Welcome to Farrwood! This is my author page. I am upcoming historical fantasy author J.A. Farrwood. This post will give insight into my first novel, which I hope to publish within the next two years. This is a story I have been creating in my head most of my life.

A coming-of-age story set in medieval Ireland during the Hundred Years War, shortly before the Plague. A boy from a pagan family is told by a traveling friar that his parents’ deaths are his fault. He grows into the town thief, an outcast rejected by the Church who longs to leave his hometown forever. When two knights of England arrive, the thief makes a friend of one and an enemy of the other. He decides to travel to Dublin, controlled by the English, and soon finds himself with no choice but to flee town, pursued by the vengeful knight he wronged. On the journey, he makes lifelong friends, including a magical wildman, and finds himself involved in a Gaelic rebellion against the English.

I have has gone through many versions of my manuscript before settling on a final draft I am happy with. Long ago, my book was a high fantasy set in a world known as Daera, with a similar premise. In the drafting process, I strongly felt the story was more powerful as a piece of historical fantasy, which is a genre I hope to bring more attention to. I decided on the Late Middle Ages, specifically the mid-fourteenth century, as an exciting time period, full of tragedy and change in European history. There are many colorful characters to explore, like King Edward III and his son, the Black Prince.

Now that I am putting the finishing touches on my manuscript, my 2025 New Year’s Resolution is to get my work in the hands of an agent. I hope to begin the agent search and querying process soon and will keep fans of Farrwood.org updated on my progress. I hope to eventually publish newsletters, with updates to the manuscript’s final stages and the publication process.

I would like to thank every person who reads this first blog post and takes an interest in my upcoming novel. I invite you to be the first followers of my journey to publication. Farrwood.org will go through many changes over time, and I hope this website can evolve into something truly wonderful one day. I have utilized AI-generated artwork to create a vibrant, medieval atmosphere for my website.

Thank you for reading this blog post! Peace to you, always.