TALES of SEVRIN

A series of fantasy adventure novels in a land ruled by men of science: masters of  alchemy and artisans who craft clockwork wonders.  But the old ways have never quite died, and the old races–elves, dwarves, and fey folk–are turning their eyes toward the islands of Sevrin, the once-magical land their people left thousands of years ago.

Honor Evenstar is an elf warrior, so badly broken that she lost a decade of her life and gained unwanted clockwork “improvements.”  In thrall to Rhendish, Sevrin’s most powerful Adept, she is forced to join (and betray) a small band of rogues: Fox Winterborn, a teenaged thief who dreams of leading a rebellion against the Adepts; Delgar, a young dwarf searching for past glories and stirring up ancient secrets; Avidan, a not-entirely-sane alchemist from a distant land and another time; and Vishni, a fairy who was exiled to the mortal realm until she can balance the scales of fey justice by collecting a sufficienct number of entertaining tales. Vishni keeps things lively–she sees Fox’s quest as an epic in progress, and if things start to go too well, she can be counted upon to “improve the story.”  Unlike the other thieves, Vishni immediately (and privately) casts Honor in the role of villain.  Not that she has anything against the clockwork elf. From a tale-gathering fairy’s point of view, a villain is a very good thing to have…

Readers who’ve enjoyed my Forgotten Realms books may also like this high fantasy series.  It’s my hope that these stories will appeal to long-time Realms fans and also provide them with books they’re comfortable handing to their kids. When you’ve been writing for 20 years, there’s a second generation of fantasy readers to consider.  The first little girl named after Arilyn Moonblade is now in high school, but many readers are parents whose kids are too young for the graphic, dark-and-gritty fantasy that’s become so prevalent in recent years.  And let’s face it–you don’t have to be a kid to want to read a fantasy adventure every now and then that doesn’t take off its shoes and splash around in bodily fluids.  I write books that I wouldn’t hand to anyone under 14, but these stories, while certainly not YA novels, are written with a wider readership in mind.

Tales of Sevrin begins with three novella-length stories:

The Thorn Trilogy–a one-volume compilation of the first three novellas–will be available as an eBook and a print omnibus.  More details coming soon!