a contemporary Fantasy series like no other!

The Dire Deeds, first in the series, published Summer 2022. Available in Kindle and paperback.

The Witching Work, the second book, published Spring, 2023. Available in Kindle and paperback.

The Queerest Quest, the third book, published Summer 2023. Available in Kindle and paperback.

The Perilous Past, the fourth book, published Winter 2025. Available in Kindle and paperback.

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The Guild of Ornamental Hermits series is is published by Strange Particle Press, an imprint of Digital Publishing Services.

The Dire Deeds & The Witching Work

The Dire Deeds

Oyster Olson—a shy, private, transgender blues musician living peacefully in an intentional community, Hermitville for short, on Hawai’i Island—always knew he was different. But only the magical Book of Moons, thrust upon him by the community’s founder shortly before her death, can reveal just how different he is! And who his real parents are!

Oyster, burdened by this secret, soon shares the book with his unrequited crush, burlesque artiste Babe Bump (she/her), and their best friend, drag performer Tomma Bedlam (ze/zir). The three of them grow closer (and closer!) as they explore the book’s ever-changing number of pages and learn of its origin as the grimoire of an ancient English mystery school, The Guild of Ornamental Hermits.

The Book of Moons brings love, death, Elves, unsuspected family ties, and cosmic cracks in Time/Space, just as a greedy real-estate developer schemes to convert funky Hermitville into a posh eco-resort. Even worse, relentless interdimensional foes, pouring through cosmic cracks, target Hermitville and all life in the Hawaiian archipelago.

Even with ten dedicated Elven mentors and a crash course in Elven magic, will Oyster, Babe, Tomma, and the other residents of Hermitville be able to transform themselves in time from mere misfits and musicians into magicians powerful enough to join the Elves in halting the impending chaos and destruction? Will they all go down in defeat and the world with them, humans and elves alike?

Reviews (A selection)

‘A. R. Marsh’s The Dire Deeds (The Guild of Ornamental Hermits Book 1) is jam-packed with gloriously spectral, flamboyantly festive rainbow-hued, unabashedly queer characters; penned with unquestionable verve, a thoroughly captivating style, and unquestionable panache; woven into a magical, metaphysical, metaphorical, and meta-fictional epic narrative, this is a book to be loved, written by someone who knows what love is–and how important that is for everyone right now.” Goodreads 5-Star review

“A delightful romp filled with whimsical imagination. More than once I found myself wondering, “Where do xey come up with all these ideas?” Dimension-portaling sentient peach pits? A giant amorous salamander? Elves obsessed with Burning Man clown culture? This book runs the gamut of the strange and marvelous. Part love-story, part critical gender theory, I highly recommend getting swept up in the Guild of Ornamental Hermits. Who knows, maybe you’ll find your way into another dimension!” Amazon 5-Star review

“Wow! Just spent a wonderful week spending time with some wildly colorful, delightfully eccentric, truly fascinating characters… and miss them already. I have never read anything like this. The language is bright and delicious. The characters are unique and, at the same time, very real. Blew me away. A true original. Can’t wait for book two!” Amazon 5-Star review

“Infused with a quick, quirky wit, a joyful read! A.R. Marsh merges the real world of Pahoa, Hawaii, with a magical one where simply saying, “salamander” brings forth kundalini energy surges, where an inter-dimensional, Malibu Barbie worshipping baddie may succeed in zir dastardly plot, and where purple edible glitter just might help save the day. I look forward to the fun and giggles to come when the fantastical journey continues.” Amazon 5-Star review

“Add A. M. [sic] Marsh to the List of World-Builders. I’ve never read a queer-friendly urban fantasy before but I thoroughly enjoyed this one. It’s a smart, inventive and fun. And it’s full of wonders. The humor, characters and insights into popular and non-mainstream cultures not only held my attention, but richly rewarded it. Sexuality is handled with a light touch and playfulness abounds. The characters, except for the malevolent ones, are likeable and often lovable. Marsh is such a good writer that I found myself reading just to find out zir take on the unfolding action. Danger and evil exist, but as in an English cozy, the mayhem occurs offstage. And more books are coming!” Amazon 5-Star review

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The Witching Work

Powerful other-dimensional Wethrini warriors are poised to invade Hawai’i Island!

Half-Elf Oyster Olson, and the all-too-human Babe Bump, Tomma Bedlam, and the other nine “Hermits of Hermitville,” are new to the magical arts, barely conversant with simplest spells and scrying.

Their new Elven mentors make an executive decision: “Time for a crash course in Elf magic!”

So the Hermits are whisked away to a “time warp” replica of a California winery tasting room for intensive instruction designed to prepare them for the conflicts to come.

Meanwhile a local doomsday cult plans a ritual rave to summon a dreaded cosmic goddess from beyond the Mortal Coil.

Then the Hermits, newly initiated into Elven mysteries and spellcraft, return to Hermitville for a battle of magical mind games with the dreaded Wethrini, just as the doomsday cult’s ritual approaches its height, and a massive tropical storm crashes into the Hawaiian islands.

Some live, some die, minds are blown, true love blossoms – and Oyster enchants his harmonica.

But, Hermitville, and all of Hawai’i, will never be the same.

Reviews

“Even Better Than The Dire Deeds. The second volume of this series, The Witching Work delivers on the promise of the first. The central characters are satisfyingly developed and the action (simultaneously suspenseful and funny) builds to a thrilling climax.” Amazon 5-Star Review

“As Original As it Gets. I want to live with these characters. I hope it’s a life that we are evolving toward someday soon. The rainbow-colored joy, magic and divine mischief burst off the page. There are no other books like this (except perhaps the first one – The Guild of Ornamental Hermits). I would love, however, to read some more offshoot stories or books that just focus on a handful of these delicious characters. I am longing to thoroughly get to know each one. Can’t wait to be immersed in this land again soon (hopefully not too long for the next book)!” Amazon 5-Star Review

“ADVENTURES APLENTY IN THIS NEXT BOOK IN THE GUILD OF ORNAMENTAL HERMITS SERIES. A. R. Marsh’s magnificently magical, fantastically fun, and wonderfully wild Guild Of Ornamental Hermits saga so-very-charmingly continues with THE WITCHING WORK! Full of quintessentially queer elves, merry pranksters, and metaphysical delights a-plenty, like me, you’ll find yourself eagerly anticipating the next book in this beautiful series!” Amazon 5-Star Review

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The Queerest Quest & The Perilous Past

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The Queerest Quest

THE HERMITS FLED THEIR HOME FOR A SANCTUARY FAR AWAY – ONLY TO FIND THEMSELVES IN EVEN GREATER PERIL – AND FACING EVEN MORE DANGEROUS MAGICK-WEILDING FOES

Youʻd think that after saving their beloved “farm and arts collective” by battling a greedy real estate developer, a hippie doomsday cult, an Elsewherian lawyer, and deadly preternatural Wethrini inquisitors, the “Ornamental Hermits of Hermitville” and their Elven mage teachers could catch a break. But no!

Forced to flee Hermitville and Hawaiʻi after the climatic magical battle at the end of The Witching Work, Babe Bump – along with Oyster Olson, Tomma Bedlam, and the rest — must hunker down in a remote cottage in rural Northern California. Uprooted, homesick and culture-shocked, theyʻre unexpectedly drawn into a Norse godʻs centuries-long search for his missing “wolf son,” Váli, and his quest for vengeance against another Wethrini, Samuel Dipp. Dipp is a predatory cult leader and child trafficker preparing to deploy an indestructible mind-control device.

It all begins when Babe discovers a “handsome drifter,” Lucky LaFey, sleeping on the front porch of their country cottage. Claiming to be the propertyʻs caretaker and cloaked in a disarming human guise, Lucky LaFey proves to be friend—not foe—though his powers outstrip even the Elves.

The Hermits quickly take to Lucky ʻs charm and humor, and soon Lucky renews his passionate love affair with the stunning Elven academic, Professor Almond, while also claiming kinship with one of the Hermits! But even romantic dalliance and family ties canʻt distract Lucky from his quest!

Chaos erupts as Norse and Elven magicks clash with Wethrini technology and local politics! Even Vesta, the giant amorous salamander goddess, and Luckyʻs ex-wives, canʻt resist the battle!

Reviews

“This book grabbed me from the beginning and never let go. The plot was well thought out, the story moved along and the characters were engaging. I’m looking forward to the next one.” Goodreads 5-Star Review

“The Queerest Quest is the third book in The Guild of Ornamental Hermits metaphysical urban fantasy series. Action abounds, paranormal romance flourishes, and LGBTQIA+ characters are well represented.” (Source needed) Review

“A. R. MARSH DOES IT AGAIN – AND THEN SOME! The amazingly outrageous, phenomenally entertaining, wickedly wild, and fantastically phantasmagorical saga continues! A. R. Marsh’s third installment of zir excellent Guild of “Ornamental Hermits series bucks the sadly ongoing trend of follow-up books not being as good as their originals by shining just as brightly, just as entertainingly, just as FUN as the Dire Deeds and the Wicked Work – if anything The Queerest Quest demonstrates that A. R. Marsh is a literary force to be reckoned with. Trust me when I say this book is going to rock your world like no other fantasy tome before or since! HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!” Amazon 5-Star Review

“Best so far of the Guild of Ornamental Hermits. Best installment yet in the series! Well-paced, suspenseful, funny, moving, pleasingly queer!” Amazon 4-Star Review

“A great story to get lost in. This author invites you into a world and never lets go.” Amazon 5-Star Review

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The Perilous Past

TIME SNATCHED INTO THE PAST

When Tomma Bedlam is Time-Snatched from an Oregon rock club in the middle of zir wildest performance ever, ze hardly expected to land in the middle of a pentagram scrawled on the floor of a seventeenth-century English country house! As Tomma’s sensational disappearance—and sudden reappeareance—goes viral on social media, life becomes immeasurably complicated and far too public for both Hermits and their Elven mentors. So much for settling down to a quiet life of queer magic in a secluded rural area just outside of Eugene!

In short order, Hermitville residents endure visits from federal agents seeking the infamous, mind-manipulating Guru Gizmo; hold a madcap wedding officiated by a Norse god; and continue to work through various mid-life crises; all while struggling to eradicate a farmhouse infestation of pesky “proto-Elsewherians.” And that’s just for starters!

Past and present collide in The Perilous Past, the fourth book in the series, as the origins of The Guild of Ornamental Hermits are revealed during the tragic witch persecutions of the seventeenth century, while a new villainess rips through Time’s fabric to destroy the Hermits and anyone else suspected of witchcraft and magical arts.

Will Tomma, Babe, Oyster and the rest of the human Hermits level up their magical skills in time to help Loki and the Elves contain the chaos? Or will their adversaries in both centuries triumph at last? Only Time will tell, unless it snatches Tomma one last time.

Reviews

To come.

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