Should I include my dictionary of Miranei, the elven language I constructed, as an appendix to the fourth book: Legends of Hergill and Conniker's Tale?
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
PG-13
Yes. The blog statistics here show search words and search engines, so I know how some have come here.
The search words today were "Is the Last Elf of Lanis suitable for children?"
yes. and no. it depends really...
...on the age, or maturity of the child.
The story is one of courage, honesty, honor and, most importantly, community and what it means to stand with your fellow human.
But there is some violence. I wouldn't call it gratuitous, but it is there. The story is about a family thrust into a time of war.
There is nothing I would call overtly sexual, definitely not lurid, not even suggestive. A boy realizes he loves a girl after she is kidnapped. An elf comes to have deep emotional feelings for a mysterious Archer, who is human. But nothing that would make this work rated R.
There is no profanity. Not even the made up kind. That kind of thing doesn't interest me as a writer or a reader. I find most real people who use a lot of profanity usually use it to cover how unintelligent they are. I am interested in intelligent people. Characters, in my story, appeal to the gods of their age, some may say something like "Oh, Eann!" but is a plea of desperation and not an oath, blasphemy, or curse.
The bad guys are scary. They are called 'garonds'. They're pretty much equivalent to what we know as the Neanderthal subspecies of humanity. Ape-like, but organized into efficient armies, their natural gentle nature has been twisted into a violent military by a Dark Wizard.
I don't think there isn't anything in my book that wouldn't pass on television. If you let your child watch regular TV, then my book is about that speed.
Now there are many adult themes in this book, and by 'adult' I mean 'mature', the idea of what it means to be in a nation, a family, a village. What is honor, cowardice, courage, and betrayal? These things might go right over a young child's head, but eventually, these are things that every person of quality must think about. So, I think 'that is a good thing' as Martha Stewart would say.
There is a little magic, if that offends anyone. This is, after all, a book in the genre of 'fantasy', so expect wizards, elves, magic swords, and magic beasts.
Characters die. This isn't the kind of story where everybody wins and gets to live happily ever after. That kind of story is called a fairy tale. My works are more akin to mainstream literature in that the characters are in real jeopardy in their fictional world. For this reason... you may shed a tear or two. But again, that is a good thing. People leave this world, and it's good to talk about it and think about it. It can make you cherish each other, and forgive each other, realizing how precious is this time we have.
Finally, and most importantly, this is a work of adventure, like The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings, The Martian Chronicles, Asimov's Foundation works, the book will take you away to a place that is imaginary but fully thought out. Like imagining a foreign land, this book will ignite the mind and fire the imagination.
I hope this helps.
Kurt
also I would add that I have tried to create several, very strong, female characters: two mothers, a grandmother, a young girl, and a female elf all who stand for themselves, fight as best they can, and grow and face difficulty.
Many of the fans of these books are women, and I think that is no coincidence.
The search words today were "Is the Last Elf of Lanis suitable for children?"
yes. and no. it depends really...
...on the age, or maturity of the child.
The story is one of courage, honesty, honor and, most importantly, community and what it means to stand with your fellow human.
But there is some violence. I wouldn't call it gratuitous, but it is there. The story is about a family thrust into a time of war.
There is nothing I would call overtly sexual, definitely not lurid, not even suggestive. A boy realizes he loves a girl after she is kidnapped. An elf comes to have deep emotional feelings for a mysterious Archer, who is human. But nothing that would make this work rated R.
There is no profanity. Not even the made up kind. That kind of thing doesn't interest me as a writer or a reader. I find most real people who use a lot of profanity usually use it to cover how unintelligent they are. I am interested in intelligent people. Characters, in my story, appeal to the gods of their age, some may say something like "Oh, Eann!" but is a plea of desperation and not an oath, blasphemy, or curse.
The bad guys are scary. They are called 'garonds'. They're pretty much equivalent to what we know as the Neanderthal subspecies of humanity. Ape-like, but organized into efficient armies, their natural gentle nature has been twisted into a violent military by a Dark Wizard.
I don't think there isn't anything in my book that wouldn't pass on television. If you let your child watch regular TV, then my book is about that speed.
Now there are many adult themes in this book, and by 'adult' I mean 'mature', the idea of what it means to be in a nation, a family, a village. What is honor, cowardice, courage, and betrayal? These things might go right over a young child's head, but eventually, these are things that every person of quality must think about. So, I think 'that is a good thing' as Martha Stewart would say.
There is a little magic, if that offends anyone. This is, after all, a book in the genre of 'fantasy', so expect wizards, elves, magic swords, and magic beasts.
Characters die. This isn't the kind of story where everybody wins and gets to live happily ever after. That kind of story is called a fairy tale. My works are more akin to mainstream literature in that the characters are in real jeopardy in their fictional world. For this reason... you may shed a tear or two. But again, that is a good thing. People leave this world, and it's good to talk about it and think about it. It can make you cherish each other, and forgive each other, realizing how precious is this time we have.
Finally, and most importantly, this is a work of adventure, like The Wizard of Oz, The Lord of the Rings, The Martian Chronicles, Asimov's Foundation works, the book will take you away to a place that is imaginary but fully thought out. Like imagining a foreign land, this book will ignite the mind and fire the imagination.
I hope this helps.
Kurt
also I would add that I have tried to create several, very strong, female characters: two mothers, a grandmother, a young girl, and a female elf all who stand for themselves, fight as best they can, and grow and face difficulty.
Many of the fans of these books are women, and I think that is no coincidence.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
A clue few have mentioned...
There was a clue mentioned in the very first pages of The Last Elf of Lanis and few have mentioned it.
In the first chapter, the elf turns to look at the Archer with 'sea green eyes'.
At the very beginning of the second chapter, the human woman Wynnfrith turns to look at her son Arnwylf with 'sea green eyes'.
A simple assumption leads in a straight line to the conclusion that Wynnfrith has elven blood somewhere in her family history.
Then when we find out Wynnfrith is a 'heid', a seeress, and her mother, Alrhett, can speak with animals, it is undeniable that these humans have an elven ancestor somewhere in their past lineage.
Aha! It was all there in the very first pages... :)
cheers,
Kurt
In the first chapter, the elf turns to look at the Archer with 'sea green eyes'.
At the very beginning of the second chapter, the human woman Wynnfrith turns to look at her son Arnwylf with 'sea green eyes'.
A simple assumption leads in a straight line to the conclusion that Wynnfrith has elven blood somewhere in her family history.
Then when we find out Wynnfrith is a 'heid', a seeress, and her mother, Alrhett, can speak with animals, it is undeniable that these humans have an elven ancestor somewhere in their past lineage.
Aha! It was all there in the very first pages... :)
cheers,
Kurt
Monday, June 4, 2012
The Lord of Lightning for iBooks and Nook
The Lord of Lightning, the third book of the Last Elf Series, will be finally shipping to the B&N Nook, Sony eReader, and iBook and other Apple platforms.
The publisher, Smashwords, has been very successful of late, and consequently their success has yielded a massive glut of eBooks to screen and approve.
I apologize to the readers who are not using a Kindle. I uploaded the book to Smashwords on the same day, May 1st, that I uploaded to Amazon, and it has taken this long for them to move the book forward.
cheers,
Kurt
The publisher, Smashwords, has been very successful of late, and consequently their success has yielded a massive glut of eBooks to screen and approve.
I apologize to the readers who are not using a Kindle. I uploaded the book to Smashwords on the same day, May 1st, that I uploaded to Amazon, and it has taken this long for them to move the book forward.
cheers,
Kurt
Friday, June 1, 2012
What does this guy look like?
I played a small role for a friend for his excellent web series Tyranny. I come in at minute 3:13.
click here for the webisode
I think I'm also in the episode before this one, but have less to say. Anyway, if you were ever wondering what I look and sound like... here ya go.
cheers,
Kurt
click here for the webisode
I think I'm also in the episode before this one, but have less to say. Anyway, if you were ever wondering what I look and sound like... here ya go.
cheers,
Kurt
Monday, May 7, 2012
Legends of Haergill and Conniker's Tale
What is in the fourth book?
Admittedly you could leave the Last Elf Trilogy right with the last page of The Lord of Lightning and feel as though you've reached the conclusions necessary for closure. I designed the trilogy that way.
However.
There are other stories, which I have written, or am in the process of writing, that add to the world of Wealdland, that weren't absolutely essential to the overall plot of the acquiring and use of the Heaven's Key. These stories would just have made the trilogy that much longer, and I felt as though they would be better served as a collection added to the trilogy as an Apocrypha.
So, what's in the Fourth book of the Wealdland Stories?
Well, from the title, you can make a pretty educated guess. There is a novella about Haergill, when he flees Ethgeow, the capitol of the Northern Kingdom of Man, to save the life of his wife Halldora, and his daughter, Frea.
And then there is a strange and wonderful story of Conniker, the white wolf, and what happened to him during the seven days he went missing in The Last Elf of Lanis. I guarantee this story will astound, amaze, and entertain you.
Also, there are four stories set in Lanis Rhyl Landemiriam, hundreds of years before the attack by the garond army. One involves Iounelle as a child and how she got the lifename Treelaughter, and another, the story of how she snuck into Bawn Hae, the tower forbidden to unmarried elven females.
There is a story of Weylund and his journey out into the Farther Lands.
There is the story of Hanarry and Myanne, and Hetwing's challenge for the crown of Reia against her uncle Eoric.
There are two stories that answer questions about Yulenth.
There is the Ballad of Sehen, and several other elven poem/songs, most notably, the heroic poem/song Veranelle dae Galehthaire, the story of the great, last battle of Iounelle's parents.
And lastly there are two stories that answer the many questions I have been asked, about the fate of little Mót. One involves the writing on the cliff face of the Red Mountains. But, what happens with Mót will shock and tantalize you.
More than half of this collection is already written. I hope to have the book ready for release on or soon after August 1, 2012.
Later in the year, probably around Christmas, you will get a present in your stocking of the first of the elven stories about Berand, the forger of the Mattear Gram and the Moon Sword that Iounelle carries.
That book will be entitled Berand the Fool. I am very excited about the Berand Trilogy as it will be very strange and adventurous.
cheers,
Kurt
Admittedly you could leave the Last Elf Trilogy right with the last page of The Lord of Lightning and feel as though you've reached the conclusions necessary for closure. I designed the trilogy that way.
However.
There are other stories, which I have written, or am in the process of writing, that add to the world of Wealdland, that weren't absolutely essential to the overall plot of the acquiring and use of the Heaven's Key. These stories would just have made the trilogy that much longer, and I felt as though they would be better served as a collection added to the trilogy as an Apocrypha.
So, what's in the Fourth book of the Wealdland Stories?
Well, from the title, you can make a pretty educated guess. There is a novella about Haergill, when he flees Ethgeow, the capitol of the Northern Kingdom of Man, to save the life of his wife Halldora, and his daughter, Frea.
And then there is a strange and wonderful story of Conniker, the white wolf, and what happened to him during the seven days he went missing in The Last Elf of Lanis. I guarantee this story will astound, amaze, and entertain you.
Also, there are four stories set in Lanis Rhyl Landemiriam, hundreds of years before the attack by the garond army. One involves Iounelle as a child and how she got the lifename Treelaughter, and another, the story of how she snuck into Bawn Hae, the tower forbidden to unmarried elven females.
There is a story of Weylund and his journey out into the Farther Lands.
There is the story of Hanarry and Myanne, and Hetwing's challenge for the crown of Reia against her uncle Eoric.
There are two stories that answer questions about Yulenth.
There is the Ballad of Sehen, and several other elven poem/songs, most notably, the heroic poem/song Veranelle dae Galehthaire, the story of the great, last battle of Iounelle's parents.
And lastly there are two stories that answer the many questions I have been asked, about the fate of little Mót. One involves the writing on the cliff face of the Red Mountains. But, what happens with Mót will shock and tantalize you.
More than half of this collection is already written. I hope to have the book ready for release on or soon after August 1, 2012.
Later in the year, probably around Christmas, you will get a present in your stocking of the first of the elven stories about Berand, the forger of the Mattear Gram and the Moon Sword that Iounelle carries.
That book will be entitled Berand the Fool. I am very excited about the Berand Trilogy as it will be very strange and adventurous.
cheers,
Kurt
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, April 30, 2012
Friday, April 6, 2012
map of Wealdland - full size - Last Elf of Lanis
Click on the map and drag it to your desktop.
You can print this out, if you would like.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
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