All About The New Druidverse Paranormal Detective Series!
I’m a sucker for a good paranormal detective series. Give me a mix of cops and monsters, mystery and action, and I am going to be down all day long for that kind of fiction.
In the new Druidverse® urban fantasy law enforcement series, that’s exactly what we’re delivering. The first three books are being co-written with dark fantasy author D. William Landsborough. Over the last few months we’ve worked hard to give readers a series of short, tight novels with plenty of action, folklore, magic, and suspense.
Want to know more? Dear readers, I give you….
The CERBERUS Paranormal Detective Series
The CERBERUS Paranormal Detective Series follows Agent Mendoza—yes, that Mendoza, the one who keeps hounding Colin—from the time he joins CERBERUS to the moment he meets our intrepid Junkyard Druid.
Weaponized Magic is the first book in the series. Book 1 serves as a sort of prequel by detailing how Agent Mendoza is recruited by the shadowy federal law enforcement bureau known as CERBERUS.
Without giving too much away, we meet Mendoza while he’s still working for another, much more public and visible federal law enforcement agency. Soon he runs into an entity from The World Beneath, and that’s when the action and fun begin.
What Does C.E.R.B.E.R.U.S. Stand For?
So what does C.E.R.B.E.R.U.S. stand for? You’ll have to read the book to find out. This is a paranormal military and law enforcement action thriller, so there’s a lot of jargon in the novels. Some of it is real world stuff, and some is specific to my Druidverse® fantasy universe.
For our readers’ benefit, I’ve included a glossary at the end of every novel. The glossary is linked in the table of contents, so you can quickly flip to it for reference instead of jumping out of the book to Google an acronym or term you don’t know.
Also, my co-author has added Easter eggs at the end of each novel in the form of debriefing reports—heavily redacted debriefing reports, of course—that are written to hint at events that will occur in future novels in the series.
On Getting Details Right In Military and Cop Fiction
Like many of you, it grates on me when I find basic mistakes in military and cop fiction. Not that I haven’t made some myself—when you write at mach speed, mistakes will be made—but I do my best to get things as close to perfectly accurate as possible.
To that end, I have a dear family member who has worked with federal law enforcement agencies closely. Thankfully, I was able to consult someone familiar with that world as I co-wrote this novel. I also consulted one of my beta readers, SFC (RET) James Mahan, a former Ranger School instructor, professional door kicker, and career 11B. Jim helped me get all the military stuff straight, as it’s been about 30 years since I was on active duty.
Obviously, a big thanks goes out to the brave men and women who serve for helping me get certain details right in these novels. All mistakes are mine, of course. If you find something that’s not quite accurate in these novels, feel free to drop a comment on the blog or message me on Facebook.
What Readers Are Saying About Weaponized Magic:
“Wow! Absolutely stunning story! What a concept! Mendoza is an awesome hero, a former military man who runs into something he cannot explain. Enter, the men in black. What happens next? You’ll just have to read and find out!”
~Tami C., 5-star ARC reader review
“The storyline and plot is excellent and it has good pacing and plenty of action. The characterizations of all the characters are very good. Overall, I think it is a very good read.”
~Bev C., 5-star ARC reader review
“By the end of the first chapter I was pulled right in. The plot is interesting, it’s well written and it leaves me wanting to read more.”
~Janet M., 5-star ARC reader review
More About The CERBERUS Urban Fantasy Law Enforcement Series
Be advised, these are not epic fantasy length novels. In planning this series, I decided that this sort of fiction lends itself to shorter, Doc Savage and The Executioner length novels. Thus, the first book comes in at around 150 pages, and subsequent novels will be in the 200 to 250 page range.
As for the publication schedule for this series, Book 1 releases on Friday, February 3rd. Book 2 will drop on March 3rd, and Book 3 is slated to release sometime in early May of 2023.
If you’d like to pre-order the first novel in the series, you can do so at this link, or by clicking on the promo art on this page. Thanks for your support!
~MDM
As someone who’s read all of your previous series, this is an interesting addition. And thank you, thank you, thank you, for taking the time to get all the cop and military info correct!! It’s extremely bothersome when some, rather popular, authors don’t take any time on this. Maybe they don’t like guns? But personally I think it’s lazy as an author when the rest of their book is researched quite well and then they call a pistol magazine a clip. It feels like you have a lot of fun writing this and it shows. My only criticism is that Mendoza really does have a potty mouth. Lol. I’m no prude, but his language seems consistently a little over the top. I’m still reading and enjoying. And I’ve gone back and reread some of his first experiences with Colin. He really was a dick, but now I have some insight why.
Mendoza and the other CERBERUS agents speak like many of the soldiers I served with, especially those in combat arms. There are exceptions to every rule (like the Mormon guy I went through basic with — he was the nicest guy ever, and never said a curse word one), but for the most part soldiers tend to cuss a lot. Goes with the territory, I guess.
I think you’re right about the reasons why certain authors get “gun stuff” wrong in their work. Some authors seem to have a general disdain for firearms, and perhaps that leads them to feel it’s beneath them to learn more on the topic. Yet, I have no interest in knitting, but if I’m writing a character who is into knitting, you can bet I’m going to learn all I can on the topic.
To each their own, though.