Leverage Over Power. Limits Over Spectacle.
Hope for the “Little Guy.”
Some authors write about heroes who level cities.
Aaron Sher writes about heroes who can barely move fifteen pounds.
And that’s exactly the point.
The Power of the Overlooked
When asked what emotional spaces he returns to again and again, Aaron didn’t hesitate.
“The consistent themes in my writing are the tendency of those in power to assume that the ‘little people’ are irrelevant, and the idea that cleverness is better than strength.”
In The Origin Key series, power does not look like explosive force or god-tier magic. It looks like applied leverage.
Connor, the protagonist, is not a grand wizard. He is a telekinetic locksmith. In a world dominated by mages, that makes him socially lower-class and severely limited. At his absolute peak, he can exert ten to fifteen pounds of force.
He is not throwing cars. And yet, he survives.
Not because he is stronger. Because he is underestimated.
Applied Leverage
Aaron’s first novel is titled Applied Leverage, and that concept runs through everything he writes.
“A small amount of force, properly applied, can create great results.”
Connor and his friends are almost always outmatched. They rarely go head-to-head unless they have no choice. Most of the time, they run.
But how they run is the story.
In one scene from Mechanical Advantage, they face animated suits of armor. The strategy is simple but precise. Connor and Nia hold the line while Elise gathers enough magic to unleash a blast of wind. Just enough to knock the armor down. Just enough to create an opening.
Then they run.
Each character contributes exactly what they can. No one overpowers the enemy. They coordinate survival.
It is a puzzle of limited resources. And solving that puzzle is what excites Aaron most as a writer.
Magic Built on Limits
In Aaron’s world, magic is not unlimited spectacle.
Connor is defined by what he cannot do. His psionics are fueled only by the energy of his own mind and body. Mages, meanwhile, are limited by how much mana they can control and by how well they can conceptualize magical patterns.
Skill can substitute for power. Patterns can be drawn in ink. Spoken in mnemonic phrases. Traced in the air like solving equations.
Efficiency matters more than brute force.
And even in a world of magic, the true constraints remain human.
“Nobody is a free agent, no matter how much power they have. Adding magic doesn’t change that.”
Politics, ambition, fear, ego. The same forces that limit us limit them.
That is where the interesting situations happen.
Writing Fear From the Inside
The series is written in first person, which means every fight unfolds inside Connor’s head.
And Connor is afraid.
Aaron has martial arts training. He understands what combat feels like.
Tunnel vision. Disconnected flashes of movement. Pain that shuts off your brain for a second.
Connor is not yet a seasoned fighter. He reacts and he improvises. He survives.
As the series progresses, readers will see him grow more tactical, more aware.
The evolution is earned.
Fast, Fun, and Hopeful
Aaron describes The Origin Key as “a fast, fun, action-packed ride.” But beneath the action is something steadier.
Hope.
Not hope that evil will be obliterated by overwhelming force. Hope that even the relatively powerless can affect outcomes.
“Even when you’re the little guy, you can still affect things by putting just the right nudge in just the right time and place.”
Most of us are not the wizard who can knock down buildings. Most of us are Connor.
That is where the resonance lives.
Where It All Began
Aaron’s fantasy roots go back to age ten, playing Dungeons & Dragons with the red box Basic set. His first fantasy novel was Centaur Aisle by Piers Anthony.
Fantasy wasn’t a conscious choice. It was an accumulation. Books. Comics. Tabletop campaigns. Movies.
Urban fantasy, though, has a clear origin story.
A friend once dropped a bag of The Dresden Files books in his lap. He read them all and then he wanted more.
Originally, the book that became Applied Leverage was meant to be science fantasy, inspired by Psion by Joan Vinge. The idea never quite clicked.
Then in early 2022, while rereading The Dresden Files, he asked a simple question:
What if this were urban fantasy?
That framing changed everything. The locksmith. The mages. The class differences.
One sleepless night in June, the opening paragraphs formed in his head. The next morning, he wrote them down.
That was the beginning.
Looking Ahead
Aaron does not plan to stay in one genre forever. A high-fantasy short story is releasing this summer, introducing readers to a new world based on a tabletop campaign he is currently running.
The campaign is called Godswar.
Yes, the stakes are high.
He hopes to increase his writing throughput in the coming years. One book per year would be a meaningful improvement. Enough momentum to finish The Origin Key around 2030, if all goes well.
It is a long game.
And fittingly, it is one built on leverage rather than force.
Final Word
Aaron Sher writes about the underestimated. About limits, skill over spectacle and survival through ingenuity. And above all, about the quiet belief that even when you cannot blow up the problem, you can still shift it.
Sometimes fifteen pounds of pressure is enough.
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