Welcome, friend! Today I am chatting with author Jeff McIntyre about his book, The Garden Gnome. This is the first book in the Theory of Magic series. Let’s welcome Jeff and learn more about the book!
Get to know the author: Jeff McIntyre
Welcome Jeff! Tell me and my readers a bit about yourself!
I feel like the first day in a new school! My day job is in Telecommunications. I do ridiculous amounts of technical reading as part of that job, so in my spare time, I stick strictly to fiction. I like to alternate between fantasy and sci-fi and mix up epic series with palate cleansers. I have done a frankly ridiculous amount of ‘gaming’ in my life. What gaming? All the gaming. Console, PC, mobile, handheld, tabletop, boardgame, wargames, and role-playing; digital and analog. I don’t game as much or read as much as I used to. Writing takes as much free time as you’re willing to give it. I live in Nebraska with my lovely wife and our two furry idiots, Zeus and Magni. They are Hovawarts. Bonus points if you know what that is without having to Google it.
What inspired you to write this book?
The original story idea was, what would happen if magic were to appear in the present day. What followed was me answering a series of questions and building a concept that led to this novel and series.
How long did it take you to write this book, from the first idea to the last edit?
From the first idea? Fifteen years. From the first words in a document? Eighteen months.
What makes your story unique?
I’ve read a lot of fantasy in my life and several contemporary fantasy novels. The most common theme with contemporary and urban fantasy is that the story is told in a world where magic is already a large part of the world or that is thinly veiled from the general public. I wanted to tell a story about what would happen to our world if magic were to reappear.
Who would enjoy reading your book?
I have had a long love of fantasy and science fiction as well as mythology and history. The book is a contemporary fantasy with a streak of science fiction with threads of ancient mythology and some elements of real history and Arthurian Legend. If that sounds like your jam, this series might be for you.
What’s something you hope readers would take away from it?
The Garden Gnome doesn’t have some deep philosophical idea behind it. It’s a story about bad things happening to good people, and those people doing the best they can. I wanted to have interesting characters exposed to an impossible situation and tell a good story along the way.
This is the first book of Theory of Magic series. How many books do you have in mind?
My concept for the series is pretty fluid, there are plenty of ideas to explore. But I have solid ideas for a first arc that is either four or five books depending on how I sequence them. The fifth book could be wrapped into the first arc, or it may end up being the start of a second arc.
Do you have a favourite quote or scene in the book that you find yourself going back to?
Hall and Oates began singing “Maneater” from a leather holster on his belt.
He slowly pulled a cell phone from the holster, looked at it grimly, and then answered. “Hello, Rebecca.”
What is something you have learned on your author journey so far?
Writing the book was like a long, rugged hike up a hill. The beginning was pretty easy. There was time to take in the view, enjoy the fresh air, and feel good about the day. The middle was the climb to the peak. You know the view up there will be amazing. It will be an incredible accomplishment to look back at where you came from and what it took you to get to the top. But it feels like a slog, and you need to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. The end was that moment of clarity as you enjoy the vistas, and the satisfying march downhill, knowing you’ve got a nap to look forward to. Oh, and marketing is a ravine filled with crocodiles that you have to cross before you can get back home.
What’s the best piece of advice you have received related to writing?
I’ll give you two. First, filter words are not your friends. Cut them mercilessly until you learn how to use them without yanking your reader out of the story. Second, if you find a process that works for you, use it. There are no pure plotters and no pure pansters. Don’t be afraid to learn how to improve your process, but don’t let anyone tell you that what you’re doing is wrong if you’re getting words on the page.
If you could give a shout out to someone(s) who has helped in your writer journey, please feel free to mention them below!
I’ll always be grateful to my wife for supporting me in this journey. I kept my writing a secret from her until I had ten chapters I could present to her. After she read them, her only response was, “When do I get to read more?” I’m lucky to have her as a champion in my corner.
The Garden Gnome
Book 1 of Theory of Magic
Contemporary Fantasy, Published 2022
Where did magic go?
Our world is defined by science, but history tells us that the world was once a much more magical place. Every culture has tales of when the gods walked among us, when strange magical creatures dwelt in the dark, and when users of magic were respected and feared.
We tell ourselves that these stories are myth and superstition. But what if they aren’t?
What if magic were to return? And what does it have to do with a ten-year-old boy and his imaginary friend?
Daniel and Sophia Fitzroy are worried that their son Tony is being bullied in his new school and is struggling to cope.
Leo Schafer is reporting on a new and powerful particle accelerator experiment and the protestors who want it stopped.
FBI Special Agent Debra Kazdin is investigating the protests and trying to keep things from escalating.
Brian Cooke is being inducted into a secret society that knows the truth about magic and will stop at nothing to keep it from returning.
They will be drawn together in an extraordinary confrontation that will change the world forever.
Content notes: Strong language, violence, mild sexuality, PTSD
Book Excerpt from
The Garden Gnome
Daniel and Sophia walked into Tony’s room. Tony looked up from the video game he was playing inquisitively. Daniel leaned up against the door frame while Sophia walked over and sat on the end of the bed. “Sweetie, we want to talk to you about Bob and some of the things that have happened lately.”
Tony tensed a little “don’t be mad; he’s just here to keep me safe.”
Daniel frowned. “I know you think that, bud, but we’re worried. It’s our job to keep you safe, not his. We want you to understand something. Bob isn’t real; your imaginary friend can’t keep you safe.”
Tony’s eyes grew wide, and then he started giggling. If anything, this made Sophia and Daniel even more worried. Tony saw that they weren’t laughing with him and quickly settled down. With childlike seriousness, he looked at each of them. “Mom… Dad… Bob isn’t imaginary, he’s a gnome, and he’s in the back yard.”
Daniel shook his head slowly, “Tony, we’ve talked about this; garden gnomes are mythical creatures. People make ceramic statues of them and put them in their garden because they think they’re cute, but they’re not real.”
Tony sighed the exaggerated sigh of a ten-year-old. “He’s real, and I can prove it,” He hopped out of bed and stormed past them, heading down the hall. Sophia stood up and gave her husband a worried look.
Daniel shrugged, “We better follow him.” They slowly turned to follow in the wake of their son as he turned the corner to head downstairs.
Tony’s head popped around the corner near the baseboard with an exasperated look on his face. “C’mon, hurry up!” The head popped back around the corner, and the soft rumble of Tony’s feet running down the stairs carried back to them. Despite their son’s urging, Daniel and Sophia slowly followed their son down to the kitchen. With worry apparent on their face as they saw their son standing in front of the backyard door, hands outstretched, beckoning them to stop. “First, you have to promise not to be mad when Bob tracks dirt into the kitchen.”
Daniel frowned at his son, “Bud, if you bring in one of Mrs. DeLuca’s garden gnome statues, you’ll make her mad and upset your mom.”
Tony stomped his foot in irritation. “Can I prove to you that Bob is real or not?”
Sophia looked at Tony worriedly and sighed. “If there’s a mess, we’ll clean it up together. What are you going to show us?”
Tony held up his hands again. “Wait here; I’ll be right back.” Tony opened the door to the back yard and took two steps into the darkness. He waved at the motion sensor above the door, and the yard was flooded with light.
Sophia sat down at the kitchen counter. “I think we had better find a counselor for him.”
Daniel took a couple of steps toward the back door so he could keep an eye on Tony. “I don’t disagree; I just wish we could have handled this ourselves.”
Tony had walked over to the row of bushes that made a soft fence between the lawn and the side street. He appeared to be having a serious conversation with it. “Imaginary friends are often caused by emotional stress. It feels like we’ve failed him on some level.” Daniel had half turned to talk to Sophia, but movement at the corner of his eye caused him to turn his attention back to Tony. He saw his pajama-clad son marching imperiously across the yard, headed toward the open back door.
Walking timidly behind him was something impossible. He was very short, barely a foot tall. His face looked kindly and wise with ruddy cheeks and a long white pointed beard that hung past his rounded belly. He wore a thick, white woolen shirt, a red pointed hat with matching trousers, and suspenders with large black buttons. He had black boots that seemed cartoonishly large for his small frame. You almost couldn’t tell what color they were because they were clad in copious amounts of rich dirt and small pebbles. It looked as if some Black Forest witch had breathed life into a typical ceramic garden gnome.
Daniel would have asked him to remove his shoes, but the absurdity of what he was seeing had momentarily stunned him. Seeing Daniel’s reaction, Sophia stood up to get a better look at what he was seeing. She let out a strangled shriek as Tony and the gnome entered the kitchen.
Tony glared at his mother in annoyance. “Mom, don’t be rude. Bob, this is my mom Sophia and my dad Daniel. Mom, dad, meet Bob.”
Interested?
Thank you for hanging out with us today. Find The Garden Gnome on Amazon, Goodreads, IndieStoryGeek and The StoryGraph. Connect with Jeff on his website, Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.
If you are an indie author and would like to do a book excerpt, check out my work with me page for details. Check out other book excerpts here.
Cover Photo on Unsplash
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