I’m happy to report that Hope and the Clever Man is now available from Amazon.

It took a little longer than I had originally planned, largely because my development editor, Kathleen Dale, suggested a rewrite that strengthened the story considerably and gave more weight to the characters’ actions.

Here’s the blurb:

An act of powerful magic in a moment of rage almost destroys Hope’s magical career before it starts, leaving her even more determined to prove her worth.

Her chance comes when she’s assigned to work for the eccentric inventor known as the Clever Man. The magical technology they create together could change the course of a war and help an oppressed people plan their revolution, but wealthy and powerful interests will fight to put it down any way they can.

If you’ve read Realmgolds, this book’s timeline includes the entire timeline of that first book. It’s the story of the people behind the scenes who made some of what happened in Realmgolds possible. You don’t have to read Realmgolds first, but if you haven’t read it yet and you want to, I have it at half price while I’m promoting Hope. That’s $6.98 for both books.

I’m going to drop the Chris Howard cover here yet again, because I love it so much. If you look at that cover and think “That looks like a book I’d want to read,” you’re very probably right, because Chris followed my art direction closely and gave me a cover that was exactly what I wanted and represents the book perfectly.

I’m very happy with how it’s come out, and looking forward to getting on with a less comprehensive but still significant rewrite on the sequel, Hope and the Patient Man.

Those links again (they’re Amazon affiliate links, so buying through them gives me more of the sale price even than normal):

Hope and the Clever Man 
Realmgolds

Mike Reeves-McMillan

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Mike Reeves-McMillan lives in Auckland, New Zealand, the setting of his Auckland Allies contemporary urban fantasy series; and also in his head, where the weather is more reliable, and there are a lot more wizards. He also writes the Gryphon Clerks series (steampunk/magepunk), the Hand of the Trickster series (sword-and-sorcery heist capers), and short stories which have appeared in venues such as Compelling Science Fiction and Cosmic Roots and Eldritch Shores.