I'm super excited to share with you all today the information about the debut novel from N.S. Armstrong. Some of you may already recognize the name, as N.S. Armstrong was the incredibly talented artist I commissioned to draw Maddie and Kalas from The Starlight Prince.
Well, not only is N.S. Armstrong an amazing artist, he's also a wonderful author too, and his debut novel SON OF THE FIRST comes out on 14th February 2025.
Read on for the blurb, some character art, and an excerpt from this coming-of-age fantasy.
Hell Hath No Fury Like a Man Finding Himself... in Hell
Alyx Archer never planned to go to Hell—he was more of a "fashion degree and fabulous dresses" kind of guy.
All Alyx wanted was to ace his classes and design outfits with his best friend, Brie. Instead, his life is upturned by a demon attack on campus, and by Brie effortlessly ripping said demon to shreds. Turns out, Brie isn’t your average BFF, she’s the Queen of the Hounds of Hell.
To top it all off, the woman who raised him isn’t his real mum. His actual mother? The legendary Lilith. Cue identity crisis.
Now, instead of worrying about grades and fabric swatches, Alyx is getting dragged down to Hell (literally) by someone Lilith would rather smite than see on her doorstep.
And to really whet your appetite, N.S. Armstrong created this stunning art of Lilith, Queen of Demons, and has shared this excerpt of Alyx's first meeting with a demon.
Excerpt from Chapter 3 of Son of the First, by N.S Armstrong
Context: Alyx has been hunted by a demon, sent by one of the high dukes of hell, masquerading as a blonde woman to steal powers he has no knowledge of.
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Alyx was hunched over the sink in the men’s toilets. The remnants of the cold water still dripped from his chin into the basin below. It was quiet. The lunch rush was a few hours away and most other students were deep into ongoing lectures.
Taking a breath, he closed his eyes. His nerves were shot. He simply couldn’t get the blonde woman from the metro out of his head. Her face haunted him. In his dreams, her face would become more pointed, often start to twist and deform, transforming more and more inhuman as the nights passed.
A clink in the room sounded. He opened his eyes and looked around. Nothing was out of the ordinary. Stray pieces of toilet paper littered the speckled tiled floor, its grey flecks jarring against the sun-bleached cream of the walls.
With a click of the tongue, he turned back to look at himself in the mirror. Blinking, he noticed a slight blur to the surface. Like condensation, it caused his reflection to become buried in a fog, until he was just a silhouette.
“What?” he queried, his eyebrows knitting together in bewilderment.
Scanning the row of sinks, the other mirrors above were crystal clear. Not a hint of condensation tarnished the reflected cubicles. He checked that he hadn’t accidentally turned the hot water on by mistake and the lights above blinked. It was quick, but it was enough to cause his shoulders to calcify with tension.
Looking in the mirror, through the misty surface he’d noticed his reflection had changed. There was something above his right shoulder. Glancing behind him there was nothing. He eyed the sinks, but he could still see the shape there.
With his eyebrows pulling tighter above the bridge of his nose, he lifted his shaking right hand to the mirror; the left keeping him sturdy against the sink. He cleared the condensation away. Expecting dampness, what he received was like ash. It flaked down from his hand and into the basin below. Looking back up to where he’d swiped, his breath hitched. His heart felt like it was hammering out of his chest.
Staring back at him, behind his shoulder, she grinned. Her lips splitting further up her cheeks, her eyes sinking deep into her skull, resembling jet-black pools gouged into a smooth marble wall.
Her reflection moved forward, taking over his own form. She mirrored him.
Then, she lunged.
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I've already pre-ordered my copy and as as I've read it, I'll be sharing my review here. Be sure to pre-order your copy, too!
Until next time, take care & stay creative!
T.T.F.N