Gepetto’s Orphans: The Emergence of the Lost People Comes to Haxan

My new Haxan story “Gepetto’s Orphans” has a long lineage. You might say it’s as old as the story of Pinocchio himself. Now, truth be told, many stories have been written about a wooden boy who becomes real. But being a dark fantasy writer it’s my job to look beyond the ordinary and seek the extraordinary.

That’s why I wanted to write a story not about Pinocchio, but about his creator. And what better setting than Haxan, that grinding maelstrom of space and time in the Old West?

I wrote this story for one reason. A very good friend of mine, M.G. Ellington, loves the story of Pinocchio. Which got me to thinking  how I could write a story that incorporated the themes she liked but set in Haxan. “Gepetto’s Orphans” was the frightening result, and I dedicate it to her.

“Gepetto’s Orphans” is now available from Argo Navis Publishing on Kindle. This is a special story to my heart, and one in which you will, I hope, see Marshal Marwood in a different light. Magra Snowberry also plays a pivotal role. Enjoy! 🙂

Product Description: In the quiet streets of Haxan, New Mexico, circa 1874, strange enigmatic statues of wooden Native Americans appear. Beautifully carved, with exquisite attention to detail, the statues rest on massive pedestals and cannot be moved. They are harbingers of The Emergence, a time when the Lost People will spill from the dark bowels of the earth and bring with them the end of the physical world.

Marshal John Marwood is charged with protecting Haxan. The woman he loves, Magra Snowberry, holds the key to understanding what The Emergence is all about. But this time Marwood’s bone-handled Colt is useless against a foe made of living wood. And if he does somehow defeat these orphans from Gepetto…how can he find the man who is carving them, and bringing them to life?

“Combines dark fantasy and Gothic influences while avoiding sentimentality and myth.” –Michael Merriam, award winning author of Should We Drown in Feathered Sleep