The Story So Far
A somewhat apocryphal timeline of the fiction by Nicolas Hornyak
1993
Nico is born on November 21.
Everyone's in trouble.
1997
First major brush with sickness and death, which tends to forge good writers.
2004
Nico finally learns that writing stories is fun in the sixth grade.
2006
Nico writes his first long piece of writing. (It's totally Titanic fan fiction.)
2001
Nico decides that cursive is the devil and thus all forms of writing must suck.
2010
Nico completes his first manuscript.
(Oh God, it's so bad.)
2011
Nico is accepted to the Lilly Lieb Port creative writing program at Purchase College.
2014
Nico writes the first chapters of his first book to get a headstart on his senior thesis.
2015
Nico graduates with a degree in creative writing and a minor in screenwriting. (I swear it was an accident.)
2016
AIMLESS SKY is published on September 1.
Aimless Sky - Book 1 of the Flooded Earth
Sky is a pilot, and a bloody good one.
It is the 26th century, and 94% of Earth is now underwater. Despite the threat of climate change and a worldwide catastrophe, humanity has survived, entering a new era of growth. With it, a penal system dependent on slavery has emerged, and pirates roam the oceanic expanse unchecked.
In this new world, Sky Ashworth dreams of taking to the skies alongside zeppelins and biplanes, until a rogue fleet strikes the capital city of Monte Rosa. In one day, the world is stunned as the enemy is driven back, and Sky is left with the death of his mother and the disappearance of his father.
As the years pass, he meets Chelsea Alawi, a royal slave, and with her help, he begins to heal. However, as Sky comes to terms with the tragedy, he learns that his father still lives, and pirates want him dead or alive. With new purpose, Sky must assemble an airship crew and prevent a ruthless pirate lord from coming to power, or else the world faces all-out war.
2016
"The Duel at High Hoon" is published in HEXBLOOD TALES, VOL. 1. (Hell if I could tell you the exact date but I'm pretty certain it was after Aimless Sky. Maybe November?)
2017
THE PHOENIX EXPRESS is published on September 29.
Hexblood Tales, Volume 1
Featuring "The Duel at High Noon."
1781. It is the end of the American Revolution, and a consortium of the Valkyrie Society has been called to order in Yorktown. In attendance is Absalom Paige, a renowned seer whose past catches up with him when an old lover shuts down the meeting. Questioning the motivation of such actions, Absalom is challenged to a legendary duel--one which could prove the legitimacy of New World Magischola or set it back decades.
Read this and other short stories about the College of Wizardry universe in Hexblood Tales, Volume 1. Available now from Reptilian Publishing.
The Phoenix Express
For all of known history, the Phoenix Express has delivered letters across the desert known as Time. Its couriers and phoenixes have turned the tides of future wars, saved the messiahs of faiths long forgotten, and changed the very seasons. But now, there is only one rider, one phoenix, and one final letter to be delivered.
Elmira has served the Phoenix Express all her life and hasn't seen a message in over a decade. For fifteen years, she ran the post office of Penumbra, hoping to spend the rest of her days in peace. But when the Last Letter arrives, she must leave her daughter behind, or else unravel the world.
With a sacred mission passed down the line, Elmira rides for the edge of Time...
2018
Nico gets knee-deep in game design for a few years.
(Less fiction, more worldbuilding. That will change soon...)
2022
You're caught up. Fortunately, Nico is currently querying agents to represent his new manuscript for HUMAN HAWKE: FIRST CONTACT. (Fingers crossed!)