Merritt Daniel McDowell
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mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
Merritt Daniel McDowell
@mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
810 followers 580 following 53 posts
ink-stained wretch & nom de guerre of jayxwolf.bsky.social.
Song of the Scourgelands book 3 CROWN OF THE WORLD UNBOUND out 2025!
Start @ Book 1: Bringer of the Scourge, spfbo x semifinalist: https://books2read.com/bringer

https://linktr.ee/mdanielmcdowell
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mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
Last day to snag the ebook of my SPFBOX Semifinalist old school revival fantasy adventure Bringer of the Scourge at a discount!

books2read.com/bringer
Cover art for Bringer of the Scourge featuring the demon-armored Vierrelyne du Talorr standing triumphant on an iridescent fog of war.
December 31, 2024 at 4:55 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
And, of course, if you think my old-school renaissance adventure fantasy might be your jam:

books2read.com/bringer

And I do have review copies available (digital only)
Trope map for Bringer of the Scourge features the cover art of a woman in Elizabethan beaded cauls and a lace collar and heavy ornate fantasy armor a la Warhammer on a shimmering fog of war background The trope map reads: The princess might be a monster Dreadful prophetic dreams Loathsome otherworldly creatures Tough + badass older lady mentor Dramatic escapes Mysterious cultist on an equally mysterious mission Demonic enchanted weaponry Sometimes trauma is a bonding experience
December 10, 2024 at 6:24 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
Hey all!! The Indie Black Friday Sale is this Friday, & a certain old-school revival fantasy adventure is one of the 170 titles available for a buck! fantastic lineup including a ton of spfbo friends 💜

A huge thank you to @jamesldulin.bsky.social for hosting!

www.jamesldulin.com/blackfridays...
Indie Black Friday Sale image featuring covers from 44 of the 170 books in the sale this year; the full list of books is available on the site linked in the post.
November 28, 2024 at 3:15 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
Authors, let's start a chain of posts of your FIRST published book! Quote-post the cover, a link, and three words about it! Here's mine!

Bringer of the Scourge (2023)
old-school adventure fantasy

books2read.com/bringer
cover of M Daniel McDowell novel Bringer of the Scourge features warrior princess Vierrelyne du Talorr, dressed in heavy fantasy armor and wearing a diadem with an evil green gem. Her pose is heroic, holding a banner aloft and a giant broadsword in hand. She is standing in an eerie iridescent fog of war. the logotype of the title, in an ornate calligraphy, is the same eerie green as her gem.
November 24, 2024 at 7:46 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
Crown of the World Unbound, the third book in the Scourgelands sequence, is coming in summer 2025!

👑

To mend what is torn, she must first gather the pieces.

Kharise gen Valuur once wandered the many lands of Derebor. Now she must don its shattered crown—or someone else will.

👑
An iridescent dark cover with glowing text that reads "Crown of the World Unbound" in a swirly calligraphy with "M Daniel McDowell", "Song of the Scourgelands: book 3", and "Full cover to be revealed" in bold type
October 22, 2024 at 4:27 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
I am still in somewhat startled disbelief that I am a #SPFBOX semifinalist! Honored, stunned, relieved, humbled... I'm veritably verklempt. I still have not gotten around to doing all the little things about it, but I am beside myself. 💜
Cover art for Bringer of the Scourge features Princess Vierrelyne in her cauls and lace collar contrasting her heavy demon armor
August 29, 2024 at 11:13 AM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
so, it turns out that I require the DIAMONDLIKE creation-pressure of an existing cover and a hard deadline to make myself do the thing

HOWEVER

Since I am hand-painting my cover and I'm extremely a specific type of person: we have A PLACEHOLDER

THE SHEPHERD IN SHADOW: June 2024
On a black background, centered scrollwork modern blackletter calligraphy in white that reads: The Shepherd in Shadow Below this, a centered nine-faceted gem icon in white followed by the text: M. Daniel McDowell FULL COVER TO BE REVEALED
January 31, 2024 at 3:51 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
oh right I have a book out this week!!

two days ago even!!

BRINGER OF THE SCOURGE is here!! Finally, after a summer of intense drafting and revisions and a little fancy footwork in the aesthetics.

a.co/d/h74cWc8
card shows the cover art of Bringer of the Scourge with the text including the title and description "retro grimdark fantasy" with tags reading: prophecies & dark visions, shadow princes, enchanted weaponry, dramatic escapes, sacking a castle for fun & profit, sometimes trauma is a bonding experience, breaking the cycle of a cursed legacy, the princess is a monster in this one"
September 27, 2023 at 10:17 PM
mdanielmcdowell.bsky.social
one of my fellow Derby contestants made me this really lovely Tropes and Themes meme image for my book! I love it!

BRINGER OF THE SCOURGE will be available September 25th on all the usual platforms (and possibly some unusual ones)--D2D is giving me grief, but Amazon pre-order is up!

a.co/d/7Xv005S
Image shows the cover of Bringer of the Scourge, a dark fantasy adventure novel with a cover that features a young woman in elizabethan cauls and lace collar wearing intense magical fantasy armor inclucing a crown with a wicked-looking eyelike green gem at its center. the book is categorized as a "retro" grimdark and the image features trope arrows that say: -enchanted weapons -prophetic visions & dark dreams -shadow princes -enchanted weaponry -sacking a castle for fun and profit -dramatic escapes -sometimes trauma is a bonding experience -the princess is a monster in this one -breaking the cycle of a cursed legacy
September 9, 2023 at 4:48 PM