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A fantasy novel in three parts · by Joseph Mason

Borrowed Fantasy

Cover of Borrowed Fantasy: a dark blue dragon and a red dragon circle a golden rope ring against a dusk sky.

Levi went out to face the threat to their hidden village and never came back. Now his younger brother, Abram, has to follow the same trail into the nightmare world outside.

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Kirkus Reviews
Reviewed in the January 1, 2026 issue
BookFest Awards
3rd place, Fantasy — Magic, Myths & Legends
p.166

Kirkus Reviews
January 1, 2026 issue

A thoughtful fantasy that pairs classic adventure beats with a shrewd concern for the moral price of miracles.

BookFest Awards — Third Place

Fiction · Fantasy — Magic, Myths & Legends

See the award entry

The story

One hidden village. Two brothers. Three parts.

Borrowed Fantasy is told in three parts, and every turn leads Abram and his companions into a greater danger than the last.

  1. The brother who went first

    Levi charges out toward an unknown threat to the village that has kept itself hidden for generations. He never returns.

  2. The trail outside

    Abram leaves the only home he has known and follows his brother's trail into a nightmare world.

  3. The price of a miracle

    The same mysterious evil that swallowed Levi is waiting. Every way forward costs something.

Reader noteContains fantasy violence. Joseph asks parents to read it first before sharing with kids under 13.

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On the writing desk

What Joseph is writing next

One novel in planning and two side stories dug out of the Facebook archive. Newsletter readers hear about each one first.

  1. It's Always the Red Dragon Novel · working title A child grows up in a world under the iron grip of a Red Dragon, and sets out to be rid of it. Next novel
  2. Avoiding Fate Side story Characters dropped into situations they are not prepared for, who still make it out. Okay — mostly. Back on the desk
  3. Omowo Must Die Side quest Written for fun on Facebook and never edited. Joseph is thinking about picking it back up. From the archive
Joseph Mason in a cream jacket, blue waistcoat and blue tie, smiling.
Joseph, after the headshot session he swears was not a missed calling.

The author

An electrical engineer, a former Air Force officer — and, finally, a novelist.

Joseph Mason was born in Piqua, Ohio. He had a head for mathematics, earned his electrical engineering degree at Wright State University, and joined the US Air Force as an officer — a career cut short by medical issues.

He found his next calling in customer service. When that job ended suddenly, he had a choice: sink, or do the thing a full-time job never left room for. He picked up a book idea he had carried since his twenties. Two years later, Borrowed Fantasy was finished.

Now he is working to make writing his career. Read Joseph's full story

  1. Piqua, OhioWhere it starts
  2. Wright State UniversityBachelor's degree, Electrical Engineering
  3. United States Air ForceCommissioned officer
  4. Customer serviceThe "perfect job" — until it wasn't
  5. Borrowed FantasyTwo years of writing, one finished book
  6. Kirkus Reviews & BookFestReviewed on page 166 · 3rd place, Fantasy

Journal · 15 entries

From the writing desk

Progress on the next book, the Kirkus news, contest entries, and side stories Joseph wrote just for fun.

2026

Read all 15 entries

Hear first when the Red Dragon lands.

Occasional letters with progress on the next book, new side stories, and special offers on Borrowed Fantasy.

You're on the list. The first letter goes to . Live well, be kind!

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