Trick and Treat

“Sometimes an admirer spends more talent extolling a work than the author did in creating it.” ― Jean Rostand

"The Gallowglas Army isn't the biggest fandom, but they are rabid, loyal, and mine. In many ways, they are more essential to 'Gallowglas' than I am. I wouldn't have a career without them." - Gallowglas

"What is the Gallowglas Army?" - Wulf Moon
"Well, it's not a cult..." - Member of the Gallowglas Army

Failte, a lucht leanúna na scéalta!
Welcome, story lovers!

You get three quotes again because I'm in a mood for a bit of self-referencing tomfoolery.

This mood is inspired by several recent events, the Folsom and Hanford Renaissance Faires chiefly among them. The Gallowglas showed up to represent. Over the last month or so, both online and at live events, y'all have made me feel like all the years of hustle and hard work are... huh... I almost wrote, "Paid off." But that little cliché isn't quite right. That little chestnut of a nugget doesn't fit the swelling of accomplishment and purpose I'm feeling from all the support and kind words that you amazing humans have shown me.

Here are highlights:

• A young man who has been watching my show for nearly 20 years is shipping out in the Navy. His family has many of my books. He got a copy of Imbalance of Shadows to take with him aboard ship to have one that's just his. Of course, I told him to email me so I could send ebook copies of books to share through the crew.
• A young lady at Hanford recognized me from years ago at Valhalla, and she might have done a bit of fangirling. I tell you, that's never getting old.
  Went to a poetry night that I sorta took a break from for the summer, and folx there gave me a warm, warm welcome.
• Tuesday night livestreams have brought some old-school Gallowglas Army cats back. They have been missed. Loving the interaction between the new recruit and veterans.
  -At Folsom faire, a girl about 11 or 12 got her first copy of Halloween Jack and the Devil's Gate. Her mother told me that the first time their family saw my show, the girl was an infant, and they look forward to seeing me every year.
  -Multiple kids who grew up watching my shows at faires are now adults and bringing their children to see me.

Man... I feel the years and miles, but also that comes with a HUGE warmth in my heart.

Thanks to all of you for sharing this journey with me, whether you're just joining the quest or if you've been along since the earliest calls to adventure. To use another familiar line: We're just getting started!

Out of curiosity, what's been your all-time favorite interaction with me or my books?

Upcoming Events
https://mtoddgallowglas.com/schedule/

October 17, 2027
Writing Workshop - 8 am Pacific
Zoom

BARD for LIFE - Trick and Treat - 7:30pm
Wilkerson Theater
1723 25th Street, Sacramento, CA

This is FREE!!! I'm filming to create clips for promotional purposes. So... Bring your best energy.
We're having a costume contest. Costume will win one copy of every Gallowglas book. That's over $600 of Gallowglas goodness.

November 1, 2026
Reading as a Contact Sport - 8 am
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, by Stephen Graham Jones

November 14 & 15
Kearney Park Renaissance Faire
Fresno, CA

November 21, 2027
Writing Workshop - 8 am Pacific
Zoom

The Gallowclass writing community is live. If you're interested in rediscovering your writing, email or message me, and I'll help you decide if Gallowclass is right for you.

Gallowfacts

How did the Gallowglas Army get its name?
Some of you know this, but I feel like it's time to generally share the tale around again.

Back in 2013, I went to the World Science Fiction convention and made some new friends, as I do when I go to live events. A couple months after that, one of those new pals tagged me on Twitter, and asked, "So, how's the Gallowglas Army doing these days?" on Twitter. Since Gallowglas means mercenary in Irish, and I identify most with the Irish portion of my ancestry, I decided to run with it. That pal and I lost track of each other a long time ago, even longer ago than when I deleted Twitter.

Life of a Literary Underdog

Here's a brief, behind-the-scenes update on where things are going with my creative life.

I've already talked about how awesome live events have been. Unfortunately, between those moments, I've been in a bit of melancholy ennui. The existential dread of the endothermic heat death of the universe has weighed on me, and so I've stalled out on the day-to-day grind. However, I'm bouncing back. Here's where I stand on most of my major current projects.

• Perchance to Dream - Got another chapter of this coming on Monday.
  Sharpened Edge of Fate - ToR book 5 is coming along. I've finished writing about 70% of the new material for this one. Need to dictate about half of that still and clean it up. Hopefully this one will be good by the end of the year
  Legend of the Dragon Bone Flue - I have about a chapter and a half of this one. The trouble is, I'm not really sure how to frame that chapter. Whose voice do I want to use in telling it?
• The Good, the Bard, and the Ugly - This one is done. Just needs some copy editing and formatting. Looking like November. I'm really happy with how Jaludin's Journey came out for this one.
• The Three Story Problem - Just working on this one a little bit at a time. It's taking some rethinking on top of rethinking about how I want to present the information.
• Halloween Jack Short Stories for the hardback editions - "The Courtship of Halloween Jill" is done. That will be in the back of Halloween Jack and the Devil's Gate. (I may also post somewhere on this site.) I'm in the middle of "A Jack of All Trades," which is a retelling of a very different kind of "Jack" story. That will be in the back of Halloween Jack and the Curse of Frost. Next up, I'll tackle "A Fistful of Jack O'lanterns" for the back of Halloween Jack and the Red Emperors.

Which upcoming book are you most excited to read?

Projects Screaming for Attention

• Elderitch Tiki Pirate Series - Last weekend, I helped my good buddy and Gallowglas Army Quartermaster Trey sell his woodworking and artistic creations at a tiki event. I got the idea to challenge myself through his creativity, largely due to a fictional map he created, to dive into a new world. Or maybe I'll make it a part of the Wyrd Frontier. Who knows. Anyway. I have a journal. Waiting on a map. We'll see.
• Untitled whack project - Because my brain won't shut off... I have an idea for a book that started with the question: Can you gaslight AI? This one will be Neuromancer meets Dungeon Crawler Carl meets a virtual reality OnlyFans. It's going to be a wild, irreverent, ranchy, mind fuck of a story. Will probably publish it under a nom de plume.
• Uncanny Valley - The ideas for this LitRPG series keep coming. I'm thinking of doing something new and different with this one... I'm thinking that I'll share the entire creative process on here from start to finish with text posts, pictures, and even some video updates. Take that, anyone who accuses me of tarnishing my soul with AI! What do you think? Are any of you interested in following along with this creative journey from start to finish?

Media Consumption

I'll talk about what I'm reading, watching, and gaming.

• Dungeon Crawler Carl - I'm on book 7. The other day, the story took an amazing turn, and I got so worked up because it was amazing. A perfect example of something set up so carefully, yet I didn't see it coming. Matt Dinniman is a fucking genius. I'll have to wait until he wraps up all ten projected books in the series, but... as of now, this might be the quintessential example of how to do a fantasy/science fiction story well. It's so bloody good.
• Moving Pictures by Sir Terry Pratchett - I put this on hold because Dungeon Crawler Carl has captured my soul.
• WWE, Smackdown is killing it. Raw is a solid meh.
• Lanterns - was amazing! It proved that you don't need an over-the-top budget to tell an over-the-top, high-stakes superhero story.
• VisionQuest - Saw the first two episodes the other night. I'm liking where they're going with it.
• Musically, I've discovered a new project called Soul'd Out. It takes calssic 80's and 90's hip hop and re-arranges them to be Motown and gospel songs. My current favorite is "Juicy" by the Notorious B.I.G.

Storytime

Have a bit The Sharpened Edge of Fate.

Julianna pushed her Morigahnti near the edge of exhaustion to intercept Carmine D’Mario before he could kill the heirs of Koma’s royal line. Otherwise, the Morigahnti fists and their few allies might have marveled at the wonders they passed.

In one place, they had to squeeze through stone tunnels that seemed to shrink and grow so that every person who went through could just barely fit. Then the stone vanished. The Morigahnti didn’t come to an opening or exit to the tunnel, the stone around them was simply gone, and they found themselves crossing over a deep canyon by way of a rickety rope and plank bridge. Before the bridge ended, they stood on a wide open plain covered in gray flowers. Throughout their journey, the terrain changed unexpectedly. After the first few hours, most ignored the ever-transforming landscape and focused on following Raze and the other Stormcrows without getting separated from the rest.

The longer they traveled through the ajorta, the more Julianna found herself understanding the environment on some instinctual level. She couldn’t describe this understanding, even to herself, but she felt that if she needed to, she might be able to find her way back to the Temple of Maedisis. Now and then, they came to places where Julianna felt they could have turned from their current path. These side routes were invisible to the eye, just like the random changes in terrain. But every time they passed one, Julianna knew she could turn and follow them to some other destination.

With no sun or stars, just the endless twilight, she could not estimate the passage of time.

“Korrin,” Julianna called ahead. “Ask Raze how much farther until we can rest?”
She would have preferred to travel at the front of their march, but the Morigahnti would not let her be anywhere but the center of their lines. She’d argued, but Korrin, Alerick, and Charise refused to concede this. They all felt it too dangerous and had set the march to ensure they protected the Lord Morigahn on all sides whenever possible.

Raze shifted back into his human form. “Not far, Lord Morigahn.”

“How much time?”

“Soon,” Raze replied. “That’s the best I can give you. Time is strange in this place. Soon.”

Julianna sighed.

Raze had led them well enough this far. He’d said only certain places were safe to rest along the pathways. Stopping too long in any other place in this strange realm could bring disaster.

“Don’t worry, Lord Morigahn,” Alerick said. “We can manage a while longer.”

Korrin laughed. “With a full night of rest behind us, we might as well push through to Koma City.”

“Shut up,” Aurell said. “Some of us don’t hate ourselves nearly as much as you do. We like sleep and rest.”

“Is that why you’re so charming and beautiful?” Korrin replied. “All the rest you get?”

The Morigahnti around them laughed. Even Julianna smiled. While her followers were tired from the pace Raze set, it was good to hear them joking and jibing with each other.

“What’s that?” Gianni asked.

Julianna glanced at where Gianni was looking, off toward the horizon, eyes squinting.

Faelin, Charise, Wynd, and Aurell did so as well. A pack of wolves ran against the skyline. They were almost invisible against the gray sky.

“Stormseekers,” Faelin said. “Another race bound in service to Galad’Ysoysa and once friends to the Morigahnti.”

“Why don’t we call to them?” Gianni asked. “Maybe they’ll join us in saving these heirs of yours.”

“They will not come,” Faelin said.

“Really?” Gianni asked.

“It’s true,” Wynd said. “They will avoid us at all costs.”

“Why?” Gianni asked. “If they serve your god, why will they not aid you?”

“Because the last time Kavala betrayed the Morigahnti,” Faelin said, “he also betrayed the Stormseekers.”

“Who is Kavala?” Gianni asked.

“The traitor,” several Morigahnti said at once.

“Can we please speak and travel at the same time?” Raze called back to them. “Time is growing short. If we don’t move quickly, we may not get a chance to rest.”

Without waiting for a response, Raze started off again. Julianna waved her hand in a circle above her head, then pointed after him.

“Kavala was once the Lord Morigahn,” Julianna said. “He has betrayed Koma and the Morigahnti three times. The first during the Second War of the Gods. Then with the Kingdom, allowing your people to conquer us. The third, during the rebellion ten years ago at the Battle of Kyrtigaen Pass. Through masterful deceptions, he led the Stormseekers and most of the Komati still willing to fight into a Kingdom trap. Since that day, the Stormseekers have refused to aid the Morigahnti.”

“The Lord Morigahn speaks true,” said one of the Stormcrows, a girl. Julianna thought it might be Rist, Raze’s sister. “They even avoid us when they can. We are lucky to have seen even a glimpse of them.”

After a few moments of silence, Julianna said, “If we are lucky to have seen them, let us consider this a good omen sent by Grandfather Shadow.”

“But wait,” Gianni said, “you claim this Kavala’s first betrayal was over a thousand years ago.”

“It was,” the Stormcrow girl said. “I was there.”

“Wait! What?”

When the Stormcrow flashed a wide grin at Gianni, Julianna knew it was Rist. Her grin was a perfect match for Raze’s. “Remember, I’m not human. You of all people should remember that, Master Aernacht High Blood.”

“Right,” Gianni said. “We’re just not used to the Faerii folk walking among us so openly.”

“The legend has it,” Korrin said, “that Kavala so offended Grandfather Shadow that he cursed Kavala to live until the Morigahnti forgave him. Before Kavala, Galad’laman had no word for betrayer or traitor.”

“What did he do?” Gianni asked.

“We do not speak of it,” all the Morigahnti, including Julianna, replied.

“Why not?” Gianni asked. “Shouldn’t it be something you share to learn from it?”

“We Morigahnti know,” Julianna said, and added in a softer tone, “We do not speak of it with outsiders.”

She recalled some of the stories her mother whispered on dark nights. Kavala so offended Grandfather Shadow that the god cursed anyone who spoke of the betrayal to anyone who was not Morigahnti, making them share Kavala’s fate, waiting for the Morigahnti to forgive them their trespass. The Morigahnti were not a forgiving order.

Following that exchange, the Morigahnti continued on, not speaking, not looking each other in the eye, footsteps trudging toward the safety Raze had offered them so they could rest at last.