Welcome to my literary home away from home! At this point, I'm in the process of moving in to my just built cyber house, so there's still new carpet smell, the paint is a little wet in places, and I'm figuring out where to put the furniture. But that will all come, and we'll soon have our comfortable overstuffed chairs unpacked and arranged around the fireplace (speaking virtually, of course). There's so much I look forward to talking with you about in the coming months... about writing in general, my book in particular, and much more besides. I'd love to hear from you if you have questions or comments, and there are numerous places throughout this house where you can do that. I've spent pretty much most of my adult life as a public school teacher, so you'll probably find that I'm not usually at a loss for words. Working with adolescents tends to have that effect on you.
Gryphon's Heir is a project that's been in my life for about nine years now, sometimes at centre stage, sometimes in the wings, and I have poured much of myself into its creation, so I'm both eager and a little nervous to see how it's received. As you can observe throughout this site, it is the first of a projected series of books that tells the story of a young man named Rhissan --- although his friends call him Rhiss. (And by the way, there is a pronunciation guide at the end of the book; it's there because I want you to have at least the option of pronouncing the many strange names the way the author intended them to be pronounced. The Correct Way. My nearest and dearest have implied that it's me being a tad controlling, but I like to think it's just the teacher in me being helpful. The reader must decide. After all, as they say, vox populi, vox dei --- I'm not sure that always holds true, but we'll go with it for now. (No, I am not going to tell you what it means. Go look it up.)
Rhiss is thrust into an extraordinary situation not of his own making and certainly not of his own choosing (although we can talk about the entire issue of choice another time). He doesn't regard himself as particularly heroic or cut out for greatness --- in fact, you will probably find that, like most of us, he struggles mightily with doubts about his own abilities. You might even get a little annoyed with him about that. But please, cut him some slack; it's his first time being a hero and he's still learning the ropes. And like most of us, he messes up every once in a while.
I said a minute ago that this is the first book in a series that I'm calling the Annals of Arrinor. It will need to be several books, because I'm probably not giving too much away or being too surprising when I say that Gryphon's Heir ends on a cliffhanger. But don't worry... there's already over two hundred pages of the second book written, and I do realize that, having put the first book out into production, I no longer have the luxury of taking nine years to complete the second book!
Do I know how the story ends? Of course (he said with a wolfish smile). Do I know exactly how we're going to get there? Nope. Not a clue. That's part of the joy of writing --- for me, anyway. Come back through the portal next week and we'll talk some more about that. Until then, as they say in Arrinor, go you with the One.
Gryphon's Heir is a project that's been in my life for about nine years now, sometimes at centre stage, sometimes in the wings, and I have poured much of myself into its creation, so I'm both eager and a little nervous to see how it's received. As you can observe throughout this site, it is the first of a projected series of books that tells the story of a young man named Rhissan --- although his friends call him Rhiss. (And by the way, there is a pronunciation guide at the end of the book; it's there because I want you to have at least the option of pronouncing the many strange names the way the author intended them to be pronounced. The Correct Way. My nearest and dearest have implied that it's me being a tad controlling, but I like to think it's just the teacher in me being helpful. The reader must decide. After all, as they say, vox populi, vox dei --- I'm not sure that always holds true, but we'll go with it for now. (No, I am not going to tell you what it means. Go look it up.)
Rhiss is thrust into an extraordinary situation not of his own making and certainly not of his own choosing (although we can talk about the entire issue of choice another time). He doesn't regard himself as particularly heroic or cut out for greatness --- in fact, you will probably find that, like most of us, he struggles mightily with doubts about his own abilities. You might even get a little annoyed with him about that. But please, cut him some slack; it's his first time being a hero and he's still learning the ropes. And like most of us, he messes up every once in a while.
I said a minute ago that this is the first book in a series that I'm calling the Annals of Arrinor. It will need to be several books, because I'm probably not giving too much away or being too surprising when I say that Gryphon's Heir ends on a cliffhanger. But don't worry... there's already over two hundred pages of the second book written, and I do realize that, having put the first book out into production, I no longer have the luxury of taking nine years to complete the second book!
Do I know how the story ends? Of course (he said with a wolfish smile). Do I know exactly how we're going to get there? Nope. Not a clue. That's part of the joy of writing --- for me, anyway. Come back through the portal next week and we'll talk some more about that. Until then, as they say in Arrinor, go you with the One.
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