Hi everyone,

here are some thoughts about my dark fantasy / mystery series.

What is The Lost about?

The story follows a group of unrelated people who awaken in an unknown world. They enter a place they come to call The Valley. There they encounter dangerous creatures, develop supernatural abilities, and some of them turn into dangerous creatures themselves.

As different theories about the nature of this world emerge, conflicts arise.

Most of the time, the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Mike, who has his own theory about their whereabouts. But when he's confronted with a child clinging to him, he can't help but start questioning his own ideology.

The Lost is a bit of a genre chameleon. It opens like a survival story, drifts into something stranger, and each part leans into a different flavor of fantasy before the series shows what it really is about.  

How many books are in the series?

As of now, The Lost has three translated parts, the "Mike trilogy," which answers the central questions about their whereabouts. Each of the three parts is under 300 pages, and together they make up the full-fledged omnibus edition The Three Oaths.

Why the split?

Each part of The Lost has a completed story arc. I did think about releasing them right away as one big novel (The Three Oaths). But for a debut, that's asking for a lot of reader trust. Since each part tells a complete story anyway, I decided to split them to make them more accessible.  

Is the series completed?

No. The "Mike trilogy" is the first major arc of The Lost. In German, the fourth part, "City on the Edge," is already released, and I'm currently writing the fifth, "Path of the Monster". 

Together with the still unnamed sixth part, these three (4-6) will form a second trilogy, focusing on new characters.

Who are these books for?

The Lost deals with themes of madness and grief, which makes it better suited for an adult audience. That said, it's never bloodier than it needs to be, and there are no scenes of sexual violence. Between all the cruelty of the unknown, I lean toward a humorous, sarcastic voice, with slice-of-life moments here and there.

Please note: this is dark fantasy, but without romance or anything of the sort.