The Frewyn Herald: Home of the Haanta Series

My first crush. Yes, I'm serious. I have always been in love with giants. This is probably due to my being a small woman, and as a small woman am therefore fascinated with everything that towers over me. Even when I was young, however, and was the same size as every other seven-year-old, I was always mesmerized with the notion of there being enormous creatures (I consider seven feet enormous) in the world merely awaiting discovery, and though reading Mother Goose and Grim tales reinforced this idea, most of the giants depicted in those stories are antagonists. These giants were well in their turn, but I wanted good giants, giants who had hearts and could be considered heroes rather than those who were coveting golden geese and living lonely lives at the tops of beanstalks. Where did my infatuation with the lofty begin? Probably in biblical times. Giants in History: Goliath of Gath  I have to admit, David's a cheater Goliath, or Goliyat as I learned in the throes...

Alasdair loves patrolling in his First Captain's uniform. True, many people do recognize him as Frewyn's king, but this only allows him to know them on a more personal level. From the forthcoming book in the series "The Diras Castle Keep", here is Alasdair at his best. Enjoy! King Alasdair and Queen Carrigh T he commander may have laughed at her own suppositions, but Alasdair did not stay to hear it. He was gone and hastening down one of the adjoining lanes before any of the women strolling nearby should attach themselves to him. Eyes peered out of windows and ears turned toward the commander’s unanswerable commands whilst Alasdair slipped away and tucked himself beside one of the outdoor stalls. It was a stall which specialized in erotic fiction, its tables lined with the newest volumes and the shelves beside furnished with illustrated texts. Here was diversion enough: to hide his recognizable features amidst the pages of a book which he would of course not read ...

Many people ask me the motivation behind various concepts in the series. A reader recently asked how the ideas for ethnaa, hakhaas, and kaatas came about, the Haanta affliction, their meditations, and their physical practices respectively. Ever since I was young, my body seemed at odds with me. I was often ill, often in pain, and often felt like a wight trundling through life. No doctor could find reasons for my various illnesses and therefore no cures could be offered me. I struggled for many years, until a full-day trip to the hospital and several tests brought me the answer: I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, a rather painful disease that attacks the muscles and causes insomnia, chronic fatigue, immense joint pain, and cognitive dysfunction, amongst other unwholesome things. When I asked about medicines or treatments, the doctor was very plain with me. He said, "Well, you can take pills that may or may not help, you can exercise and eat only organic foo...

Back of the book Hot off the press: Khantara is now available in gorgeous paperback! Big thanks to my publishers, Red Willow Press, for the wonderful job they did on the print. Special thanks to Twisk and Marcin who worked tirelessly to create all the artwork for the insert and covers. Khantara is one of my favourite stories in the Haanta world. I hope you'll enjoy it too! Read the free chapters in the Other Books tab. Grab in now on  Amazon !

Head Cleric Rithea by Twisk (c) 2012 I know Twisk is going to kill me for showing it without it being absolutely finished, but I had to show it to you. Here is Head Cleric Rithea. I'm all astonishment and happy awe! And she made this after claiming she could not draw old people. Pff! When she's all done, I'll be adding her to the character page and place her bio. The finished version can be seen in a few days on Twisk's art blog.

Mureadh Farhayden has thirteen sisters. I don't know how he manages just one. O nce the carriage was settled, the horses were put by to rest, and the porter was sent to the inn to convey their luggage, the remainder of the large Farhayden family came to join their brother and indulge his every wish of a complete family gathering. Mureadh stood from his place, pretended not to be crying, though his glimmering eyes and red nose told a different story, and collected all of his sisters into his immense reach, giving them fond kisses and oscillating them about until they could no longer bear his crushing affection. He received wry simpers and conscious smirks from his older sisters, but a few of the younger girls shared his sentiments. “You’ve all grown,” said Mureadh with sullen inflection, happy to see his younger sisters mature and sad that he should not have been present to witness it. He patted their heads and remarked each one of them: the two youngest had grown the most since he...

Teague, as drawn by Twisk I  love Teague and Qwynlin's relationship. Here for Valentine's Day (Brigid's Day in Frewyn) is a small slice from an upcoming book featuring the two of them. Enjoy! S he had apprehended the true meaning of his expression the moment he stood from the table. She had been feeling the same for some time, though would never be the one to make the first confession. She, too, had lost all hope of meeting anyone who might secure her happiness and affections. Karnwyl afforded little deviation, and for one who enjoyed such wicked practices, Karnwyl brought only desolation and misery. She could find little comfort in the family business or caring for her sisters, as these duties could only serve to distract her, but the moment she saw that there were others like herself in Frewyn, all her expectation had been thus revived. She came to Diras with the object of discovering his sentiments, had little idea of making a lasting business or even of staying, unt...

Today was Soledhan's birthday. He was given sensible gifts, but Kai Linaa's will to make every party a special one overpowers any desire for simplicity. Here is a small excerpt from one of the later books.   T he parcel was opened, and the family were assembled in time to see Soledhan take a small wooden crocodile from within. It was painted and smiling and ready to be played with, and before the first question of “Whatcha got there, small one?” from Calleen could be answered, Soledhan was off with his gift in his hand, showing it to his cousins and entreating them to play with it. The value of a gift at his age could only be apprehended in how many of Soledhan’s friends should with to share it, and as all the children of the party were delighted with the smiling crocodile, Soledhan declared himself rather fortunate indeed.                 There were other items within the small wooden box, but these were pr...

I have been considering turning the series into a serial as of late. This idea was actually put into my head by my publisher and the reasoning for this was presented to me thus: 1) I write about 10,000 words a day. After all the rewrites and edits, this translates to about a book per month. Though the publishing industry has hastened certain processes in the past few years, publishing books as quickly as I can write them is not one of its new powers. Publishing smaller works would speed the rate of distribution and get the books to readers faster. 2) The books in the series are long, so long that they need to be split into volumes if I want to get anything like a decent turnaround time from critics and reviewers. Commander and Den Asaan is three volumes and is over 300,000 words. I splitt the books into volumes where there is a natural peak and resolution in the story. Splitting them down into serial format would create more suspense and allow for those who don't...

More character descriptions added to the Character page: Name:  Obhantaa (He who is without a mind) Nicknames : Leraa (He who is gentle) Age (book 1) : 40 Occupation:  ? Race:  giant Nationality : Sanhedhran Parents:  Tarhontaa and his first mate  Likes:  Animals, spending time with his brothers, beating Rautu at Mhanghaanas Dislikes:  Being parted from his Anonnaa, his Odaibha Fears : Never being allowed to return home again History:  Obhantaa was born a little different from most in the Haanta settlements. The Themari who cared for him quickly saw that he was unable to learn with the rest of the Mivaari and tried having various teachers attempt to assist with his basic instruction. After many years of trying to discover his Mivaala, he was given the name Obhaanta, He Who is without a Mind, left to live in the temple and scramble into any education he could get. He earned the name Leraa, He Who is Gentle, by befriending the temple garden kee...

Sesterna is a small country northwest of Marridon. They are part of the Triumvirate, including Marridon and Balletrim, but no one takes them seriously. Who could with a court like this:  T he daily proceedings in Sesterna were fatiguing at best. Unlike the customary measures in the Frewyn courts which attended to the matters of the kingdom, Sesterna’s main concerns must be provincial, as Marridon was their sovereign and contended all matters belonging to their collected peoples within the Chambers. Sesterna did have representatives sitting in the Chambers’ seats, but their presence was little more than a matter of course: they waved, they smiled, they wore their hats and banged their gavels, they felt important, and here was all their concern. Their voice was only significant with regard to Triumvirate business; had they a matter of state to discuss, this was to be debated privately within their own judiciary means, and if the dispute had expatiated beyond the realm that thei...