I can hardly believe October is already here. It seems like 2026 has just flown by!
I’m pleased to announce that my new novel Malcom Braxton and the Dragon War is now out!
Some might wonder why I wrote a YA Fantasy novel when I typically write thrillers and legal thrillers.
Well, I have young readers in my household who aren’t ready to dig into the Mitch Turner or Jason Maxfield novels, so I’m hoping this entices them to read something from Dad in the meantime!
I always get questions about when I’m going to write books for them. Just got one this week. So, no promises, but there might be a picture book sometime in the near future, too.
Anyhow, Malcom Braxton is a fast-paced YA fantasy thriller and it’s an incredible ride, I hope you check it out and recommend it to your friends!
Here’s my quick hit list of updates on other things:
- The Company Man (featuring Vince Hunter) is moving through editing. I just got reports back from Beta Readers this week and I’ve been going through them today. I will release this novel in November.
- Eric Dove will start recording the audiobook for The Wild Card in the next couple of weeks. It’s more difficult to say when that’s going to be ready, but I imagine it should be out by the end of the year
- And finally, I am pleased to report that the next Mitch Turner novel is almost 50% done! Mitch is back in the saddle and he’s enjoying his new office and married life. He’s neck deep in a double homicide investigation where few things are as they appear, and everybody’s lying. I will release this in December, assuming everything goes according to plan.
- Just in case you missed it, I recently released The Shooter (featuring Kirk Hoffman) and The Rat’s Nest audiobook (featuring Audrey Spencer). See below for the first five chapters.
That’s it for updates. I hope everybody has fun gearing up for Halloween!
—Dan Decker
AN ORPHAN STRICKEN BY WAR.
Malcom Braxton never knew his parents. They died in war, killed by the brutal Nortam Empire. He is raised by a man he calls uncle, and he and his six-shooters are ready when the war drums beat again.
NEW SECRET WEAPONS.
It’s been sixteen years since the last war ended and the Nortam Empire is on the move. They have new weapons: trained dragons. Malcom discovers this and they pursue him, hoping to keep the dragons a secret.
A HIDDEN SORCERER.
Malcom also has a secret. He’s a sorcerer. But he has nobody to teach him. When the Nortam Army invades, he’s forced to retreat. And they take a hostage. One Malcom will do anything to protect.
Can he overcome his own inexperience to protect his home? Will he let one person die in order to save countless others?
Come along on a journey of magic, intrigue, and dragons. If you enjoy fast moving YA fantasy novels with a protagonist who relies on his six-shooters just as much as his secret abilities, this novel is for you!
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
A quarter mile down, the trail opened onto a large plateau that once held a small settlement. Most of the structures had washed away, but one lone shack still stood beside a large boulder that had protected it from the spring runoff. Unlike the thickly wooded area we’d just come from, the plateau was mostly covered in long swaying grass. There were some trees around the outside, but it was mostly grass and shrubs, with a few saplings sprouting up here and there toward the middle. It would be years before the forest reclaimed the land.
Axtor stopped in the shade, and I pulled up beside him, unbuttoning my coat. It was starting to warm up.
I noticed smoke on the breeze again—it still smelled sweet and sickly—but it disappeared when I sniffed a second time.
Movement near a grove of trees on the other side of the plateau drew my attention. I reached for my pistol until I saw a herd of bighorn sheep. A ram came up first and faced us as if warning us to stay back.
There was no way around because of the sharp drop-off on one side and the cliff wall on the other.
I focused on the valley floor as a cloud covered the sun.
Hang on, I thought, looking up. Did a cloud just move against the wind?
I didn’t have time to consider the question because flame erupted around the ram.
