Title
The Last Coffle (Web Serial)
The Hook
A bounty hunter, a rural village, and slave traders battle over the fate of freed child slaves hiding in a dangerous forest.
Alt High Concept Hook
Seven heroes come to the aid of a rural village whose children are being enslaved by a powerful colonial governor.
The Cover Blurb
Three bounty hunters accidentally free a group of child slaves. When they attempt to take the children back to where they came from, the parents ask for their help. The bounty hunters agree to help and call upon a team of quirky old heroes while the town prepares for battle. Meanwhile, a powerful colonial governor readies his army to massacre the rebel town and recapture his stolen merchandise.
The Last Coffle follows three storylines. One is a children’s fantasy of magic and adventure as the emancipated child slaves experience freedom under the tutelage of druids. Another storyline follows the efforts of the Company’s villains as they search for their missing slaves and struggle to maintain an iron grip on the colony. Meanwhile, citizens of the valley must decide whether to surrender the children, flee into the mountains, or stand up to their oppressors.
The world of the Last Coffle is not a noble world of kings and castles and knights of the round. It is a gritty and rustic frontier world of governors and chateaus and crooked deputies who protect them. It is also a land of difficult decisions. The Company owns everything and everyone in the valley. Freedom is an illusion and The Company’s overseas shareholders are prepared to massacre anyone who would have it be otherwise.
The Query Blurb
Amanda is a mother of three who lives in a colony ruled by the Company, which profits from enslaving and selling children. She wants an end to slavery and is willing to sacrifice her own life and the lives of her neighbors to achieve this. Standing in her way is a ruthless governor who has a history of crucifying rebels. Expecting her community to unite behind her leadership, Amanda watches in dismay as many flee and others take the side of their oppressors. Even her husband’s loyalty is in question as friends and neighbors pressure him to flee with their children as the day of reckoning draws near.
Autumn is a young elven druid who dislikes noisy humans and has never interacted with a human child. She is forced by circumstances to look after a group of emancipated child slaves. In the process of caring for them, hiding them from slavers, and protecting them from creatures of the forest, Autumn develops deep relationships with two of the children. Should her mission fail, the children she loves will be captured or killed.
Hunter is an ancient elf with a soft spot for humankind, a new species that is currently colonizing his continent. Unlike other elves who believe that humankind should be exterminated, Hunter believes that defeating the Company will address humanity’s bad behavior redeem the species. In order to accomplish this, he supports a rebellion and recruits some non-human friends to help. If the rebellion fails, factions within the elven council may decide that genocide is the only remaining option for dealing with this irredeemable invasive species.
The Twist
Kurosawa formula stories focus on the building-the-team trope and an epic battle at the story’s end. While this retelling of Seven Samurai includes those elements, this story is about the drama intrinsic to acts of rebellion. Rather than focusing on the seven heroes, this version focuses on the drama amongst the residents of the rebel town and within the governor’s chateau as both sides make choices about the world in which they live.
The Genre
The Last Coffle is literary fiction with fantasy elements. It is intended to be more than genre fantasy. It is intended to be literature, as well.
Theme
The Last Coffle is an exploration of slavery in all of its modern forms. It is especially interested in the willingness of people to enslave themselves to corporations while they are oblivious to the consequences of the contracts they are making.
First Line
“The team was ready; everyone was in place.” The Last Coffle (Web Serial) on brentjohner.com
About the Author
Brent Johner is an award winning scholar and a published non-fiction author — books, magazines, newspapers, and scholarly publications. This is his first foray into fiction since his undergraduate days at the University of Alberta in the 1980s.
Follow the Story
New chapter are posted monthly in 2025 and weekly beginning in 2026.
Samples
Follow the journey with these writing samples.
| CHAPTER | DRAFT |
| 1 – THE LAST COFFLE | 7th |
| 2 – THE RIVER CAMP | 1st |
| 3 – THE MASSACRE | 1st |
| 4 – GNOLLS | 1st |
| 5 – EMANCIPATION | 1st |
| 6 – CONTACT | 1st |
| 82 – FEAST OF FLOWERS | 1st |
| 94 – STRATEGY | 1st |
| 97 – PRUDENCE | 1st |
| 98 – FOCUS | 1st |
| 99 – SMUDGES | 1st |
| 101 – STAINS | 1st |
| 104 – NUMBERS | 1st |
Follow the Authorship
Watch chapters develop before your eyes.
- starting as notes
- becoming outlines
- transforming into narrative
- blooming into finished flowers
If you are a new writer or just someone interested in how other authors work, you will find this interesting.
Contribute to the story
Communicate directly with the author. Make comments and/or ask questions on his social media accounts. You may be even participate in the crafting of the series through chapter swaps or by offering feedback.