Debut Novel Out Now
An Epic Haunted Fantasy
“I had to keep reminding myself that Hounding is Randall's debut novel. The sense of authorial assuredness that's evident on every page makes it easy to think this is a book by a seasoned pro. So does the skillful fusion of dark fantasy with primordial cosmic horror, encountered through the eyes and mind of a believable young protagonist and focused through the narrative and stylistic lens of psychological realism. Readers in search of compelling characters, vivid storytelling, and a fully realized and grittily immersive fictional otherworld will be richly rewarded.”
— Matt Cardin, author of To Rouse Leviathan and What the Daemon Said
HOUNDING:
A TALE OF THE HEAVING SKY
The world of the Four Corners is not as it seems. When his hermit father is executed for housing forbidden artifacts, teenager and troublemaker Greydal becomes the target of a centuries-old witch hunt, upending his already tumultuous existence. Agents of the diabolic Red Legate, a despot-turned-god, seek Greydal for his connection to his father's accursed artifacts. Worse, something else beyond reason now wants him for an altogether darker purpose.
Greydal must escape the vine-choked village of his boyhood to uncover the secrets that fester beyond the horizon. Terrors real and imagined threaten reality itself, and despite his best wishes, only he can stop them. But will anything be left of him by the end?
An excerpt from Hounding: A Tale of the Heaving Sky…
Marcos picked up Greydal’s axe and held it aloft. “This symbol on your weapon represents something like a god, such as your Bishop. But it is much older than him. It predates our people, maybe all people, everywhere.” Marcos got close to Greydal. The man dwarfed him. The forest was quiet as the giant spoke, “It is very, very dangerous to be associated with this thing."
Greydal connected the dots. He asked, "Is this god of yours called the Interloper?"
The old king replied, "When I was a lad, my da' called it Old Man Moonlight, for night's its time. Others may call it different. The Interloper is a name, same as any word. It tries to describe something in the world. Yet, the thing behind this symbol is not like a tree, or a person."
"What is it?" Greydal's voice sounded hollow. A new wind stalked through the trees, a school of invisible, whispering animals spilling their bizarre secrets into the night air. That odd thought blew through his mind as he noticed he could only just glimpse Roan's face now out of the corner of his vision. Her eyes bored into his head, and her pupils seemed too large. When had the forest gotten so dark?
King Marcos took a breath. His eyes were jewels in the light of the fire. He put a heavy hand on Greydal's good knee and said, "If you went an infinite distance in one direction, what would happen if you went one step more?"
Greydal blinked and shook his head, replying, "I—I don't know."
King Marcos nodded and said, "Alright. Instead, say you lived in a two-dimensional world, like a drawing. How would a three-dimensional object appear to you if it touched you?" Greydal made to reply and the king interrupted him, saying, "Take your time, think about it."
He paused and did as King Marcos asked. After a time, he answered, "I don't know, a dot...a point? I wouldn't be able to interact with the whole of it, only the part that touched me."
"Exactly. That is the Interloper."
"I don't understand."
"I know you don't, lad. Your brain isn't tuned for it. All of us fail in the exact same way when interacting with the things truly bigger than us."
"Okay. So...what's your point?"
"Lad, the point is...we make symbols, like the one on your axe. They act as a kind of shorthand. In your case, it signifies you're part of something larger."
About Travis
Travis Randall is a native Texan making his way in the larger United States. Since 2018, he has worked in the cyber threat intelligence field, where writing and research go hand-in-hand.
If that doesn’t pan out, he plans to chase UFOs.
When not working, he spends his time devouring horror and fantasy: film, literature, or otherwise. Blended genre stories fascinate him, as well as truth in fiction. He currently resides in northern Illinois.
Hounding: A Tale of the Heaving Sky is his debut novel.
