ST. GEORGE, UT, February 11, 2021
A. R. Holman’s debut novel, recently contracted with E.L. Marker Publishing, is as much literary fiction as fantasy adventure. It was initially conceived as a sweeping epic, but Holman realized the characters and their story required a different approach when it came to the telling. It needed to be tighter, honed to precision, simple without being simplistic. It needed to tell the truth.
Holman’s novel follows Ryan, a resourceful heroine who has been saving for almost a decade to escape the city of Everfont for a new world. Gritt, Ryan’s world, is a planet that is already dead, though most of its inhabitants haven’t caught on to that yet. There is a magic system, genetic, that comes with as many gifts as liabilities. And Everfont is home to a people with a vibrant culture and history that feels both foreign and familiar.
However, strip away the fantasy adventure tropes, and you still have a compelling work of literary fiction as rich in theme and character as in action and adventure.
Holman’s novel is a story of survival and sacrifice. Of a family torn apart by competing loyalties and conflicting values. It’s the story of a leader who must choose between letting thousands die to save a planet or sacrificing the future of the world to save a people. To say more would be to say too much. Suffice it to say there are no easy choices on Gritt.
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R. Holman describes himself first as a husband and father, then as a writer. He is a fan of Brandon Sanderson, Glen Cook, Tolkien, and other geek and nerd stuff. He writes anywhere from two thousand to five thousand words a day and is currently working on several writing projects. In considering publishing options, “something drew me back to WiDo,” he says. “I share their values, and I’m very pleased with the work they’ve already done. I hope to continue working with them in the future.”