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Guns of Underhill: Seeking the Edges

by Michael J. Allen

The old gods are liars.

Fairies doubly so.

        When I embarked on the journey of developing what later became the Guns of Underhill series, it started with a single question: What if the Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian and assorted gods of mythology had really been fairy creatures jerking us around for their own amusement?

On first blush it made a great deal of sense.

        Weren’t most of those old gods capricious to the point of self-hugging toga?

Yup, fairies.

        What I hadn’t realized at the time of that first question was the wonderful journey a single question would bring into my life. One question became two became four and so on. What happens if humanity discovers the ruse? How would that affect what we know today as European history? If the Romans were busy trying to exile their fairy overlords, what would happen to their conquest of Gaul? Brittany? The Celts? If war never reached those areas, who would have risen to leadership?

I’m not a historian. Normally, I just make stuff up.

        Okay, there’s real research in all my novels, but nothing like what Guns of Underhill required.

Suddenly I found myself pouring through history, trying to find key shifted caused by the mass exile of all Fey from Europe. Where would the Fey end up? Who would they find there? What would happen when humanity eventually decided they wanted to expand into that area? How would guns factor into the equation? How would magic wielders adapt to muggles toting around a six-gun? And of course, how would a bunch of vindictive, god-like fairies react?

The initial research led to Feyrth, a fantastical alternate history Earth centered around the wild west era. It led to the epic, world-spanning story of Rafael West, half-elven druid turned gunslinger, being coerced into a service of one of the old gods: Fey West.

Fey West was only the beginning.

        Once more, I’m digging through history, trying to find facts that can meld with the fantastic. Once more, I’m jugging the balancing act of honoring the past while infusing it with magic.

I could be happier with the challenge.

        Every time I locate a pivot point where a little tweak can reroute history, I can’t help but get excited. Need an upheaval? No problem, how about a fallen emperor. Need a villain? Look no further than a duplicitous dowager. Add in some real-life rebellions, a pinch of hubris (theirs, not mine), a blood curse, several measures of human nature, another mad fairy or two, and viola – Guns of Underhill 2, a gripping adventure following Rafe’s friend Shamus through the 19th century Far East, is under construction.

Fortunately for me, every era has people that are a mess. That makes searching for the edges where the magical world can be seamlessly grafted in with real life a little easier. (Thank God for historians and librarians.) Chances are, if something has happened, it will turn out to be neither the first time nor the last. The trick is combing through the patterns and parallels until the story is as real as the history books – give or take a little magic.

All in all, crafting a story in an alternate history Earth means a lot more digging, but the treasures are so worth the back pain.


Michael J. Allen’s Book, Fey West is on promo from 3/16/2020 through 3/31/2020

Find it on Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google, and Apple