We have another new author to the Scribblerfor you to meet today. 

I had the pleasure of meeting Nick at the GMRDBook Fair this spring and he has kindly accepted our invitation to be our guestthis week 

Read on, my friends.

 

 

Nick Doyleis an author from Saint John, New Brunswick. He’s a securities lawyer by tradeand has a background in Greek and Roman history and culture. He likes to usethat background to create engaging, mythologically dense stories with a darktwist. His preferred genre is dark fantasy and has two ongoing dark fantasyseries. His latest foray into fantasy, Celestial City 66, is the first of aplanned trilogy with the second due out Fall 2026.

 

Title:

 

Synopsis:

Ina world swarming with monsters and the decay of a ruined civilization, the smallsettlement of Mist has survived in relative tranquility. That is, until aterrible creature breaks through Mist’s walls and shatters the peace byinfecting the populace with a deadly poison. With no available cure, twoyouths, Remus Quinn and Claudia Tarr embark on a perilous journey to the northin a desperate attempt to reach the mythical Celestial City 66, the last livingcity, and the only place medicine able to heal their people might exist.

 

Thepath north leads through a multitude of dangers from horrifying creatureslittering the countryside to bloodthirsty warlords and their gangs of killers.Beliefs are challenged and hands are bloodied all without knowing if the fabledCelestial City 66 truly waits for them at the end of their journey.

 

 

TheStory Behind the Story:

The initial ideafor Celestial City 66 came from a short story I wrote while I was in lawschool. While adapting short stories into novels isn’t odd for many writers, itis for me. I’m terrible at writing them and usually avoid doing so. This shortstory was about a creature that derived elements from Eastern Orthodoxy mythologyand some hapless fools that wandered into its cave. It wasn’t very good, but Istarted imagining what the world outside the cave would be, and this led to mecreating a fun post-apocalyptic backdrop. An adapted version of the short storyis actually a key chapter in the book and marks the end of its second act.

 

 

Facebook: Please go HERE. 

Scribbler: What has been the most enjoyable about your writing journey, Nick? The least enjoyable?

Nick: Easily my favourite aspect of the writing journey is the weeks following a release where I get to finally see reactions from readers about the stories I’ve had locked up to myself for so long. For the actual craft of writing, I love when I can click with a character so much that I don’t need to consider what they would or should do. They simply act in the story according to their internal beliefs. I have a good number of characters under my belt, and those ones are precious.

The least enjoyable part is the grind. Sometimes things don’t gel, or you’re not feeling the scene. Pushing through that and forcing words on the page even without the muse is always the hardest part for me.





An Excerpt from: Celestial City 66

 

Remus emerged into adifferent world. Rolling green fog smelling of lavender and cooked meat rose upinto the air. It wasn’t coming from the lake. The unnatural vapor wafted fromwhere the gate once stood. Remus pierced the fog and ran to confront the beast. 

He spotted itsmonstrous shadow through the fog near the chapel. Its arms flung wild, snappingup fearless, stupid men who tried to challenge it in the hope of proving theirstrength to the Messiah. As Remus got closer, fleshy tubes had sprouted fromthe sides of the monster, pumping out the green gas that filled the town. Twohunters were stabbing its thick fat but hadn’t pierced its hide. Remus ran tojoin them. He backed off just as the monster’s left hand smashed one to a pasteand swiftly grabbed the other. 

Remus yelled at thetop of his lungs and swung the Maneater as he rushed forward. The serratedblade hit the monster’s left arm near the joint and left a long cut. From thebeast’s mouth came the pig cry again, spewing equal parts drool and gore thatpooled in front of it. Remus followed up his attack, forcing the monster todrop the hunter in its clutches. The blue light of the dangling eye focused onRemus. It reared its other hand back and sent him flying against the wall ofthe chapel. 

Remus gasped as theair flew from his lungs on impact. Never once did he allow his spear to fallfrom his hand. He gazed up, his head fuzzy and vision blurry. The fog grewthick, but before a green death enveloped him, he spotted a figure running inhis direction. The man’s face was obscured by a black gas mask, but the purplerobes meant it had to be the preacher Michael.

“Get out of here,”Michael shouted. 

“But Mist.” It was allRemus could say before he started coughing in the fog. 

“You need to get tothe lake.”

“I can’t. I can’t. Ihave to stop it.”

“Foolish child. Get upand…”

The piercing bang of agunshot choked off Michael’s words. The preacher turned, muttering to himself.The monster reared its head as its insectoid legs began the long process ofturning its hulking mass towards the gate. Another shot broke past the yelloworb of its right eye. The monster wailed, and its giant hand pressed againstits leaking face. Chunks spattered into the air as two more shots burst throughthe beast’s flesh. Emboldened hunters rallied. They were quickly brushed away,but not before opening a series of bloody gashes on the monster’sside. Remus rose to join them, but the preacher Michael held him back.

“No,” Michaelsaid. 

Remus looked past himand saw a swift shadow in the fog, racing like the winged angels of Michael’ssermons. The figure wore a long brown coat with a wide-brimmed hat. His facewas covered by a gas mask, and he carried a knife the size of a forearm. The manscrambled up the monster’s back, arm slashing back and forth as he ran alongthe ridge of the creature’s spine. He reached the forehead and grabbed at thetendril holding up the blue light. The man severed it with two brutal hacks.The light dimmed and the beast sputtered bile and bellowed once again. 

Remus stood in awe asthe lone man stood against the giant beast. Both hulking arms clasped together,snatching up the man before he could evade. The beast squeezed, throwing openits mouth in anticipation of a well-earned meal. The man wriggled in the stubbyfingers, his hand reaching something on his belt. As the beast dangled himabove its gaping mouth, the man tossed a tiny ball downward into the giganticesophagus. At the same time, he unleashed his knife on the fingers holding him,forcing them to release. Dropped on the ground, the man entered a dead sprinttoward Remus and Michael. He fell upon the side of the chapel and covered hisears just as a mighty bang sounded. Remus’s eyes flew open as an explosionrocked the inside of the beast’s stomach, spewing fire, smoke, and the gruesomecontents of the beast’s stomach everywhere. Its mouth hung open and it fell tothe side, landing among scattered flesh and a strange, blue blood that nowseeped into every surface of the village. 

Mouth agape, Remusgawked at the man, who was busy wiping a messy mix of bodily fluids from hiscoat.

“W-what was that?”Remus asked as the man passed.

“Loimos. Better beworth the grenade.” 

The man left, joininga woman at the gate wreckage. Though a gas mask obscured her face, Remus couldrecognize that lanky false bravado anywhere—Claudia.

 

 

Thanksfor being our guest this week, Nick, and for sharing an excerpt. Your storysounds intriguing.

Wewish you continued success with your writing.

 

 

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