Well, here we go! The first post on this blog, and my first blog post in a very long time (exactly how long, nobody knows). I'm guessing anyone who's actually reading this has seen the last page of my book, The Queenschair, which is the only place where this blog is mentioned. And seeing as how I won't be releasing that book until October 1 or so, I'm basically shouting out to empty seats right now. Not a problem! Complete and utter silence can be pretty cozy sometimes. And since I expect it'll take some time for my books to gather an audience, that silence might last a while. And that's just fine.
I'd like to start by introducing the books that made this blog possible (and necessary, to borrow from the late great Victor Borge). The Queenschair is the first book in a planned 5-volume series. The rest of the series is in good shape, with Volumes 2 and 3 completely written (now in the editing stages) and Volume 4 about 70% done. Volume 5 hasn't been written at all, but don't worry, I actually have the endgame solidly established. I won't be tacking on a crappy non-ending that betrays everything that came before and makes a mockery out of the die-hard fans. Yeah, Lost, I'm lookin at you.
Ugh, I just lost 25 morale points by thinking about the travesty that was Lost. Back to my book! The Queenschair is a different brand of epic fantasy; it's incredibly unique. Well, sure, every author thinks his or her work is a special snowflake, so take my self-assessment with a grain of salt. But it is an odd mix of old-school tales about kings and princesses and dashing knights...and the more modern narrative styles that delve into the human psyche and really get into characters' heads. The Queenschair isn't Disney, but it sure doesn't have the grit of a Game of Thrones either. The heroes and heroines are largely of noble birth, as opposed to the current trend toward rogues and other folks who exist on the fringes of society.
And rather than being an adventure tale about a world-saving quest, The Queenschair series follows several characters as they navigate a deteriorating political situation and try to keep their country from falling apart. The first book, due in early October, focuses on the young King of Yenmas, Ebreyon Marin, as he is pressured to choose a Queen.
The primary candidates for the Queenschair have their own ambitions and motivations; the series focuses on them as much as it does on Ebreyon, perhaps even more so. I won't harp on buzzwords like "female-oriented" or catchphrases like "finally, a book that isn't about men or about a woman who only thinks about men!" I'll let the books speak for themselves. What I can say is that the characters of The Queenschair are fully-realized people (in my own head, anyway, and hopefully on the page). I don't hold anyone above the others, I respect them all, and honestly I love them all. Here's to hoping you'll enjoy meeting them!
Next time I'll blog about how I came up with the idea of The Queenschair and how that seed germinated into the book that some of you are now holding (or at least have on your computer, Kindle, iPad, phone, or...however else you can read a book these days). For now, I'm super excited that I'll be self-publishing my first book in a few weeks (I'll eventually talk about how I arrived at that decision, too), and I can't wait for people to read it. And by "people", I mean YOU :)
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