Welcome to Honor's Code!

Welcome to Honor's Code. My name is F. Ted Atchley, III, but for many years I was known throughout World of Warcraft as the Paladin tank, Honor's Hammer. This blog was dedicated to the my adventures in World of Warcraft (and occasionally other games) from May 2007 through June of 2021.

In 2010, I entered the Blizzard Short Story Contest. I hadn't written in years, but it rekindled a love for writing and story telling that I had let go in order to pursue a "real career." I dabbled in writing for several years, and joined BlizzardWatch.com in 2016. I took a writing class taught by 21-time New York Times bestselling author, Jerry Jenkins, in 2017 and attended my first writer's conference in 2018.

2020 caused many of us to "go home and rethink our life", and I was no exception. I was splitting the the few hours a day I had where I wasn't working, eating, or sleeping between writing my novel and playing World of Warcraft.

Neither was getting the time it needed. I saw writer friends finish their books while mine was mired in drafting. At the same time, I wasn't putting in the time to run content. My gear lagged behind and I didn't know the encounters.

I had tried spinning both plates, but they wobbled and threatened to fall. I had to make a choice. In April of 2021, I cancelled my World of Warcraft subscription and pursued writing in my free time.

With my focus solely on writing, I completed my debut novel, The Key to Reality. It'll come out early next year. You can go to this page if you'd like to get notified when it releases, and also receive a FREE short story in September introducing Brandon Song, the main character of the novel.

What is The Key to Reality about? I'm glad you asked:

An Elite Cybersecurity Analyst.  A Desperate Rebellion’s Best Hope.

Brandon thought the assignment was just another standard security assessment. Wrong. As he peels back the layers of a deepening conspiracy, he discovers everything he thought he knew about his reality is a lie. 

And he’s the only one who can save it.

Exiles from another reality see Brandon’s new knowledge as the key to victory over their tyrannical king and his immortal army. Pursued by both loyalists and rebels as he crosses the borders between realities, Brandon must protect his family, while figuring out who to trust. 

Choosing well means rescuing his family, and saving both worlds, but choosing poorly will empower a malevolent evil to wipe out humanity.