The Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan: A Guest Post by M.H. Foster

Evil never sleeps... but it does garden. Former demon overlord Galornus has retired to a cozy life of farming and goats. But when his relaxation is threatened, he must protect his lovable neighbors from corrupt officials. Read on for an exclusive essay from M.H. Foster on writingThe Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan.

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The Demon Overlord’s Retirement Plan began with a writing contest prompt about second chances and fresh starts. In hindsight, I think the challenge resonated with me because I was tired of my job and the responsibilities that came with it. Galornus Prime, the Demon Overlord, shared my desire for change but had the courage to actually do it.

I wasn’t thinking that far ahead when I began writing. It just occurred to me that a short story with an all-powerful Demon Overlord who kills the Hero as the cover for a fresh start seemed ludicrous and fun because it made no sense. Why would someone choose to become something different at the very moment of their victory? Especially a Demon who must have tried for a long time to kill the Hero in order to conquer the world. It must have taken a great deal of hard work, and what would the Demon even do afterwards?

The more I thought about it, the more questions popped into my mind. What if this wasn’t the first time the Demon fought and killed the Hero? What if he’d already succeeded and failed repeatedly, and cosmic purpose had simply gotten boring?

Enter pickling, turnips, and goats, some of my favorite things in the world that I suspected would be part of the daily life of a Demon Overlord who wanted something a little different. I did not plan for them to be in the book, but I couldn’t get them out of my head, and it just made perfect sense. I blame my longtime fascination with goats. Possibly mental manipulation by the goat Prometheus, chaos-engine of Lower Middleton. 

What started as a short story concept grew into a book as I kept asking myself what’s next with my characters. I wrote it because I wanted to know, and this has made it a thoroughly enjoyable process. Throughout the writing journey, I felt like I was observing my characters and dutifully recording their life stories without interfering. 

I don’t think I would describe my book purely as cozy fantasy, despite the concept. It’s more of a cozy fantasy with teeth. There are consequences for the main character and his relationships with the mortals around him. The world they live in is not a paradise, and events affect their lives, not always for the better. 

Where this book embraces the cozy fantasy genre is that my characters are fundamentally good, and they don’t need to prove themselves repeatedly through horrible circumstances that I know for sure I would not survive. At least not as a good person. That being said, I do love epic fantasy, and some elements bleed through here and there in my writing. 

This series is about A Gentle Apocalypse. There will be stubbed toes. Sometimes a lot worse. 

There will also always be good people.