I am excited to introduce a project that I began working on at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Inspired by the City of Chicago and allowing my imagination to run free, I wrote a novel-length story about a magical world that exists right under our noses. For many of my friends and family that read this, they may find some of the characters sound awfully familiar – that’s on purpose! It’s easiest for me to create a story when I picture the people I know in it. Here’s a brief synopsis of that story:
Jason Ellington is a down-to-earth, easy going guy living in modern day Chicago. Estranged from his perennially absent father, his only living relative, Jason has always felt like there was a piece of him that had been missing. On his twenty-fifth birthday, his life changes forever when magical powers manifest within him, propelling him into a world of good versus evil. Jason is immediately pursued by a band of evil, humanlike Devitors, narrowly escaping with his life after being saved by a member of an Altruite group.
When he’s introduced to the larger group of Altruites, he is shocked to find that most of his life as he has known it has been a lie, and begins to understand the great lengths his family has gone to in hiding it from him. Jason soon learns that he may be the prophetic key to quelling an impending war brought on by the Domenicians that could wipe out much of humankind. While he works at refining his newfound skills and coming to terms with a world he never knew existed, Jason’s adventure is just getting started.
Lastly, I want to point out that this is an unedited manuscript and is likely full of minor mistakes. I’ve re-read it a couple times and, while it is far from a masterpiece, it is a fun and adventurous tale that I hope you all enjoy enough to keep reading. I plan on releasing 3-5 chapters every few days and will label them in order to make reading along easier.
If you feel like sharing this story with family or friends, please do! You can share the link to my website, www.ryan-j-hougardy.com, or you can use the “content me” page and I can send you the chapters as they are released. If you are curious about the chapters as they come out, leave a comment and I’ll be more than happy to give you some insight.
Thank you again and happy reading!
