Meet Todd Fahnestock | Edge-of-Your-Seat Epic Fantasy Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Todd Fahnestock and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Todd, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
So I’ve been writing since I was eighteen. In the beginning, like most young people do, I expected things to happen quickly. I imagined I’d have an idea, write the novel, then it would miraculously land on the desk of someone powerful and influential. That person would then take it the rest of the way up the mountain, declare it the next literary phenomenon or groom it to be the next pulp fiction bestseller.

Then the landslide would tumble over me. Validation. Riches. Fame.

I went on dreaming this dream for about twenty-five years.

When my string of temporary day jobs had turned into a viable career as Director of Development at the American Diabetes Association, I had a revelation. Let’s call it Revelation #1.

I had just turned forty, and the veil of the seductive dream fell away. There was no influential person just waiting to receive my book and launch it to international acclaim. My method of writing in solitude and only occasionally flicking manuscripts out into the world wasn’t enough.

It hadn’t been enough for twenty-five years.

That plagued me over the next four years as my options became crystal clear. The writing thing wasn’t going to happen unless I made it happen. I couldn’t expect some publishing angel to fly my book to the top of the mountain. If I wanted to be an author, I was going to hike it myself.

When Revelation #1 crystalized, I was 44-years-old. Seems like it should have hit me sooner. Like age 25. Or 35. But I was an optimist. I held onto that fanciful dream for a very long time.

The revelation was daunting, to say the least. Beyond writing books, I didn’t know anything about the publishing industry. I did not know about interior design, securing cover artists, distribution, marketing, selling… Agh! My mind went comatose thinking about all the things I didn’t know and how woefully unprepared I was to do them.

But I knew one thing: I was 44. If I didn’t make a commitment–and soon–I’d just be waiting for my big break while I worked another twenty-five years in an office, then wonder what had happened.

That vision had me in cold sweats for several nights until I realized I had to make the choice: decide to be all-in at my nonprofit career, or to go all-out for my writing career.

And that pretty much sealed the deal. I made the plan to transition from day job to writing full time (which is chronicled in detail in my memoir, Falling to Fly).

I quit my job, got another, lower-paying job at 40 hours/week, as opposed to the sliding scale of 60+ hours/week required for a director. It allowed me more time to write, but more importantly, it was a statement.

Being a rising director within a nonprofit organization was seductive. Good money. A chance for advancement. I got to give my energy and hours to a fantastic cause and enjoyed positive community standing. It was a career to believe in. I could see myself doing that for the rest of my life.

Which was the problem.

But this new, lower-paying job? It would constantly remind me of my purpose. I had forced my own hand, forced myself to face Revelation #1 every day.

Two and a half years later, in January of 2017, with my wife financially supporting me and with $10,000 saved up to kick-start my first year, I quit that interim job and began writing full-time.

Those first two years were the hardest. I had just released what I thought would be my break-out novel, The Wishing World, with Tor Books. I expected to get a contract for the sequel any day. I told myself I’d make $20,000 in my first full-time year, $50,000 in my second. By year three, I’d be making what I made as a director at the American Diabetes Association.

I made $1,200 that first year. I made $2,200 in the second. It was devastating.

For about nine months of that second year, I was very close to getting another day job, but somehow just enough money trickled in to keep me, my wife, and our two kids afloat.

Though our financial picture was spooky, and I worried about it every day, I was also happy every day. I loved what I was doing. My wife told me I seemed ten years younger. I was full of energy and ambition.

That’s when I had Revelation #2: this was my life. No matter what happened financially, I was going to see this through.

All this backstory was, believe it or not, to answer the original question: How do I know whether to keep going or give up?

The answer? Because there is no other choice.

Rich or poor, famous or obscure, this is what I do.

A quote from my dear friend and fellow author says it best:

“We’re not looking for easy. We’re looking for the true path.”

Whenever things get difficult—and they get difficult a LOT—I summon those words. I don’t want comfort at the expense of my purpose. I want what is meaningful.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I write edge-of-your-seat epic fantasy novels. That is to say, fantasy novels in the tradition of J. R. R. Tolkien, Terry Brooks, and Brandon Sanderson–grand adventures, magic, swords, dragons–except with my own personal zip thrown in. My stories have all the deep world-building and complex characters of epic fantasy, but infused with the quick pacing of a thriller.

As to the business side of my profession, I manage my own writing career. I write, do the interior design, commission the cover artists, publish my books under my own imprint (F4 Publishing), and then hit the road to market and sell them.

I travel the country, selling books at 15 to 20 events a year (mostly comic conventions like San Diego Comicon, Denver FanExpo, and Brandon Sanderson’s Dragonsteel Nexus), and I attend a couple of writers conferences each year as well.

I also sell books on my website (toddfahnestock.com), on Amazon, and I have them available for distribution to Barnes & Noble as well.

My business has a long way yet to go, but it has grown every single year since I started doing this. And in 2025, I came closer than ever to hitting a six-figure year. That has now become my goal in 2026.

I have several completed series, but I am most excited about my current project (which is usually the case–whatever I’m currently drafting is the “belle of the ball” in my mind). The Twelve Kingdoms is an epic, possibly 1-million-word project which will be broken out over 4-6 volumes. I plan to finish the whole story first, then release the volumes back-to-back. I will do a Kickstarter in July where readers can purchase the entire series all at once.

Here’s a quicky view into The Twelve Kingdoms:

At the height of its glory, when magic hums through crystal towers and civilization spans the world, a grotesque leviathan attacks Alliofor.

Then monster descends from nowhere—a living cloud, vast and hungry. Wherever its tendrils touch, life is unmade, leaving only empty, shambling remnants behind. In days, a quarter of the world is infected.

Twenty-four of the greatest wizards gather to stop it. They fail.

Unwilling to watch the end of everything, they gamble on a spell never before attempted: they will freeze time itself, halting the monster’s advance for exactly one year. In that final moment, they open a portal and send twelve master wizards—along with thousands of refugees—into a sealed pocket world. There, while Alliofor stands still, time will flow on. The wizards will spend a year forging legendary weapons, learning the monster’s secrets, and preparing for the final battle.

When the year ends, the portal will reopen. Time will resume. And this time, they will be ready.

They are wrong.

A single miscalculation shatters the plan. One year in Alliofor becomes a thousand in the pocket dimension.

There is no return. Only legacy.

As centuries grind on, the original wizards die, and their descendants inherit the impossible duty: preserve the knowledge of a monster frozen in time, train new champions, and keep ancient weapons from fading into myth. Because when the millennium ends, the portal will open.

And if they are not ready, the leviathan will finish what it started —consuming not one world, but two.

(So that’s a glimpse of my current project. I’m releasing chapters as I write them on my Patreon site.)

I’ve spent decades honing my writing skills, but my journey on the marketing/selling side of things is what allowed me to write full-time. It was a long, unexpected, and risky adventure, but a really exciting one as well.

I started hand-selling my own books because I ran out of money after my first year of writing full time. When I released what I thought would be my breakout novel in 2016, I had hoped for a big contract from my at-the-time publisher.

I didn’t get it.

So by the end of 2017, the money I’d saved up was gone, and we needed $500 in November to make our mortgage. I either needed to pull a rabbit out of my hat or get another day job.

My “rabbit” ended up being a holiday market event. I went as a member of the Colorado Authors League, got a space at one of their tables, hand-sold my books…

And made $500 that weekend.

That paid November’s mortgage, so I signed up for another holiday event in December in Georgetown. I made another $400 and squeaked through December into 2018.

That was how it started, and year after year, I’ve improved my setup, going to larger and larger events, writing more novels, enhancing my point-of-purchase displays, coming up with series set deals, and selling posters of the cover art.

Now I’m knocking on the door of that mythical six-figure year, and I’m looking to expand my reach.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I’ve chased the majestic before. I’ve stood on the rooftops of world-renowned museums in New York City sketching Rodin sculptures. I’ve climbed the holy mountain Gunung Agung in Bali. I’ve hiked hundreds of miles of the most gorgeous mountain wilderness in Colorado. I’ve lived on the courtesy of strangers as I saw the wonders of Europe.

I’ve also slept in ditches hitch-hiking across the U.S, picked up by strangers who ranged from unbelievably generous to hair-raisingly creepy. I’ve jogged neglected stretches of edge-of-the-city desert in Barstow, paced by a pack of coyotes who may have been following me with a sense camaraderie or may have been gauging how troubling I’d be as prey.

These days, I’m not as interested in the majestic as I am in small wonders. I like original things. I like living things. I like the original things that living things do. 🙂

If my best friend was visiting Denver, I’d take them to see the many artists: the First Friday Art Walk along Santa Fe, the Denver Chalk Art Festival, or any number of craft fairs where some of the most amazing bits of human expression can be found.

I’d also take them to my beloved Platte River walking trail. I’d look for the mated pair of bald eagles that hunt those waters every day. I’d show my friend the flocks of Canadian geese and endless species of ducks and other waterfowl.

If we went early enough, before the sun had risen, we might spot an owl or two or even run across a coyote or a fox. And, of course, one of my favorite parts, we’d get to see the spectacular sunrise. And, moments after, that Platte River phenomenon I call “Second Sunrise,” where clouds on the western side of the sky turn lavender just as the eastern sky releases its riot of bright reds and oranges.

Oh, and I also recently discovered Tocabe, a Native American fast-food place in Arvada. I would take them there for lunch. Fry bread stuffed with pinto beans, cheese, shredded bison, sweet corn, tomatoes, and drizzled with chipotle sauce…? Oh my. Sign me up.

Yep. I’d go there.

(Now I’m hungry…)

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a Shoutout, first and foremost, to my wife, Lara. She has continuously supported this dream, even when I was sometimes ready to give up.

I want to give a Shoutout to my friends and writerly colleagues (there are SO many of you!), for your excitement for this journey. For asking about my projects, giving your two cents, and cheering me on.

I want to give a Shoutout the Colorado Authors League, for being a constant force for supporting writers and artists. I am not always an active member of this organization, but they are always actively trying to help me and all the other authors trying to find their way.

Lastly, I want to give a Shoutout to all you readers out there. Thank you for continuing to dive into written stories. There are so many fantastic mediums to consume stories these days, but the written word is the only one that engages the imagination in this unique way.

Written stories are the truest collaboration between artist and audience. Authors write the words, but readers create the worlds in their minds in their own personal and unique way.

And, of course, I want to Shoutout to my readers in specific. Y’all are the BEST. I love you and I’ll keep writing as long as I can lift fingers to keyboard.

Website: https://toddfahnestock.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/todd_fahnestock/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/todd.fahnestock/

Other: If you want chapters of my current work in progress, The Twelve Kingdoms, visit my Patreon site and sign up: https://www.patreon.com/c/toddfahnestock/collections

Image Credits
Picture 8 (in the forest) was taken by my friend Seth Brown. All others were taken by me.