MAAL is a story that had been percolating in Ted Packwood’s mind since he was a child. Certainly the graphic portions of the book are not something he could have conjured at the time, but the desire to tell a story where the horror of violence and its aftershocks could not be denied.
In his mid-20’s, Ted made his first serious attempt at writing a novel. Over the course of a single summer, the first draft of Rue was completed, 300 pages in all. Unfortunately, Ted’s author-esteem did not rise to the challenge of critical feedback, and the novel writing was abandoned in favor of a traditional life, with a wife, kids, and a job.
In 2012, Ted’s brother died suddenly of a heart attack. It was then that Ted vowed to pursue his life’s dream: to tell the dark fantasy story he always dreamed he could.
In February of 2019, that dream became real as Maal was published!