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books Traitor to the Crown (series)
The Patriot Witch (novel) (New York, NY: Del Rey), April 2009 The year is 1775. On the surface, Proctor Brown appears to be an ordinary young man working the family farm in New England. He is a minuteman, a member of the local militia, determined to defend the rights of the colonies. Yet Proctor is so much more. Magic is in his blood, a dark secret passed down from generation to generation. But Proctor’s mother has taught him to hide his talents, lest he be labeled a witch and find himself dangling at the end of a rope. A chance encounter with an arrogant British officer bearing magic of his own catapults Proctor out of his comfortable existence and into the adventure of a lifetime, as resistance sparks rebellion and rebellion becomes revolution. Now, even as he fights alongside his fellow patriots from Lexington to Bunker Hill, Proctor finds himself enmeshed in a war of a different sort—a secret war of magic against magic, witch against witch, with the stakes not only the independence of a young nation but the future of humanity itself.
A Spell for the Revolution (novel) (New York, NY: Del Rey), May 2009 After making early gains on the battlefields, General Washington’s struggling young armies are being relentlessly pressed back by British troops and Hessian mercenaries. Among the enemy’s ranks is a mysterious force from the Covenant, a secret society of witches that for centuries has been pulling the strings of European history: a Hessian necromancer who drinks the power of other witches like a vampire and whose allies include devils and ghosts. Now this man seeks to sap the fighting spirit of Washington’s troops by means of a pernicious curse, chaining the souls of the dead to the spirits of the living. Against him stands Proctor Brown and Deborah Walcott, two young patriots who lead a ragtag band of witches as much in danger from their own side as from the enemy. Proctor and Deborah must find a way to break the Hessian’s curse before the newborn revolution is smothered in its cradle—and the Covenant extends its dark dominion to the shores of America, extinguishing forever the already sputtering torch of liberty.
The Demon Redcoat (novel) (New York, NY: Del Rey), June 2009 The War of Independence appears to have no end in sight. Discouraged by the bloodshed and suffering their magic can do nothing to prevent, Proctor and his wife, Deborah, dream of starting a family. But when Deborah gives birth, a powerful demon called Balfri, summoned by the secret society of European witches known as the Covenant, tries to possess the child. Though the attack in unsuccessful, it makes Proctor and Deborah realize that there can be no safety for them, or for anyone, until the Covenant is destroyed. Proctor embarks on a desperate journey to take the fight to the heart of the Covenant’s power: Europe. There he will uncover a dark, necromantic design of chillingly vast proportions. His only chance to defeat it will be to join forces with the very king the Revolution opposes, King George III. Meanwhile, back in America, Deborah will face Balfri again—only this time the demon will have the whole British army to command.
And published as Charles Coleman Finlay The Prodigal Troll (novel) (Buffalo, NY: Pyr Books) 2005 - hardcover edition - trade paperback edition - translated into German as Der verlorene Troll (Klett-Cotta, 2007) "Finlay writes with commendable clarity and an elegant turn of phrase." Infinity Plus "Finlay's lucid prose is a pleasure to read." Victoria Strauss, author of The Awakened City "The best fantasies illuminate that which is beautiful, painful, and true... and no fantasy I've ever read has done it better than The Prodigal Troll." Bradley Denton, author of Lunatics A baby, heir to the Gruethrist title, is lost in the wilderness and adopted by a mother troll, who raises the child as her own. The little boy -- christened "Maggot" by his stepfather because he was small, white, and found on a corpse -- survives a harsh world populated by dagger-tooth lions and wooly mamuts, trolls and demons, only to face the greatest danger of all: reclaiming his human heritage.
Wild Things (story collection) (Flint, MI: Subterranean Books) 2005 - hardcover edition - signed-numbered limited edition (250 copies) with story chapbook "Her Life Sentence" "A versatile writer of imaginative fiction." Publishers Weekly "Exploring a variety of genres, bringing freshness and intelligence to them all." Booklist "Finlay displays an astonishing range, an active imagination and a developing assurance and control: a writer to watch." Kirkus Fourteen early stories demonstrating a wide range of moods and genres, from fantasy to science fiction, from alternate history to horror. Includes "Footnotes," a story told entirely as a series of footnotes, as well as Hugo and Nebula finalist "The Political Officer" and Sidewise Award finalist "We Come Not to Praise Washington."
stories Published as Charles Coleman Finlay 2009 "The Texas Bake Sale" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, February 2009 "The Minutemen's Witch" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, January 2009 - a Traitor to the Crown story 2008 "The Crystal Stair, Part 2" co-authored with Rae Carson Finlay (novelet) Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Nov. 20, 2008 "The Crystal Stair, Part 1" co-authored with Rae Carson Finlay (novelet) Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Nov. 6, 2008 "The Political Prisoner" (novella) Fantasy & Science Fiction, August, 2008 - a Maxim Nikomedes story - reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction, Volume 26, Gardner Dozois, ed., forthcoming - finalist, Nebula Award (best novella) 2009 - finalist, Hugo Award (best novella) 2009 - finalist, Sturgeon Award 2009 "The Cross-Time Accountants Fail to Kill Hitler Because Chuck Berry Does the Twist" (short story) ccfinlay.livejournal.com, July 6, 2008 - a free blog bonus track "The Rapeworm" (short story) Noctem Aeternus, January 2008 2007 "An Eye for an Eye" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2007 - reprinted in Science Fiction: Best of the Year 2008, Rich Horton, ed., 2008 2006 "Abandon the Ruins" (novella) Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct/Nov 2006 - a Maggot story; takes place after the events of The Prodigal Troll - translated into Russian by V. Grishechkin for Esli (April, 2007) "Passing Through" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 2006 - a Little Limestone Island story "The Third Brain" co-authored with James Allison (short story) Subterranean Magazine, Spring 2006 "Hail, Conductor" (short story) Talebones, Spring 2006 2005 "The Moon is Always Full" (short story) Strange Horizons, Oct. 31, 2005 - a Little Limestone Island story "The Slug Breeder's Daughter" (short story) Subterranean Magazine, Autumn 2005 "Her Life Sentence" (short story) original to collection, signed-numbered edition only, Wild Things, 2005 "The Nursemaid's Suitor" (novella) Black Gate, #8, Summer 2005 - a Maggot story, excerpted from The Prodigal Troll "Of Silence and the Man at Arms" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2005 - a Kuikin and Vertir story "Still Life With Action Figure" (short story) Argosy Quarterly, Spring 2005 - collected in Wild Things "Horny in the Underworld" (short story) Electric Velocipede, Spring 2005 "Love and the Wayward Troll" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2005 - a Maggot story, excerpted from The Prodigal Troll "Moons Like Great White Whales" (short story) Strange Horizons, Feb. 28, 2005 - translated into Hebrew for Bli Panika (Israel), March 2006 2004 "The Smackdown Outside Dedham" (short story) H. P. Lovecraft's Magazine of Horror, Fall 2004 - collected in Wild Things "The Ill-Fated Crusade" (short story) Paradox, June 2004 "After the Gaud Chrysalis" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 2004 - a Kuikin and Vertir story - reprinted in In Lands That Never Were: Tales of Sword and Sorcery from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Gordon Van Gelder, ed., 2004 - collected in Wild Things "The Factwhore Proposition" (short story) Futurismic, May 2004 - collected in Wild Things "Pervert" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2004 - reprinted in Year's Best Science Fiction #10, David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, eds., 2005 - translated into Hebrew by Rami Shalheveth for The Tenth Dimension (Israel), #22-23, September 2004 - translated into Portuguese by Tiago Game for Phantases (Portugal), # 2, Spring 2006 - translated into Romanian by Daniela Moraru for Sci-Fi Magazin (Romania), #2, November 2007 - recorded for podcast at Escape Pod, Aug. 8, 2008 - finalist, Gaylactic Spectrum Award (short form) 2005 - collected in Wild Things "The Seal Hunter" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, Jan. 2004 - an asteroid colony/Broadnax story - collected in Wild Things 2003 "Wild Thing" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, July 2003 - reprinted in Year's Best Fantasy #4, David G. Hartwell and Kathryn Cramer, eds., 2004 - collected in Wild Things "Lucy, in Her Splendor" (short story) Marsdust, April 2003 - a Little Limestone Island story - reprinted in the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror #15, Stephen Jones, ed. 2004 - collected in Wild Things - reprinted in By Blood We Live, John Joseph Adams, ed. 2009 "For Want of a Nail" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, March 2003 - a Kuikin and Vertir story "A Game of Chicken" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, Feb. 2003 - collected in Wild Things 2002 "Roadkill" (short story) Ideomancer Unbound, Chris Clarke and Mikal Trimm, eds., Dec. 2002 "A Democracy of Trolls" (novella) Fantasy & Science Fiction, Oct/Nov 2002 - a Maggot story, excerpted from The Prodigal Troll "Fading Quayle, Dancing Quayle" (short story) The Book of More Flesh, James Lowder, ed., Oct. 2002 - collected in Wild Things "We Come Not to Praise Washington" (novelet) Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2002 - reprinted in One Lamp: Alternate History Stories From The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Gordon Van Gelder, ed., 2003 - finalist, the Sidewise Award (short form)2003 - collected in Wild Things "The Frontier Archipelago" (short story) On Spec, Summer, 2002 - an asteroid colony/Broadnax story - collected in Wild Things "The Political Officer" (novella) Fantasy & Science Fiction, April, 2002 - a Maxim Nikomedes story - reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction, Volume 20, Gardner Dozois, ed., July 2003 - finalist, Hugo Award (best novella) 2003 - finalist, Nebula Award (best novella) 2003 - translated into Greek by Β. Αθανασιάδης for Ετήσια Ανθολογία Επιστημονικής Φαντασίας 2 (Greece), 2004 - collected in Wild Things 2001 "Footnotes" (short story) Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2001 - first published story - collected in Wild Things