agnes that he is determined to find the legendary treasure of Faloren’s royal family, a relic rumored to possess the potential to turn back time. Fhiad lost his kingdom in a devastating war, and he believes this treasure will allow him to restore his homeland to its former glory – at the expense of what little prosperity remains in Faloren.

Agnes follows Fhiad through dusty archives and moldering libraries, frightened by his intentions but intrigued by the possibility of claiming the relic’s magic for herself. As she learns the dark history of Fhiad’s demonic curse, Agnes realizes that they must descend into the shadows of the kingdom’s past together if they wish to bring light to the future.

I’m currently in the process of querying this manuscript. Please wish me luck! In the meantime, I’ve posted illustrated excerpts of a few chapters along with commentary here:

Chapter 1
On the importance of a compelling opening image.

Chapter 2
On establishing a setting without an exposition dump.

Chapter 3
On creating a catalyst for a character development arc.

Chapter 4
On a character’s struggle with a relatable internal debate.

Chapter 5
On the cozy temptations of the status-quo world.

Chapter 6
On the necessary disruption created by a story’s villain.

Chapter 7
On the timely introduction of a secondary protagonist.

Chapter 8
On fantasy libraries and romantic gender role reversals.

Chapter 9
On the misuse of magic and the gentle beauty of decay.

Chapter 10
On writing sympathetic antagonists.

Chapter 11
On augmenting a mystery through outside perspectives.

Chapter 12
On human nature and finding joy in a world filled with ruins.

Chapter 13
On characters behaving badly and needing room to grow.

Chapter 14
On why I love the quiet moment in the eye of the storm.

Chapter 15
On zombies, adventure tropes, and characters who aren’t heroes.

Chapter 16
On loss, grief, and learning to move on.

The story continues, but I’d like to save the events of the closing chapters for future readers.

The illustration at the top of this page was created by the magical Pyxchta.
The pixel art above was drawn by the bright and lovely Twolips.