Are you looking for:

The Homeseeker is a LitRPG Action Adventure series, starting with the book in this campaign: A Rejection of Reality. The series will be spanning 5 books, starting with this novel. Each book is already written and contains a self-contained arc that resolves within the story, but only the first book is ready for publishing. The Homeseeker: A Rejection of Reality is a story that takes place in a fantastic new medieval world. Zalan is pulled in suddenly and wants nothing more than to escape back to his own world. But it won't be easy; with the help of friends he makes along the way and a command he gains over the Elemental Power of lightning, he'll have to fight his way out.

This is a 105,000+ word book, with every other novel in this 5-book series intended to be about the same length. It will be available to you in digital, paperback, and hardcover (and if we meet a stretch goal, audiobook too!). This story and series is written to be enjoyed by ages twelve and up. There are certainly epic, intense fantasy battles and depictions of near-death experiences, but there isn't any dwelling on gore, nor is there any profanity or expletives. 

This story is an adventure, with consistent growth of both the character's personality as well as the power he gains in this new realm. He'll have to fight incredible creatures and take on challenges issued by Elementals, creatures that bestow power. On the way, Zalan makes good friends that help him sort out the new realm he finds himself a part of, adding some sincerity and levity in the otherwise dangerous world.

And below is the blurb:

What you can expect in this project:

Hello, hello! I'm N.T. Lazer, thank you so much for taking the time to check out my newest crowdfunding project. I'm an author looking to publish my fifth novel, the start of a new series entitled The Homeseeker.

This is my sixth crowdfunding project, and I'm happy to be able to have consistently delivered on all of my promised releases on time. If you want to see how I operated in the past, I would highly recommend you check out my first, second, and third Kickstarter campaigns.

If you're wondering a little bit more about me, I write a plethora of fiction from a medieval fantasy trilogy, to sci-fi dystopia, to several hundred short stories to my followings on Substack and Instagram. I focus a lot on how characters develop over the course of my stories.

And one thing I can promise: I finish my series. If you enjoy the first book in The Homeseeker, there's five books in this series. And they'll all be out before you know it!

This isn't my first book! I'm offering signed copies of all of my previous books as add-ons as part of this campaign. The Hardcovers of the Young Knight Trilogy* is a crowdfunding exclusive, not available for purchase anywhere else!

*The Young Knight Trilogy does not come in a box set, just the three signed copies of the books

We've got one main stretch goal and that's an audiobook. If we're able to get $5,000 worth of backing, all backers who get a digital copy's worth or higher of The Homeseeker will receive an audiobook as well!

This project ships worldwide! IMPORTANT NOTE: The pledge prices for this campaign DO NOT INCLUDE SHIPPING OR VAT, which will be calculated and applied when you fill out the final survey after the campaign. Shipping rates fluctuate without warning, and I don't want to overcharge anyone for something I'm trying to handle at-cost.

These are estimated shipping costs. There is a chance that shipping costs change between the end of the project and the beginning of fulfillment.

The plan is to get all the signed copies into readers hands by December 2024. There is a chance that unexpected shipping delays occur, but so far I have been able to ship everything out on time for every campaign I've run in the past. Regardless, I promise to send status updates whether things are behind or ahead of schedule. 

📚 Welcome to Booktopia — a celebration of creativity and collaboration from a vibrant collective of writers, authors and artists collectively running crowdfunding projects from September 5th - September 26th.

🔥 Limited Cross-Collaboration Freebies — All 50+ Booktopia creators have paired up with a fellow participant to create two unique and limited freebies together. If BOTH projects successfully fund, backers who support BOTH will get the TWO [2] cross-collab freebies listed on their campaign page, one will ship from each creator. The more pairs of Booktopia creators you support, the more freebies you will earn ✨

🧧 1 FREE Limited Edition Booktopia 2024 reward if you back FIVE [5] or more projects. Exclusive reward for Booktopia - Black Metal Bookmark (*design coming)

For this project: I'm collaborating with Emma Bahnmiller, a debut author releasing her first book: Ødiri's Board! Backing both The Homeseeker and Ødiri's Board will get you an original song for each novel, composed and performed by The Black Piper Music Group!

A brief blurb for Ødiri's Board:
Every day, Ødiri Jenis watched her army go to war while she trained tirelessly to join them, hiding a dangerous secret—she possessed forbidden magic. Even more perilous was her secret friendship with Keliem, the general’s son from her army’s fiercest rival.

When her best friend Terrence is brutally killed, Ødiri’s world shatters. She vows to bring the man responsible to justice—Keliem's own father. Accompanied by her closest friends, she embarks on a perilous quest for vengeance, navigating treacherous alliances and facing strategic battles that will test her resolve and reshape her destiny.

Back Odiri's Board Now!

I've run four crowdfunding projects before and delivered the books on time on all occasions. I am confident I'll be able to do it again. I have a strong system in place.

The main risk is a delay due to printing and shipping. There may also be adjustments to international shipping because the US occasionally will make changes regarding those. But I dealt with that the last few times and was able to get all my books shipped out on time! Rest assured, you will get your books, it's just a question of timing. I think I have realistic deadlines. And I can certainly get you eBooks on time.

The following is the first two chapters of The Homeseeker: A Rejection of Reality. This has been reformatted for BackerKit, it will read like justified paragraphs in the actual novel. Thank you!

Zalan sat empty on the worn-out couch of his dimly lit apartment, his thoughts feeling so far away from him, yet consuming his every faculty. He stared at the ceiling fan lazily rotating above him with a dissociated focus.Tracking a single blade with his eyes, he found his mind stuck in rote loops, repeating questions that permeated through his numb thoughts. Why was he such a pathetic son? Every revolution of the fan made him think the same things, trapped in the endless loop.

“Zalan! Open up!” 

Slowly sinking back into reality, Zalan recognized the voice of his cousin, Asher. He barely registered the visitor, not knowing how long he had been there. The persistent knocking echoed through the apartment, and the distorted silhouette of his cousin pressed against the frosted glass window, with his features obscured by the fading light. The outline of Asher’s hands could easily be seen as his face went as close as it could to the window. Zalan hoped the dark home was enough to hide him. 

“I see you, Zalan! Open the door! Come on!” Asher rapped against the window. 

Mechanically, almost without thinking, Zalan rolled himself off the couch. His phone slid off his stomach, thudding against the floor. He had been scrolling for hours before it ran out of battery. Quickly, he stored it in his pocket. 

Finding his way to the front door, Zalan opened it a crack. The light of the outside world caused him to squint.

“Ash,” Zalan acknowledged monotonously, looking him up and down. Asher had a tupperware of food in one hand, a bottle of pills in the other, and a series of worry lines on his face. He quickly evaluated Zalan, his eyes zipping with increasing intensity. 

Zalan could only assume what his cousin was seeing. He had plenty to assess from the deep bags under Zalan’s red eyes to his wrinkly, grease-stained clothes, and matted, dirty hair. Asher sighed, closing his eyes and reopening them quickly. 

“Zalan. Are you okay? No one’s been able to call you in days,” Asher asked, throwing the door open and allowing himself inside. Zalan shrugged and closed the door behind him, dragging his feet to catch up. Asher looked him over for another few seconds before Zalan realized he’d been asked a question.

“Not really in the mood to talk,” Zalan said, tapping his pants pocket that held his phone. He deliberately placed it on Do Not Disturb, but still kept it close, as the feeling of it in his pocket provided him some comfort. 

“Doesn’t mean you can ignore everyone,” Asher said pointedly, looking around the apartment. 

The residence was shrouded in darkness, the setting sun cast long shadows in the rooms, none of which had any lights on. Asher kicked lightly at the small pile of pizza boxes at the foot of the kitchen counter and made a face before forcing a smile and looking up at Zalan. The floor was littered with crumbs from various chips and their bags haphazardly thrown around the home. Candy wrappers and popcorn kernels gave the white kitchen floor an extra splash of color. Asher began to pick up the smaller trash immediately as Zalan watched impassively. 

“You drinking any water?” Asher asked. 

“I guess,” Zalan shrugged. 

“That’s not really an answer,” Asher replied, frowning. 

Zalan offered nothing more. Asher continued to pick up wrappers, biting his lip nervously. 

“We’re worried about you, man,” Asher finally said, dumping a small pile of trash in the overflowing trash can. 

“Hmm,” Zalan said, his eyes and mind beginning to drift away from the conversation. 

“I’m serious! We haven’t seen you in days. Can’t get you on the phone. Have you at least gone to visit her?” Asher asked. 

Zalan’s eyes narrowed as he brought himself back, trying to piece together the puzzle of the question. Visit?

“You mean Mom?” Zalan asked, his stomach lurching.

“Yeah, who else?” Asher asked. 

“Why would I…” Zalan trailed, deciding not to complete the thought. 

“It’ll be good for you,” Asher assured him. 

Zalan’s lip twitched and he turned away from Asher, lumbering back to sit on his indented spot on the couch. Asher pulled out the trash bag in the kitchen’s bin and replaced it. He took the trash bag and leaned it against the front door before going to join Zalan in the living room in a seat across from his cousin. He flipped on the light, and Zalan turned away with his eyes closed, pained by the second uninvited guest in his home. He clicked his tongue in irritation.

“So, you’re gonna go visit her?” Asher pressed. 

Zalan sighed and laid down across the couch, placing a hand over his eyes to block out the light. 

“Zalan?” 

“What?” Zalan snapped, annoyed. 

“You’re gonna visit her,” Asher said with finality. He was no longer asking.

“Why?”

“You’ll do it because I’ll drag you there. We’re gonna get you out of the apartment and help you. Not like you’re even pretending you have anything better to do,” Asher said, looking around the mess of Zalan’s home. 

Zalan laid silently as Asher leaned forward in his chair, awaiting a response. He then breathed slowly, giving no indication he was still a part of the conversation. 

“Zalan?” Asher ventured. 

“Yes! Fine, I’ll go! Just please stop talking, Ash. And turn off the light!”

Asher opened his mouth to say something more, but decided to shrug and accept the small victory. He placed the tupperware on a coffee table next to Zalan, and the bottle of pills next to that. 

“Eat something,” Ash said. “It’s barbeque chicken and carrots.”

Zalan shifted the hand away from his eye, peeking at the container of food. His stomach groaned. He sighed and rolled himself up, pulling off the plastic cover and pointedly avoiding the gaze of Asher’s satisfied smirk as Zalan took a big bite of chicken. 

“And take one of these,” Asher knocked on the closed bottle of pills. 

“What is it?” Zalan asked, his mouth full. 

“Sleeping pill. You’ll feel better,” Asher promised. 

Zalan grumbled in disappointment, snapping a carrot loudly and rolling his eyes. Asher watched intently, making sure Zalan took a decent fill of food before bringing him a cup of water and opening the bottle of pills. Asher spilled out a single purple and black pill and placed it next to the cup. Zalan studied the pill; its color was nothing like he’d seen on any medicine before. Rather than a simple two-toned pill, the two colors morphed together like a watercolor streak, making it look somewhat ominous and alien. 

“What is this again? This doesn’t look normal,” Zalan attempted.

“Drink it,” Asher asserted. 

Zalan made a face and drank down the pill, waiting for something either magic or tragic to happen, but instead felt nothing at all. Which was about the feeling he’d had for days now. He shrugged and finished the cup of water, hydrating his body for the first time in a day or two. He pushed the empty tupperware and cup forward, toward Asher.

“Happy now?” Zalan asked. 

“Very,” Asher said, finally turning the lights back off. “I’m going to take you to visit her first thing in the morning.”

“Whatever,” Zalan said, laying himself back down on the couch. 

“Don’t you want to at least go to sleep in your bed?” Asher asked. 

Zalan didn’t reply. Asher went back to the kitchen and began the job of tossing the pizza boxes, trash, and cleaning the dishes for his cousin while Zalan stared at the slowly rotating ceiling fan. It spun endlessly, but wasn’t moving fast enough to cool down the room. Although it was useless at this speed, Zalan felt comforted by it in a perverse way. Like it was a kindred spirit drifting, instead of moving with any deliberate direction. Something devoid of emotion, incapable of shedding tears.

Zalan allowed his eyes to scan the walls to pass the time until his cousin would leave his home. He fixated on his college graduation picture. The image had been long neglected, a screen of dust settled upon it. There he stood with his mom, proudly holding his degree for the camera. Bachelor of Science in Physics with a Minor in Computer Sciences. The image looked nothing like him. Every time he had seen himself in the mirror, a smile was the furthest expression. His mom’s smile was radiant, something he wished he could have seen any of the past few days. Graduating at 21, he felt his whole life was ahead of him. Less than a year later, his life felt like it was already over.

Zalan was soon breathing steadily, sleep oozing itself over his mind to take its hold over him. He enjoyed sleep, as it was his only escape from the typical feelings of his life. Ironically, it sometimes made him feel more alive to be in a dream. 

Like the many fitful sleeps in prior days, Zalan lost consciousness with dry eyes and a frown on his face.

Suddenly his body heaved, as if he was dropped into a void. 

At first, Zalan believed he was simply experiencing the falling sensation that sometimes occurs on the brink of sleep. But as he opened his eyes, he realized he was at least three feet above the ground. He screamed and covered his face as he crashed into the ground. His heart thumped recklessly as he slid a few feet across the dirt before coming to an abrupt halt. Coughing, he threw his head up, witnessing a hulking creature towering over him. 

The creature felt colossal over Zalan, at least two times his size. Its standing wolf-like form was composed of gray ash, forming ponderous legs and nimble arms. Flames licked up its limbs, climbing as far as its back and casting a bright glow, reminiscent of a signal fire. The brightness made it difficult for Zalan to look directly at it. The gray sand-like texture of its skin shimmered, forming pine-like leaves along its back—a silver, glimmering shell that seemed poised to explode like gunpowder. Its arms and legs were accented with crimson-red claws, as though permanently stained in blood. Deep, red eyes fixated on Zalan, with tiny fire-like wisps flickering over the pupils, making them dance with bloodlust. Grinning widely, it revealed its jagged brown teeth. Zalan shuddered and slowly backed away as the nightmarish creature raised an arm toward him. 

A thin orange stream light emitted from the creature’s claw, resembling a laser pointer, and snaked its way to Zalan. Startled, Zalan yelped and scrambled away on all fours, terrified by the demonic vision approaching him with its wide, soulless grin. The orange light halted once it reached the point where Zalan had been hunched over just moments before. Suddenly, the ground swelled and erupted in fire and dirt, temporarily blinding Zalan with its intense flame. Zalan screamed in fear and continued to scramble as fast as he could in his unseeing state, eventually regaining vision and discerning shapes once more. 

Zalan’s vision was still madly disoriented. He noted the sun’s height—it was too high for this time of day. It should have gone down right as he was falling asleep. His eyebrows drew together as he suddenly realized he was nowhere near home, stranded in vast plains with sparse flora. In the distance, an old wooden town stood with an ocean beyond it. The climate was arid and warm, and the horizon appeared empty on all slides. He couldn’t see his apartment complex anywhere. Everything seemed dreamlike, yet he felt entirely awake. 

Something shifted behind him. As his heart sank in his stomach he remembered a monstrous creature had been next to him just a moment ago. He twisted his neck around rapidly and gasped.

The creature had raised its arm again, and the thin orange light traced across the ground, landing immediately in front of Zalan’s feet. Zalan looked up at the creature and then back down in horror as the orange light burrowed into the earth. The ground shifted beneath him, and he could sense the impending blast, swelling in anticipation of obliteration. 

Zalan shut his eyes in fear, all but certain his life would end right now, not knowing anything about what was transpiring. Suddenly, he heard something thud in front of him. He opened his eyes and saw a young man with short black hair, dressed in a fading red tunic, his arms planted down on the swelling earth just as it erupted. Rather than exploding, the flame was directed out to the side, like a pot emitting steam from only one end. It arced sideways, blasting Zalan with the heat of the flames, enough to leave his face a hot pink and burn his eyebrows clean off. Zalan was fine with the slight damage he sustained as long as he could still breathe. With wide eyes, he watched the explosion dissipate, then looked toward his savior. 

“You certainly should not be alone at a time like this,” the stranger said nervously. Without looking away from the creature, the stranger grasped Zalan and pulled him to his feet as he stood up. 

“Who are you?” Zalan asked, both ecstatic and stunned. 

“That is a Flamestriker. I suspect you are not nearly at a high enough Level to take it on. Make sure you do not let its explosive light touch you,” the young man explained. He looked to be about Zalan’s age, and he twitched and fidgeted as he watched the monster move.

“I asked who you were,” Zalan mumbled, looking past his new ally and keeping focused on the Flamestriker before it raised a claw again. 

“Right, sorry, umm, my name is Rep,” the ally replied, with a cringe-induced grimace. “We need to rush around the Flamestriker.”

“Rush around it?” Zalan asked, concerned. The beast slowly began raising its arm, its eyes locked on the two of them. 

“Its pointing explosion is rather slow. If we wait for it to get close to us, we can split and run at it. I will unsheath my sword to draw its attention toward me and strike. That should give us time to get to Oriton,” Rep gestured to the town on the other side of the creature. 

“I don’t know what’s going on! Are you sure—”

“I am not! But we have to move!” Rep said as the orange light raced toward them, preparing to explode. 

Zalan waited for Rep’s signal while sweat rolled down his neck. 

“Now!”

Rep pulled a sword from a sheath at his hip and dashed to one side, while Zalan stared, frozen in fear. The light continued to slide gradually toward him. Zalan grunted in frustration as he forced himself to rush the other way, making a wide berth around the Flamestriker. The area where Zalan and Rep had stood moments earlier shook violently as the explosion erupted raccously. Zalan looked away from the blinding light and glanced up at the Flamestriker, which was quickly advancing toward him, seemingly ignoring Rep on the other side. Rep’s eyes went wide in trepidation, and he ran straight for the Flamestriker.

“You said it would follow you!!” Zalan screamed in fear as each of the Flamestriker’s shuffling steps closed the gap between him and the creature. 

“Keep running!” Rep shouted, straining to catch up. 

Zalan had no plans to do otherwise and carried himself as fast as his legs would allow. He was stunned to see how swiftly he could move, considering he had felt so awful only moments ago, but didn’t have time to dwell on it. He chanced a glance backward and saw the Flamestriker’s ghastly, wide smile growing even wider with each earth-shaking step, bringing it closer to Zalan. 

“Hurry!” Zalan shouted, keeping his eyes fixed on the town ahead. He wasn’t sure how much of a difference it would make to hide in the town with a monster of this size behind him, but at this point he was willing to try anything to get away. 

“Turn around! Get away from there!” Rep shouted in a panic. 

Zalan had no idea what he was referring to until he saw the orange light ahead of him, cutting off his path. He shouted in fear and frustration, then twisted himself midstep to run parallel to the city as the ground he was approaching shattered, flinging flames and dirt in all directions. The Flamestriker emitted a low growl of glee while it scraped the soil with its clawed feet, taking longer strides to catch up to Zalan. At this rate, it was only a few steps away from him, despite Zalan’s frantic pace. 

“Do something!” Zalan begged. 

Rep yelled as he charged and sliced at the back of the creature's foot, causing it to stumble and fall to one knee. Zalan tripped and collapsed, having exerted too much energy sprinting for so long. He glanced back at Rep, who circled around to the front of the Flamestriker. Putting his full body weight behind the swing of the sword, Rep aimed at the creature, but the Flamestriker groaned and threw a flaming arm up, smacking the sword clean out of Rep’s hands. After staring at his empty hands, Rep looked up, finding the creature’s face mere inches away. Shouting in a mix of fear and power, Rep struck the creature’s face with his bare hands, knocking its chin straight upward. The Flamestriker recoiled, growling in pain. 

“Run! Run! Run! Run! Run!” Rep screamed repeatedly in panic, waving for Zalan to get up to his feet and run back toward the city. Rep began running at full speed toward Oriton. 

The Flamestriker roared in anger as it brought itself back to its full, considerable height. Zalan was barely able to start running again when he heard the monumental movement of the Flamestriker. Its wolfish face howled in anticipation as it began bounding on all fours instead of walking. Zalan thought he had seconds, but he only had heartbeats. It ran toward Zalan, ignoring Rep. 

Rep shouted more instructions, 

“Head down! Get down!” 

Zalan allowed his exhaustion to take over and collapsed on the ground, hardly able to keep his face from striking the ground. He felt both the searing heat and the wind of the claws swing above his head. Clenching his body tightly in fear, Zalan watched as the Flamestriker bounded forward its momentum carrying it farther than the two allies. 

“Rep, what do I do?” Zalan picked up his head, watching the Flamesriker turn itself around and slowly grinning at him. “Rep!?” Zalan looked back to see Rep running away without him, sprinting toward the town. 

Zalan picked himself back up just as the Flamestriker took passing notice of Rep and then focused on Zalan. Zalan squatted down and fumbled until he picked up a sizable rock and threw it with all his might at the monster. The Flamestriker didn’t even react to the rock cracking against its leg and began to rush forward. Zalan ducked down at the last second, hardly having the chance to do anything else, but this time the Flamestriker didn’t rush beyond him with unintended momentum. It stopped, remaining just above Zalan. It looked down upon him and grinned. 

Zalan yelped. Without thinking, he jumped up with his fist in the air and collided with the beast’s face just as Rep did earlier. Except, instead of doing any damage and sending its face skyward, all Zalan heard was the crack of his own hand. 

“Ahhhhh!” Zalan looked down to see his hand bleeding profusely from the knuckles. Pain shot up his arm and he trembled involuntarily.

The Flamestriker found the display wildly amusing and laughed a low, fear-inducing chuckle, each chortle causing the flames of its arms and legs to increase ever so slightly in its mirth. Zalan’s other hand began to search desperately for another rock on the ground, but instead found a handful of dirt that he threw straight into the monster’s eyes. 

It roared in anger as Zalan scampered away, his chest heaving from the most exertion he’d ever experienced in his life. He could only use one hand, while the other hung bleeding and useless at his side. Forcing himself upright proved to be too challenging without the use of both hands. He twisted his ankle, hurting himself in the process, and barely managed to move away from the monster.

The Flamestriker wiped the mess of dirt from its face and fixed its red eyes on Zalan before pointing toward the slowly advancing explosive light. The deadly beam was catching up quickly to Zalan, who was barely able to keep himself upright, much less run at full speed. The town felt light-years away from him. Just as the orange light neared, a flame erupted beneath the Flamestriker, burning its face. 

Zalan had been so focused on fleeing that he didn’t notice Rep’s return. Suddenly reappearing under the monster’s feet, fire streamed from Rep’s fist. In his other hand, he tightly gripped his retrieved sword. 

“Get out of here! Run!” Rep demanded. He dodged away from a claw coming down on him. 

Zalan nodded numbly and continued to stumble toward the short walls surrounding the town, each breath painful as his fist burned and his ankle throbbed. Keeping his eyes on Rep and the Flamestriker behind him, Zalan noticed a small trail of blood drops forming from the wound in his fist as he ran. Rep dodged another strike and swung his blade with full force at the creature, only for it to be seized, then cleaved in two by the Flamestriker’s other arm. Rep stared in horror. The creature kicked him several feet away with full force before bounding toward Zalan. Snarling, the Flamestriker pursued its weakened, bleeding prey.

“Keep going!” Rep coughed. 

The Flamestriker’s mouth went from a grin to a gaping maw as it decided to forego flame-based attacks and consume directly from Zalan’s flesh. 

“You are almost there!” Rep promised. 

Zalan realized he was nowhere near the city wall, let alone close enough to reach any of the gates before the creature could attack him. His fastest speed felt like no more than a casual walk, with the city still about a hundred feet away. The Flamestriker would be on top of him in seconds. Nonetheless, he continued shuffling, desperate to escape the grisly fate he felt chasing him. He disregarded all the pain he could, but his heart pounded as the Flamestriker’s teeth reached out to take Zalan’s neck.