The O'Starlent Knight

In case you missed it:

Yeah! So I got the 300 likes on my Facebook page. My OCD is now quiet....at least until we get to 391 again or something along those lines.

But I believe I promised you a new blog post about a new book I'm writing, yes? Yes. Oh geez. Hello anxiety.

So yes, I've told you guys that I'm a writer, and I've told you guys that I've got this book, and hell, some of you people actually gave me money for the book and some of you have even finished it. Razia, as they say, is old news to my nerves.

But to share an entirely new story with you is absolutely terrifying. But I shall be brave.

This one is a fantasy series. So if you've been holding out for knights, princes, princesses, and a tiny bit of magic (though not as much as some of my other series), this is your story. I call it "The O'Starlent Knight" series - but no names for any of the books yet.

The O'Starlent Knight is a book I wrote in 2001 that, to be honest, I can't even remember writing. I found it when I was talking with my little cousin about my long career of secretly writing "novels." I started reading it and I was impressed with myself - although short and not fleshed out, the story itself was actually pretty good. 

So I opened up a blank Pages document and began tapping away at some ideas. And before I knew it, I had a three book series roughly outlined. Then I opened a new document and just began typing - mostly on my flight home to Florida at the end of May. Again, I turned around and suddenly had the first book sketched out and fifteen thousand words.

So what's it about? Here's the (draft) Fairy Tale/song thingy that opens the book. Fair warning, I literally decided that it was going to be a poem versus an actual story during the writing of this blog post, so it's rough. But you'll get the general gist:

In the Kingdom of Perrin
A long time ago
Lived two brothers of the stars
The royal heirs to the throne

The elder, to be king, was beloved by all
But by none so much as his brother
He was his brother's keeper
And the best swordsman in the land

Until one day a witch they happened upon
Evil and warted and wicked
A good heart is no defense against magic
So the young prince lay down his sword

Said he, "Vile witch, kill me instead
For my brother is fair and kind
I will gladly give my life for his
And be honored by all in Perrin."

The witch cackled mightily, "Oh yes, young prince
To your brother you shall give your life
From this moment on, you are bound to his will
The O'Starlent Knight you shall be."

And the Knight he became
Sworn protector of the Perrin King
Cursed for eternity to serve another
His beloved sword no longer his own

This fairy tale kicks off the first book, and is the favorite tale told to Maggie, the current princess of Perrin. To Maggie, fairy tales are becoming something of a childhood memory, as she's got other things to worry about. Her father, King Malcolm, has begun grooming her to become Queen - dragging her all over the countryside to meet with villagers. He tells her about a sickness that has come over the land, and he travels the land to try and eradicate it. But one day she sees an odd-looking knight in her castle, one who seems to know what she's thinking. And she begins to question the truth about this "sickness," especially as grumblings of rebellion and revenge swirl - focused on the secretive death of her uncle, King Dugald.

-

Needs work, I know, but it's hard for me to actually put down on paper a synopsis when the book is still coming together. What I like about this series is that it's completely from Maggie's perspective, and so we start out where everything is sunshine and rainbows, and she loves her mother and father, and then slowly, that image becomes distorted as she begins to grow up a little bit. Obvs. the "mysterious" knight is the O'Starlent Knight (hah, sorry, spoiler alert) - but why is he serving Maggie instead of her father, the king? What did happen to her uncle, who was king before Malcolm?

Anyways, this book is completely and totally different from Razia, but I think that's why I drifted to it. It's new and fresh and there's plenty of ideas that I can get out.

I can finally write a character that has an emotion other than angry indignation!

Anyways, my goal is to get 2 or 3 more Razia books out before I start publishing anything else. That being said: What do you think? Do you want to hear more about the O'Starlent Knight Series?