Cursed mage

I've been a writer my entire life. This pen name was created in 2013 for publishing sake. I also have Tod Leben and Cat Gillette as pen names.

I write dark fantasy, high fantasy, slice of life fiction, and fairy tales. I dab in romance, but that is not my typical skill set.

This random novel I started at the end of February 2025 was completely off the top of my head without any plotting or planning. I have no idea what to expect. I don't know who will end up as what.

Minus:

1. Don't fear my main characters dying. It's rare in any sense a named character in my stories die. If they die, assume there will be reincarnation.

2. Happily Ever Afters are my thing. So even if I go dark somewhere in the middle, assume there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Life is tough enough.

3. In this book's case, Thomas will end it either stepping fully into crown prince duties or becoming king. I can't say exactly how, but he will be matching his birth's expectation's. Getting him to that point is all questions. (And mind you, the stories can continue after the fact depending on how I get him there.)

4. This is fantasy adventure. The fantasy we're looking at seems to be more steampunk than typical, but we'll see where the genre truly ends up.

I'm open to any suggestions as to pathways. I would also love names for future named characters.

You can learn more about my work on my website: Hartliebe.com

As I mentioned elsewhere... None of my published works give the same vibe as this. I have two other series that are WIPs (Teen Test Train and The Organization) that vibe similarly, but they're unpublished and inaccessible to the general public.