Author Jason Abofsky - Guardians of Mistforge

Guardians of Mistforge:

Knight Patrol

A High Fantasy Steampunk Shareverse Anthology

In a city as large as Mistforge, with dozens of races all living and interacting together, crime is inevitable. It's up to the Knight Patrol to keep the peace

Submit your Story Here!

Welcome to the Guardians of Mistforge Author Page. Looking to participate in a Shared Universe Short Story Anthology?

Continue scrolling or select a link below to learn about the world, characters, and how to submit your own story

Guidelines

Premise

A Shareverse Anthology for a High-Fantasy Steampunk setting centered around stories about an urban city police force known as the Knight Patrol. Lowly criminals often refer to them as "koppers" (KPs).

What is a Shareverse?

A Shareverse is a collection of short stories, written by several different authors, independent, but all centered around the same basic characters, setting, and theme. Think of it like a TV sitcom where every episode contains the same cast and setting, but written by a different writer, each with an independent plotline.

What constitutes a High-Fantasy Steampunk story?

When most people think of High-Fantasy, they think of the stereotypical tolkienesque world: Elves, Dwarves, Trolls, etc. So imagine if that society grew and industrialized. Now we are living in a semi-futuristic city whose technology is primarily steam-based.* (See Worldbuilding & Lore for more details)

Sample Stories Ideas for Submission

Magical Drug spreading through the city (small effects related to fire, wind, water, or earth magic)
Race-based hate crimes (against goblins, trolls, orcs, etc.)
Doh! He was only three days from retirement
Workplace romance between two non-main characters (nothing explicit)
Breaking in the rookie

Stories to avoid:

Dangerous Magical Wand on the loose (Will Smith beat you to it)
Large-scale Magic disasters/alterations (keep magic limited - See World Building)
Stories that drastically alter continuity or any main character's physical appearance or personality, or include them in close romantic relationships with other main characters
Dryad had her tree stolen (reserved)
Automaton murders (reserved)
Corrupt politician's election (reserved)

Submission Guidelines

7500-word limit, 5000 and under preferred
Stories can be humorous, dark & gritty, horror, mystical, weird, etc., so long as they fit within the established high-fantasy steampunk setting and lore (don't need to memorize everything, but definitely give it a read-through to avoid anything blatantly contradictory)
Keep material to PG-13 rating level. No explicit erotica or overly gory scenes. Adult subjects/topics are fine, but leave it open for 12-17yo readers. Intro story includes the closest allowed to gore as an example since the crime involves murders.
Avoid writing large-scale Magic disasters/alterations (keep magic limited - See Worldbuilding & Lore)
Avoid stories that drastically alter continuity or any main character's physical appearance or personality, or include them in close romantic relationships with other main characters
Adding minor characters with relationships is fine

Acceptance and Publication Process

Deadline for Submission: May 1st, 2026
Any submissions sent before April 1st will be eligible for revisions, increasing the likelihood of acceptance
Accepted submissions will be lightly edited for continuity as well as grammar
Absolutely no AI-generated stories. Submissions will be screened both through AI detection and manual inspection. The editor holds the discretion to reject any submission that appears not to comply
United States residents will receive a payment of $25 for accepted submissions, payable at the time of publication, plus one physical copy of the book and an electronic copy. US Authors can also opt for four extra physical copies instead of payment
Non-US residents will be paid USD$30 and provided one electronic copy of the book. Any physical copies will need to be special-ordered and priced for shipment individually
All accepted submissions must sign a contract to be included and receive payment
The goal for publication is on or before one year from the submission deadline (May 1st, 2027). Regular communications will be sent out to keep accepted authors apprised of the publication process and timeline

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Does my story need to follow the main characters?

No! You can make up your own characters and side characters and interact with other existing characters to your liking. Just make sure the story relates to the Knight's Patrol in some way.

Does my story need to be about solving a crime?

No! The story can be about anything related to the Knight's patrol. This includes solving crimes, office politics/relationships, some bizarre adventure that befalls an unsuspecting patrolperson, etc.

Can I incorporate magic into my story?

Within limited reason, yes.* This isn't a Harry Potter type world so magic is much more subdued and limited to small manipulations of the four elements (fire, wind, water, earth). Avoid large magic battles or overly destructive magical events. (*See Magic for an overview)

Can I write a comedy/romance/noir/thriller/horror story?

Absolutely! The only categories to be avoided are things like space aliens, paranormal (ghosts/spirits), and spicy content above a PG-13 rating.

Can I get early feedback on a story idea?

PLEASE, YES! It's so much harder to make larger changes if something in your story cannot work with existing lore. I'd be happy to take early looks and provide feedback.

Can I use AI to help write my story?

Do you want to be punched in the unmentionables? Just kidding. However, let me clarify that there are two distinct types of AI tools for writing.

Grammar/Prose Editors (Good) - Editors like ProWritingAid, AutoCrit, and Grammarly are not only allowed but encouraged. This makes the editing job significantly easier.
AI Story Generation (BAD) - Using tools like ChatGPT and others to write the story for you is strictly banned. All submissions must pass an AI check. If they fail, regardless of you swearing it wasn't, the story will automatically be rejected.

But didn't you use AI to create the images for this site?

Doh! You got me. While the website uses AI-generated imagery, I can assure all that the cover art will not be. Unfortunately, there just isn't an infinite budget for basic website detailing, and I hope that doesn't dissuade you from considering submitting a story.

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