When Quinn finds an experimental superpower-granting costume in their parents’ attic, they didn’t expect to be drawn into a web of superhuman intrigue, but their discovery serves as the catalyst for that conspiracy to slowly unravel.

At it’s heart, Paternum is an extended coming-of-age story for the main character as they become a superhero, in a world with more reasonable stakes and less powerful heroes than many superheroic worlds. Themes include what art means to different people, and what it means to be a patron, whether as a sponsor, a parent, or a supporter.

I consider Paternum‘s primary influences to be the various versions of Spider-Man, J. C. McCrae’s own superhero story Worm, and Drew Hayes’ story SuperPowereds. I hope that fans of such stories can find something to enjoy in mine as well.

Paternum is primarily hosted on my website (thevoidwrites.com) where it updates weekly in groups of scenes totalling approximately 2000 words. Here on Royal Road, it will update once daily with one scene at a time, but only after each act is completed on the home site - the next batch of updates is scheduled to begin on February 5th. There is a discord channel for discussion (discordapp.com/invite/QFMM6yA), and you can vote for Paternum on topwebfiction (topwebfiction.com/vote.php?for=paternum) as well. Finally, you can buy the first book of Paternum, The Swift Uplifting Rush, in a couple different ways - as an ebook through Amazon, or directly from me for a discounted price, or as a physical paperback from Amazon. Buying the book will give you access to Drawing Hands, an exclusive arc that won't ever be published on either my site or Royal Road.