M. J. Newton

Cozy fantasy, in progress.

I'm an indie author working on my debut novel--a cozy fantasy with found family, heart-warming characters, and maybe a misunderstood monster or two. Want to watch it happen?

Follow the journey

The Story So Far

Fantasy novels got me early. I devoured Redwall, The Hobbit, and the Dragonlance trilogy before I was out of elementary school. They shaped me as a young reader and a young man.

That kicked off decades of fantasy novels, a decade-long Ultima Online obsession, and an itch to tell my own stories that I never fully scratched.

Now, with two kids and a 40th birthday behind me, I’ve decided there’s never a better time to finally “turn pro.” I’m writing cozy fantasy (the warm, low-stakes corner of the genre where Legends & Lattes lives) because, with everything going on the world today, I want my books to feel like home. I’d love your company along the way.

The First Novel

It's early. Right now I'm doing something slightly unhinged: pitching twenty different book concepts to real readers with real ads, and letting the results pick which novel I write first. What I can promise: it will be cozy, it will be funny, and somebody in it will find the home they didn't know they were looking for.

I'm also considering writing it as a serial first, then editing it into a novel series.

  1. Concept testing
  2. Outlining
  3. Drafting
  4. Revising
  5. In your hands

When there's a title and a cover, my email list hears it first.

About M. J. Newton

M. J. Newton

M. J. Newton is a Tokyo-based father of two girls and a lifelong fantasy reader and roleplayer. Raised on Redwall, The Hobbit, and Dragonlance. He lost the better part of a decade to Ultima Online roleplaying as a Shadowclan orc and running a hardcore RP-enforced grimdark server and regrets nothing.

He reads across numerous sub-genres of fantasy and occasionally science fiction, but Legends & Lattes and a nerdy obsession with tea inspired him to write cozy fantasy. This site is where he documents the trip from reader to author, one small step at a time.