Hello AGENT,

Coming in at 50,610 words and 188 pages, Fimbulwinter marries the world and themes of VIKINGS: VALHALLA with the tone, magic, and fairytale retelling of THE PUPPETMASTER’S APPRENTICE, all set at the end of the Viking Age in Ireland. The pitch attracted interest from Mythos & Ink Publishing during the December 2020 #PitMad. It is an accessible genre-blending young adult fantasy and a standalone novel about surviving the end of the world and finding love and magic in adversity. It contains neurodiverse and disabled characters in a brutal age and is a loose retelling of the Irish myth of Ethniu and Cian and the Norse myth of Bragi and Idunn.

Driven from the ashes of his winter home by the death of his whole village and a need to remember his family and tell their story, 17-year-old Kori the Berserker stumbles into the arms of a shieldmaiden, a child of two worlds, Norse and Irish. Together with a young druid, an orange cat named for a trickster, and guided by the desperate and cunning god of magic and war, the trio must find the sacred sunstone of the Emerald Isle to bring an end to the Great Winter before the world falls to Ragnarok, the Twilight of the Gods. Corrupted Irish clans, savage Viking mercenaries, tranquil Christian monks, and ancient mysteries stand in their way, all under the fell influence of Balor of the Evil Eye. In a world swallowed by winter, three teens band together as Vikings, risking what little they must to stop the Twilight of the Gods. If the gods are fated to fail, what hope do they have?

My name is Joe, I am a published neurodiverse author with a background in international relations, and I have both OCD and ADHD. In the grim darkness of the far future, I wrote two novellas, three audio dramas, and numerous short stories for Black Library. My published stories have sold over 72,000 copies, earning out and providing modest royalties. I have lived all over the world and on both coasts of the U.S. I now live and write in the Mid-Atlantic. When not writing, I can be found skulking through the humid woods of the region. Like the elusive Sasquatch, I enjoy writing, reading, occasionally traveling, and other assorted activities.

Thank you and I look forward to hearing back from you.

Cheers,

Joe Parrino

Fimbulwinter Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6PWjuGAX5NpOv9k5GGdjvd?si=b321e8efc0924db3