The 20th Century was a wildly dangerous time for the Fox Spirit who calls herself Inari Meiwaku and she vows to make it through the 21st Century as quietly as possible. Things go well for the Kitsune at first; she reinvents herself as a wealthy young Chinese student of Archaeology at Blackfriars University in London and settles down for a life of drinking good wine, appreciating modern art and politely refusing to correct her tutors when they make mistakes about the long-buried societies she once lived in. As lives go it’s safe, soothing, sensible and utterly dull.

So when the agents of MI13, a shadowy and dangerously underfunded branch of the British Intelligence Services, track Inari down, effortlessly dismiss her mortal disguise and offer her a job as their new advisor on supernatural beings she finds it impossible to turn them down. For all the hundreds of years that Inari has spent covering herself in layer after layer of human civilisation and human personalities she is still, at her very heart, the Fox who once ran through the untamed forests of ancient Japan. And that Fox is far too curious and much too troublesome to ever be content with a life of peace and tranquility.

Inari Meiwaku takes the agents up on their offer; teaching them about the many worlds that lie beyond human sight and all the awful and beautiful things that make their homes there. And all the while she feeds them a carefully concocted tapestry of lies about her own past and the many lives she has left behind. Inari Meiwaku weaves lies with the artistry of a Shakespeare play and the power of a Hendrix solo. Lies have kept her alive for more than a thousand years, lies protect her from the whims of the beast within her and lies are her favourite tools for controlling or destroying those who might do her harm.

But this time the wily Kitsune may have gotten herself into a situation that she can’t talk her way out of. Inari’s first field mission starts in a barrow in rural Lincolnshire and ends in blood and horror when her colleagues accidentally awaken a creature from the time of the Viking invasions. A creature that has clawed its way back from the darkness of death through sheer force of will. A creature of inhuman strength that cannot be stopped by walls, bullets or blades and feels neither pain, fear nor remorse, only hunger and an endless hatred for the living. A creature that will never stop hunting the Fox Spirit which has become its prey.

Can even an immortal trickster defeat an undead warrior that’s just too angry to die?"

All non-abusive criticisms and suggestions are gratefully received. Please carry on reading if you are interested in my current thoughts on the nature of Inari Meiwaku and the world she inhabits.

I am an enthusiastic reader of Urban Fantasy and A Day in the Lies of Inari Meiwaku is my attempt to create a new kind of Urban Fantasy protagonist. While I love the gutsy, coffee-addicted detectives, bounty hunters, spell-slingers and monster killers that make the genre such a blast to read I want Inari Meiwaku to break the mould while still remaining a badass. She is polite, careful, deceitful, wiser than those around her, morally flexible and believes that she is looking out for number one. She is also her own worst enemy; she is addicted to lies and manipulation, quite capable of tricking herself as easily as anyone else and undergoing what may be the longest and most epic identity crisis the world has ever known. Inari can become whoever she wants to be but every time she recreates herself she makes the central question of her existence - "Who am I really?" that much harder to answer.

Another aspect of Inari’s character that I really want to get right is her timeless nature. I want to write an immortal character who truly feels immortal. If you have ever read a book or watched a film or series in which vampires, demons, gods etc. who have been around for hundreds of years behave like teenagers you’ll understand where I’m coming from. When someone has been through more than any human who ever lived that huge weight of experience must bear down on them. At the same time I don’t want to write a character who is too out of touch with or disapproving of the modern age; maybe the world is ready for a story about a kick-ass granny who sorts monsters out with good old-fashioned values and a tommy gun but I’m not the person to write that story. (Though if anyone else would like to write that book I swear that I will pre-order a copy without a second thought). How do you think an immortal who can change her face, gender and to some extent her personality at will would behave?

As for me. Well I’m just a writer, always have been and always will be. Currently I live in the UK and manage a library; which certainly gives me access to a lot of great stories! I love original fantasy fiction of all kinds as well as anime, graphic novels, superhero and urban fantasy tv series, steampunk, tabletop rpgs and crpgs. I draw inspiration from all of these things as well as real life folklore, mythology, literature and music.

My one contracted writing gig to date is a commission to write a book on Alchemy for the Kamarathin setting owned by D3 Adventures, which is currently on hold while other lines are developed. If you want to see what the good folks over at D3 Adventures are up to these days check out their Facebook page here

I have never posted a project on Inkshares before or promoted a book for publication before so any tips or advice are very welcome.

And if any kind or penniless artists would like to make cover art for the book please post on this page.