This winter, I plan to complete my second novel. I've vacillated about what project to pursue in earnest, but this one has really motivated me and has been gestating for awhile, albeit in different forms.
All modern fantasy writers have debts to pay, tracing back to J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber and others. I must also add authors that found success writing in shared Dungeons & Dragons universes such as Greyhawk, The Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance to my personal list, such as Gary E. Gygax, Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman & R.A. Salvatore. Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan, along with Brandon Sanderson, deserve credit, as well.
So, I will be adding a gritty old fantasy world of my creation, one that is only just beginning to emerge from the horrendous calamities that led to the collapse of an empire that once spanned the globe. But instead of writing one endless series of sequels about the same characters that are seeking a world-saving artifact or to destroy some dark lord (or both), I'll be crafting smaller stories built around grounded characters with rather base motivations.
The first book in this new world is titled The Infernal Isle. It's about a scribe's apprentice and his fellow exiles attempting to escape banishment by crossing a ruined island kingdom overrun with hellish denizens. This book is the first of a planned trilogy around said apprentice, who finds himself stranded and terrified on the legendary island he's heard and read so much about.
I've even created a prospective book cover, for fun, and as I flesh the world out, it will be the subject of a new web-site that will act much like the beloved appendices of The Lord of the Rings, with details about the world, its peoples and its history.
I hope you are as excited to read my next book as I am to write it. Keep an eye on this spot.. there may be an excerpt or two in the near future.
