Welcome to my worlds!

I'm James Maxey, author of fantasy and science fiction. My novels include the science fantasy Bitterwood Saga (4 books) the Dragon Apocalypse Saga (4 books), numerous superhero novels including Nobody Gets the Girl and the Lawless series, the steampunk Oz sequel Bad Wizard, and my short story collections, There is No Wheel and Jagged Gate. This website is focused exclusively on writing. At my second blog, Jawbone of an Ass, I ramble through any random topic that springs to mind, occasionally touching on religion and politics and other subjects polite people are sensible enough not to discuss in public. If you'd like to get monthly updates on new releases, as well as preview chapters and free short stories, join my newsletter!




Thursday, June 14, 2018

Victory: Lawless Book Three


Aliens have stolen the moon! Fortunately, Golden Victory leads the Lawful Legion into outer space to save the day. But, back on Earth, Screaming Jenny is trying to solve the mystery of her fractured memories, a quest that leads her to break a dangerous supervillain out of prison. The dark secrets she discovers will change the world forever, and may mean the end of the Lawful Legion. 

So, this all sounds pretty dire, and while the stakes are higher in this novel than in any of the previous Lawless books, I also think this might be the funniest of the three. There's so many different characters playing off one another that almost every page gets at least one funny line. Putting the dialogue in the scenes together was sort of like building a spoken word jigsaw puzzle. In the first draft, I'd reach the end of a chapter, feel pretty good about it, then realize, crap, Anyman was in the same room the whole time and didn't have a single word of dialogue. But, that's why you write second drafts, then third drafts, then fourth drafts, then start wondering why the hell you put yourself through this again and again and again. Then you read it one last time and find that somehow it's all come together and reads like a real book and everything, and the jigsaw puzzle dialogue has magically become an actual scene where the plot gets advanced and the various characters shine through. 

While the novel is named after Golden Victory, it's really a team effort, and the story is balanced among several characters. And, while I've mentioned the humor, it's a pretty dark novel in a lot of ways, as some of the characters have disturbing back stories. You don't take up the hobby of skulking in alleys and beating up muggers if you've come from a happy, healthy, well adjusted family. In other words, it's a James Maxey novel, a blend of the bizarre, the comic, the tragic, and the romantic. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Grab your copy here!