I’m very pleased to share that Muses’ War: Fugue of Fire, the second book in the Muses’ War series, is now available for preorder, and it’s my sincere hope you’ll choose to give it a go.
I’m also excited to share my new series-specific website at museswar.com.
You’d think the second time around would be easier, but I still feel very babe-in the woods over the idea that I’m sharing this story with you, and that we’re only at the halfway point (at least I think that’s where we’re at, ha!) in this epic fantasy series about the place of art and beauty in culture. I am continually grateful for my friends at Raconteur Press for believing in this story, and in me.
Fugue of Fire picks up after the events of Overture of Shadow. The veil between worlds has been torn. Eagle’s Wing, the great sword of state, has been destroyed—sacrificed to repair the rift. What slipped through the breach before it sealed are loose in the world.
You may notice that the titles of this series are styled as symphonic movements, and that is by design. To me, a novel series like this is a symphony of storytelling, so using musical forms is natural to me, given my background in orchestral music. (The final two ‘movements’ of this literary symphony are planned to be called Scherzo of Madness and Finale of Radiance, respectively.)
For this novel, Fugue is an appropriate title. A fugue is a musical form that takes a subject and explores it with at least two, but frequently more voices. Like a musical fugue, the story of Fugue of Fire is built from three separate voices that echo, answer, contradict, and reshape one another.
Master Dorian Silversong, with his new apprentice Revan Aethelstan, accompany Master Ilmarinen Steelhammer in his quest to reforge Breheimen’s broken symbol of unity, gathering rare materials and Muse-touched artisans from across the kingdom.
Praeceptor Phrygian Eobanus challenges the Church of the Muse from within, forcing old doctrines, hidden truths, and buried fears into the light. Mistress Lydian Gleamingharpe and her restored apprentice Mixolydian “Mixie” Thornecrest support and defend Phrygian from threats both obvious and hidden.
Lady Seraphina Ravenscroft, desperate to save her daughter from an ancient darkness, is drawn toward a bargain no sane person should make.
The sword quest is adventure. The Church arc is reformation. Seraphina’s story is tragedy. But all three are asking versions of the same question:
What do we do when the thing that once gave us meaning becomes dangerous?
That question sits at the heart of Muses’ War as a series. The Muse-touch is a gift, a powerful one. It is inspiration, beauty, craft, genius, devotion, amplified supernaturally. But power is never only power. It has consequences. It can be misunderstood. It can be institutionalized. It can be hoarded, corrupted, weaponized, or mistaken for holiness.
That is where Fugue of Fire lives.
It is a fantasy adventure first. There are strange roads, dangerous politics, craft never before attempted, court intrigue, impossible choices, and at least a few people saying things they probably should not say in rooms where they absolutely should not say them.
But underneath all of that, this book is also about facing hard truths and having the courage to call for change. It’s not simple; change never is, and it comes with steep cost.
The kind where institutions have to reckon with what they protected.
The kind where good people discover they were complicit.
The kind where righteousness arrives late, costs dearly, and still has to be spoken.
Over the next few days, I’ll also be publishing some new worldbuilding posts here on Substack, and eventually on museswar.com. As I did with Overture of Shadow, my goal is to make them feel like artifacts from within the world: pieces of scholarship, history, theology, and cultural memory that help explain how this kingdom understands itself.
For readers who enjoy the “how does this world actually work?” side of fantasy, these posts should be a lot of fun. For readers who mostly want the story, they should add texture without requiring homework. That balance matters to me; I love deep, meaningful lore, but I also believe worldbuilding should serve the emotional life of the story, not replace it.
If Overture of Shadow was about discovering that creativity is power, and that power can be corrupted, then Fugue of Fire is about what happens after the revelation.
Thank you, sincerely, to everyone who has read Overture of Shadow, encouraged the series, asked questions about the world, commented on characters, shared posts, or simply followed along while I tried to turn music theory, theology, bard magic, political fantasy, and ancient cosmic power into something that reads like an adventure.
I hope you’ll preorder Fugue of Fire, and I hope you’ll enjoy the worldbuilding pieces coming over the next few days.
The Muses’ War continues.
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