Testing 1,2,3...

Hello,

 I don't know if there's anybody out there, but I'm going to start trying to blog a little now and then.

I know I have some die hard fans who are anxious for the next book (which was due last year) but it is still being written. 

I'm very happy with the way it's developing. There are a lot of elements that have surprised even me, and those are usually the best things to emerge from a literary work.

I anticipate Magic and Mathematics Book Two: Future Sorcery to be completed in about two months, and then a couple of months for editing. Look for a release probably in December 2020.

Everyone in my home is safe from the pandemic at present. I truly hope you and yours are safe as well.

Any sincere questions posted here will find a response.

cheers,

KJH

BTW 

It seems for whatever reason, there may be two whole books that were released the last couple of years that you may not even know about. For some bizarre reason, the titles aren't linking to my author name. At present they are both only available on Kindle, but that will change very shortly.

The books are 

The Tiger's Mouth: The Strange Journey of Ostigris Book One

and 

The Serpent's Venom: The Strange Journey of Ostigris Book Two

Yes. Both books are connected to Iounelle, and she makes a cameo in both. They are actually integral to the whole Iounelle World. 

Ostigris is the man with the metallic blue shirt and the close cropped blonde hair. If you remember, he was the person who appeared out of nowhere to save Iounelle when she was trapped by a herd of vyreeoten in The Archer From Kipleth. Ostigris makes several other appearances through the Wealdland Books.

Ostigris even makes an appearance in Berand Torler!

The two aforementioned books tie all of his appearances together.

Yep. It's all a great grand scheme headed somewhere very specific.

And here's the secret if you read this far. The Serpent's Venom explains everything, and I mean everything, about Deifol Hroth.

happy reading.

Berand Torler the conclusion of the Chronicles of the Elf Human Wars available now.

Berand Torler the conclusion of the Chronicles of the Elf Human Wars available now.


click here to see Berand Torler on Amazon

Berand Torler update

Good news. The fourth draft is in my hands and I can proceed to the fifth and then the production draft of Berand Torler. I apologize for the delay. But you and I both know you want the best possible product I can provide for you.
I also promise the wait will be worth it. With honesty I can say this is the best novel I have ever written.
The fifth and production drafts go pretty quickly. Maybe no more than a week and a half, maybe two weeks to finish.
The cover has been ready for years. So, as soon as the manuscript it ready, it's off to the publishers.
So I am going to set April 7, 2017 as the new release date for Berand Torler. I don't anticipate any delay or need to push back from that date.
I'm still setting May 2, 2017 as the release date for the new Iounelle novel - Magic and Mathematics: Book One - Ancient Science. 
And let's reset to July 7, 2017 for the release of The Tiger's Mouth. 
Also I am in the process of rewriting the very first book The Last Elf of Lanis and am very excited about the reissue of that novel.
The original work is pretty darn good, but I was a newbie and made a few mistakes. The reenergized manuscript for that novel will be awesome.
I might go through and groom The Archer From Kipleth and The Lord of Lightning, but I don't really anticipate those works needing much rewriting.
And as much as I LOVE Legends of Haergill and Conniker's Tale, that unique novel needs a LOT of work. So that is something I will address in the near future. Maybe look for a reissue in 2018.
Hopefully, all things being equal, You should get a FOURTH new novel this year, The Serpent's Venom, for which I am currently laying out the plot. Lucky you.
So, no books from me for over a year, and then BAM a multitude. 
I know you will enjoy these works, and I'm very excited for you to read them.

Berand Torler release

I am pushing back the release of Berand Torler just a couple of days. There has been a slight delay in the editorial process. I want to deliver to you the best possible novel that I can produce, so hang in there, it will only be a week or so late.

Upcoming releases

 
Hello! 

Berand Torler: the Chronicles of the Elf Human Wars, the third and last novel of the Berand trilogy will publish on March 21, 2017.

The events of the two previous books lead to open warfare between elf and human. Can Berand stop it? Does he want to stop it? And what of his dear friend Dirkdyths, the dark elf, can he be saved?

And then more exciting news. A new Iounelle novel! 

Iounelle laefra!

Magic and Mathematics Book One: Ancient Science will publish on May 9, 2017

This book is very exciting and unique as the fantasy aspect of the characters will blend into real human history!

In Ancient Science, Iounelle, over a hundred thousand years old, has adventures and fights evil in Ancient Egypt during the building of the Great Pyramid, tracks her nemesis to Athens, Greece just after the death of Alexander the Great, and then struggles to break the Roman blockade of Syracuse where she meets someone very unique.

And then on July 3, 2017 the first book of the Strange Saga of Ostigris - The Tiger's Mouth will be published!
Ostigris is that human with the cropped blonde hair and the broken nose that has briefly appeared in many of the novels. 

Ostigris is a man who knows he's not in the right time who wakes up with no memory of how he was attacked or by whom. As he tries to stay alive in the Roman Republic, he has to wonder if any of his Time Traveling companions has tried to kill him, and most importantly WHY.

If all goes well, you might get another Ostigris book before the end of the year - The Serpent's Venom. Let's say Dec.21, 2017 to keep me motivated.

Then in 2018 you'll get the last Ostigris book, the Eagle's Talon, (July 3, 2018?)
and the second Magic and Mathematics book - Future Sorcery. (Dec. 21, 2018?)

2019 should see the last two Magic and Mathematics books: Present Horizons, and A Cold Night in Oslo and other Unverified Gossip. 

That will wrap up most of the story lines for a really awesome direction for the remaining characters publishing in 2020. But that's getting, way, way (like 200 years 😏) ahead of things.

Along the way I'm planning to rewrite the first two Wealdland books as they are a little clunky. I was only just learning how to write!

Thanks for reading,
cheers,

K.J. Hargan

Map of Wealdland bumped to top of queue

Berand Brave

Berand Brave book two of the Chronicles of the Elf Human Wars is now available

click here for Amazon page

Berand Brave tease

I am very, very close to completing the first draft of Berand Brave. And, it is a corker. (that means it's really good). Here's a tease:

Chapter Fifty-Three

Glothau dae Fellananthau

(Demons and Messengers)

Dirkdyths stood amidst the wildly whipping grass of the featureless meadowland. He still gripped his black sword and long knife. The night sky was overcast and dull. The wind moved in patterns across the dark sea of green blades. There was no glow of the moon burning through the thick clouds, and not even a hint of star shine. There were no trees, no animals, nothing. If he closed his eyes, all he heard was the low, pained growl of the wind. He could imagine he was nowhere, untethered, less than alive, uncreated.

cheers,

Kurt

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Which is which?

I've been reading my favorite author's blog.

If you haven't read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin, you must at least read the Earthsea trilogy: A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, and The Farthest Shore. 

Some have criticized the three later books, Tehanu, Tales of Earthsea, and The Other Wind, but I find that they added wonderfully to a deep, resonant, connected epic. Read all six books without pause or diversion and I think you will agree with me. (not all at once, you ninny)

anyway...

She posits in one of her blogs that Homer, of old Hellenic literature, not Mr. Simpson, was the first fantasist and it's hard not to disagree. Having read both the Iliad and the Odyssey, you can't help but smile when the gods take an active role in the narrative.

Ms. Le Guin in her blog breaks down the differences between these first two genre literary works as (my simplification here) The Record, and the Journey. Neither is better, nor worse. Both are just different forms.

And I had to pause.

I certainly didn't mean to, because I had no outward, conscience attempt to make my work so grand, but I realized I have approached my books similarly. 

Simply put, without asking you to guess, The Wealdland Stories are analogous to The Iliad. It is a description of a war, a Record, with the paths of many, varied characters intersecting.

The Chronicles of the Elf Human Wars, featuring Berand, is my Odyssey, The Journey, the story of one individual above all others. Funny that Berand's story is titled 'Wars' when the whole narrative is mostly about his personal journey of self discovery, much like Odysseus'.  

That's it. That's all I have to say.


Kurt


Ursula K. Le Guin's blog: click here

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milestone

Today my blog went over ten thousand views.

Thank you to those of you interested and curious.

I realize probably fully a third of those clicks were spambots or webcrawlers.

But, still. It's something.


cheers,

Kurt

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