About the Author
Aaron Sher is a fantasy author, software engineer, martial artist, pretty decent cook, very (very) amateur blacksmith and bladesmith, and — when called upon to serve — expert furniture for his cats. Not necessarily in that order.
He has been reading fantasy since he was a kid, which is a concerning long time ago now, and started writing it in the form of character backstories for his TTRPG campaigns. Some of those just might be a bit overkill; he wrote over 100k words of backstories for his current game. Maybe that will make it into a novel someday.
He lives in Pittsburgh, PA in the United States with his wife and a varying but always-extravagant number of cats, fish, plants, and other miscellaneous wildlife.
The Origin Key Series
Book 1 — Applied Leverage
Genre: Urban Fantasy | Format: Paperback | Price: $9.00
🏆 Book Excellence Award — Chrysalis BREW Project, May 2025
A small force, properly applied, can achieve great things.
Connor Rourke is a telekinetic locksmith in a world of magic. That makes him the little guy — and when he discovers a dangerous secret, he gets in trouble with a powerful mage and learns that his world isn't quite what he thought.
Applied Leverage is an award-winning urban fantasy novel — a first-person story with a side of snark.
What Readers Are Saying
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Next Level Action: Why I’m Diving Straight into Book Two”
“I haven’t read a book before that feels like an action movie, it simply caught me between its pages.”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Snarky fun urban fantasy”
“The author has created a beautifully inventive and fun world with both highly logical magic and psionics. The protagonist is a regular, very relatable guy struggling to pay his bills albeit with one special ability (a la Spiderman).”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Action packed!”
“It’s not a super chonky book and still somehow manages to have a LOT happen with very good descriptions. I was quite impressed.”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Grabs you and doesn’t let go.”
“It’s a different kind of urban fantasy, Dresdenesque, but different enough to be interesting.”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Entertaining and unique”
“Connor was one of a kind — at the bottom of the food chain, working to pay rent, and far from fitting the chosen one mold. I’ve never read an underpowered magical MMC so that alone made this book compelling.”
— Amazon Review
Book 2 — Mechanical Advantage
Genre: Urban Fantasy | Format: Paperback | Price: $9.00
When you try to save everybody, sometimes you save nobody — not even yourself.
When Connor Rourke, premier supernatural locksmith in the Boston area, agrees to do a favor for his maybe-more-than-a-friend, the mage Elise, he has no idea what he's signing up for. Looking for a missing professor? In London? Wait, somebody's dead?
…and then the zombies show up. Kind of. Some disagreement on that point.
Magical action, international supernatural politics, a little bit of romance… Mechanical Advantage is urban fantasy with a side of snark, the second book in the Origin Key series.
What Readers Are Saying
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “High Stakes, Unshakable Friendships”
“Just like the first book, this one is also like an action movie. I absolutely loved the friendship between Elise, Nia, and Rourke, and how they support each other even though they constantly find themselves in danger.”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Snarky fun urban fantasy”
“Once the protagonist starts on his newest quest, the pace does not let up until a thoroughly thrilling, nail-biting boss fight at the end. Connor is even more snarky than before.”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Action-packed magical story”
“Aaron Sher’s fantasy world is fully formed, and the characters are delightful, especially Connor, whose self-deprecating and wry wit make him utterly endearing. An excellent read.”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “No ‘Sequel Slump’ here — a grounded, fun follow-up!”
“Sometimes sequels lose the charm of the original, but this one keeps everything I loved about the first book. Connor is still a grounded, relatable human being rather than turning into an overpowered ‘chosen one.’”
— Amazon Review
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “It’s good to have a Mechanical Advantage”
“The second book in this series is a tour de force of magical combat, and a deeper dive into the characters of Connor, Nia, and Elise. Can’t wait to see how their relationships grow as the series progresses!”
— Amazon Review