hardcover mockup of Ashen Rider

Ashen Rider

Available on Kickstarter NOW!

A character-driven, mythological fantasy. Available everywhere on December 19th, 2025.

When her mother is claimed by Death a second time, Kateryna is forced to abandon her afterlife and descend into Pandemonium—a shattered underworld shaped by pain, memory, and buried sin. To save her mother’s soul, she must join forces with her estranged father, whose devotion to a fallen goddess set this all in motion. Hunted by Morgana, the Goddess Corrupted and her chosen griffin-riders, Kateryna must journey through the shadows and confront the reality of her own dark past—because in Pandemonium, death is only the beginning.

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"I wouldn't put it past him... He might just be a magician.”

— James Callan, author of Old Sorcery and A Transcendental Habit.

"In Ashen Rider, Mills will take you on a fantastic journey you'll not soon forget."

— Lee Patton, author of A Valley of Shadow.

"I'm not a hoarder... but James Mills creates hoardable art.”

— C.D. Jensen, author of The Crown and the Caged God.

James D. Mills is a writer, editor, and a wanderer. He writes Fantasy and Contemporary Literature in attempts to wrangle with whatever broils beneath the surface. His main goal is to be awarded "Best Dad Ever" for 18 consecutive years by the people who matter most. After that, he wants to topple that record indefinitely.

He is most well known for his role as Editor-in-Chief for The Literary Fantasy Magazine. His short fiction is scattered in a variety of excellent literary magazines. He scribbles away at novels, soon to be unveiled. In his free time he walks around the woods, manually types out linux commands on old PCs, and sings to his family...

photo taken by Zac Biel

Latest Posts

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How Classic Hits Shaped Ashen Rider

Before I became a writer, my first creative love was guitar. I grew up listening to the greats of Classic Rock and Americana—and also some deep cuts from my own time. In my first draft of Ashen Rider, I had placed epigraphs with song lyrics. Since then, I’ve learned this is a big legal no-no. […]

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The Inspirations Behind Ashen Rider

Ashen Rider is my debut Epic Fantasy to be published by The Arcanist: Fantasy Publishing on December 19th, 2025. As I was performing the final proofread, I couldn’t help but smile at all the tiny intricate references and easters eggs on nearly every page. Most of these only I will ever know, but I wanted […]

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Photo by Savvas Stavrinos

A Few Words

The last time I walked down Union Avenue (or Road, I can never remember) in the town where I grew up and where I lived through my early adulthood, I was bombarded by memories everywhere I looked. There’s the dealership where I bought my first car, that’s the BevMo that used to be the old […]

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Shoot for the stars, then refuse them.

Big Goals In March 2023, I attended the 44th International Conference for the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA) in Orlando, Florida. It was the first time that I traveled somewhere just to immerse myself in writing and surround myself with experienced, successful people. Truly, it was a life altering experience. This is where I first […]

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