Books & Tales
Thank you for your interest in my work!
I have the stories I’ve published split into two categories. The first are the books I have self published; the second are those tales which have been published thanks to others’ enjoying the stories I submitted to them.
As a quick note, my books are written towards a general audience, containing no explicit sexual material or gore. Violence does and will occur, as I find the threat of death to be a great motivator for both good and evil actions, but I do my best to not linger on any particular act.
Tim Maddox Books
Currently I have self-published 3 books. The first of which, Forest Flight, was published in 2020. Drawn from one of my first concepts after getting out of college, the tale is a chase practically from cover to cover as a noblewoman flees from brigands through the wilderness to reach her father’s castle.
In The Reeds contains stories first written at roughly the same period as Forest Flight. The fourteen tales were collected as I prepared to start participating in author fairs in 2025. To call it an eclectic mix would be an understatement; even the isekai tales bounce from fantasy to sci-fi and westerns.
My first novel, The Tale of Snow White and Rose Red, came from semi-spiteful origins. A longtime enjoyer of Disney movies, I was struck by the 100th anniversary animated short being juxtaposed with yet another live-action remake in the works (Snow White…). I decided to take a lesser known fairy tale and make my own version in the vein of old Disney.
Fantasy (Fairy Tale Retelling)
I’m sure you are familiar with Snow White & the Seven Dwarves, but what about the tale of the other Snow White and her sister Rose Red?
The sisters live in the woods with thier widowed mother, still wrestling with the loss of thier father. Yet fate takes a turn as Rose is attacked by a mystical beast and an unnatural snowstorm nearly claims all three before they can reach home. These tragedies give way to intrigue as a thump is heard against the cottage door during the howling winds. Little could Rose have known how drastic thier futures would change when she opens that door.
Join the sisters as they host a mysterious black-and-gold bear who seems determined to find something in the snow rather than hibernate, then cross paths with a prince who holds a strange connection to thier father’s people and find themselves asking a question that none of these four can answer: “What is that ungrateful little dwarf up to?”
Well done, huntress. ~ Rite of the North Hunters
Eclectic Genres (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Western, Literary, …)
The Reedsy.com weekly challenge is simple: write a 1,000-3,000 word story within a week based on one of five prompts. What can you create in that timeframe?
In The Reeds contains my many answers to that challenge. Fantasy, science fiction, espionage, slice-of-life, and even an odd western make thier way onto the pages alongside more literary works, making this eclectic collection sure to have something for everyone. You’ll meet mages forced to confront an old friend and ally, a disgraced warrior determined to return from exile to save his homeland, a wingsuit pilot desperately chasing after a nuclear missile, and a man who is simply captivated by memories of his first visit to an old tavern in a modernizing city.
All these and more are waiting for you, so open the pages and find out what awaits in the reeds!
My life, no? ~ Me
Thriller (Medieval Chase)
Attacked on the road, a nobleman’s daughter makes her way through the wilderness towards her father’s castle.
The landscape holds many obstacles and blessings that she could use, and at every step her pursuers might appear.
In the end, they will catch up to her.
After her long flight, does she have the strength to make it home?
(no dialogue; it’s a feature, not a bug)
Tales in the Wild
The below tales are ones which are published via other sources. Their links will take you to the respective sites. These are in anthologies or literary magazines, so there will be other authors you can discover within the covers. I would appreciate you taking a glance at them, as the people who published my tales have been a great help to my writing development and I’d like to send people their way if at all possible.
A brief essay about my experience with developmental editing and why it’s a valuable tool when editing your manuscripts.
Fantasy (Lone Warrior Protecting a Village)
Aeron Duskling is heading to the Citadel to finish his master rites when he stumbles upon the aftermath of a Wraith attack. Knowing that the cult warriors will wreck havoc being so far behind the frontlines, the young Sun Guard must find a way to turn the tide before the Wraiths slaughter an undefended village. The situation seems hopeless, but Aeron has a few tricks up his sleeve to help level the battlefield, several of which he learned from the Wraiths themselves.
Betrayal, redemption, and conviction collide at Aeron crosses blades with the dreaded cult.
Enjoy your victory. It will be your last. ~ Aeron Duskling
Fairy Tale (Classical Style)
A party to cheer up the town’s princess suddenly turns to panic as she is drawn into the forest by the nymphs’ song. Her knights try to save her, but are faced with beasts of all sorts.
All seems lost until a bard wanders into the town. Hearing of the princess’ plight, he eagerly goes into the forests without fear of what the nymphs can conjure.
“Call it a gift from a curse.” ~ The Bard
Suspense/Light Horror (Dwindling Party)
Last night Mathurin barely survived the darkwalker’s attack in the canyonlands, slipping away from the alchemic beast in the nick of time. Now he must lead a company of Saroline priestesses through the same lands in order to keep the creature’s master from escaping his centuries-long imprisonment.
But with the Sarolines’ vows seeming to lead to disaster after disaster, can Mathurin and the others escape before the darkwalker slays them all?
“Trust me, the threats of the day are nothing compared to having a darkwalker stalking you in the canyons.” ~ Mathurin the apothecary
Tim Maddox Books 