Why is the Renegades Epic nicknamed the Original Six?

You might think of the NHL when you hear the phrase Original Six. But it’s also a nickname for the Renegades Epic.

Five worlds. Six series. One epic! That’s one way to describe the Renegades Epic, and it lends a clue as to why I call it the Original Six, named in tribute to the original six franchises in the NHL – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Detroit Red Wings.

And as a hockey fan, albeit a Buffalo Sabres fan, I thought, why not nickname the Epic the Original Six? Hey, these six series won’t be my best, since I was still finding my voice and doing everything from a shoestring budget at the time. So, if you invest in any of those books, kindly ignore the quirks, even if I took them through over 150 combined edits.

Yeah, it taught me a lot about the editing craft, by the way – developmental and copyediting. So, I guess it was worth the struggle. But still, something tells me the ‘Expansion Six,’ the same name of the next six teams that joined the NHL – Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers, Oakland Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, and St. Louis Blues – will probably be a bit more pleasing to the eye.

Renegades Epic has its moments, but the Original Six is…

More of me bringing stories to life that’d been burning in developmental hell for 12-plus years. Those stories, most of which I’ll admit are a bit off the wall, weren’t going to be for all readers of the many fantasy subgenres the Epic lands in. And trust me, there’s no shortage here.

As for the Expansion Six? Well, the libertarian-heavy themes will be more present than ever, or at least that’s been the case in my first drafts of Ashes of the Throne and The Witch of Thornvale (Awakening Across Worlds, Book I). But the genres, tropes, and overall expectations cater more to the typical reader. Not without a few twists, though.

So, who’s in this Expansion Six, anyway? Let me give you a rundown:

Arcane Elemental Academy – Get its free prequel novella, if you’re game
Awakening Across Worlds – Six-book series based on the Six Lessons
Sovereign’s Deception – Technothriller meets elemental magic
Gaean Chronicles – Protagonist was a minor character in the Epic
Beyond the Lost – Survival thriller under a slightly altered pen name – T.C. Marti
Descendants of the Gods – Leans heavy into the Germanic/Norse tradition

Overall, the Expansion Six, despite the libertarian/anarchocapitalist themes, is more mainstream and less speculative. Well, except Soverign’s Deception, if the first draft resembles the outline. The technocratic state isn’t exactly science fiction these days, is it?

At any rate, concocting these outlines and drafts in my spare time – often in the evening when I have nothing else to do – has been a blast. And Book I of Arcane Elemental Academy, The Arcane Prophecy, is looking cleaner by the day, so that one’ll be our lead-off batter here.

Will I release Expansion Six after the entire Renegades Epic?

Absolutely not. The Renegades Epic is a long-term project that I can see lasting well into 2030, and there’s no way I’d let anyone in on my other works if they’re over five years down the road. At that point, readers would get tired of waiting.

Instead, when I deem each work ready, they’ll be released. And this will likely come after it’s accrued so much social proof. That said, a book like The Arcane Prophecy would still have a good “six-month warning” before I release it, so you’ll be in the loop well ahead of its launch, and the same goes for all the other work listed above.

Plus, not all readers are keen on combining elemental magic with sword and sorcery, so I’d like to fulfill their appetites, too. Can’t do that when I only have the Renegades Epic available. But for now, if you’re interested in something a little unique, a little different, and rife with epic fantasy tropes and a 21st-century flair (most of the time, be sure to check out one of its works.

===> Check out the first book in the Renegades Epic, Wind Wielder <===