James D. Mills

James D. Mills is author of SOIL and Ashen Rider. He founded The Arcanist: Fantasy Publishing in 2019 and established The Literary Fantasy Magazine in 2024 with Lee Patton.

Who is James?

I was born in the December heat of California's Central Valley. Now, I live in beautiful Bloomington, Indiana, where my wife, Eden, and I hope to raise our family and grow old. We live slow and strive towards self-sufficiency, enjoying the trees and our garden.

I earned my BA in Creative Writing and Psychology cum laude from Southern New Hampshire University, where I'm now limping my way through an online MBA program. By day, I'm an IT Systems Administrator. By early morning, I'm a writer and an independent publisher.

I established The Arcanist: Fantasy Publishing, LLC in 2019 as a hub for my work in TTRPG Design. It wasn't until 2024 that I teamed up with my good friend Lee Patton to create The Literary Fantasy Magazine. Thinking about how I might publish my novels, I began publishing novels on behalf of my colleagues and contributors to the magazine. It's been a wild ride, and I haven't looked back.

My debut Mythological Dark Fantasy novel, Ashen Rider, hit the community with a bang. It funded on Kickstarter in less than 12 hours and has enjoyed small-scale critical acclaim.

Here are a few pieces I think best represent what I do:

Find out more: jamesdmills.com | View James's publications | View James's editorial portfolio | Subscribe to James's YouTube Channel