Dog Ear Publishing announces the release of The First Mother's Fire, an epic fantasy novel of magic and metaphysics by new author W.L. Hoffman. It is the first title in "The Soulstealer War" series.
About the Book:
Unemployed after graduation, Kenneth McNary seeks inspiration on the Appalachian Trail. He never suspected that it would find him first. Ken is transported to a fairytale world by a god-like sentience and is tasked with uniting the world's denizens for a coming war--a war with eternal consequences for every soul consumed by the Enemy. While grappling with metaphysics and the dangers of his strange surroundings, Ken learns that the few humans inhabiting the realm are meek slaves to near-immortal beings who have lost their magic. Complicating this situation is a mysterious new race of magic wielders and the reappearance of subterranean, flesh-eating creatures long thought extinct. To survive the perils and embrace his destiny in a land hostile to humanity, Ken must discover the Fire within. But he faces two problems: he is a novice pitted against masters, and the magic may kill him before the masters do!
Hoffman weaves an epic fantasy tale from the unusual eye of a practical survivalist who cannot resist contemplating the nature of existence and the possibility of true magic. Scientific theory and religious dogma are subtly invited to meet on common ground as the main character, Kenneth McNary, seeks to understand true magic. He is the reluctant wizard, dependent on magic to dispel the bleak preconceptions burdening mere humans in a mythic world, and yet struggling vainly to escape his doomed fate. Power comes with a price, a price that may always be too high for humanity in its current incarnation.
About the Author:
W.L. Hoffman was born in the 1960's in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Hoffman's interest in reading fantasy and science fiction was voracious from an early age. He took advanced English curricula through high school, received his BA in English from Duke University and attended English literature classes at New College at Oxford University in England. Following his introduction to legislative drafting while serving in the Duke University student government, Hoffman obtained his JD from Cornell Law School. While there, he edited and wrote as an associate on the Cornell International Law Journal and, between legal treatises, continued devouring fantasy and science fiction stories. With his creativity under daily siege from the law professors, his dreams wandered into strange realms as he quested for life's higher meaning. Thus was born the foundation for his first fantasy novel series, The Soulstealer War. Hoffman currently resides in central New Jersey with his wife and daughters. He enjoys spending time with his girls, digging in their organic vegetable garden, exploring the wilds of the nearby Sourland Mountains, and telling tales on the front porch to what he knows will be the next generation of dreamers and writers.