Cover illustrator: Larry Rostant | Website
Publisher: Forest Path Books | Website
Release Date: April TBD, 2024
Pre-Order Link: https://forestpathbooks.com/catalogue/the-god-spear/
Blurb
The Triempery Revelations Book IV
It will take a god to awaken a god.
The Heir to Essera’s throne, Handurin Stauberg-Randolph, has escaped from Sordan and sought out the Kheld people of Amallar. He hopes to gain them as allies, particularly against the murderous sorceror Nammuor.
Dorilian Sordaneon has also left the safety of Sordan—and stopped the Rill god-machine. Handurin doesn’t know it yet, but Dorilian is hot on his heels. Which means Dorilian is in Amallar too, living in secret among Khelds who believe he killed, well, just about everyone.
But Amallar isn’t as welcoming as Hans thinks, or as backward as Dorilian believes.
Author Q&A
Please read on for an exclusive Q&A with the author and my first ever interview!
Q: When did you begin writing?
I began writing what became the Triempery novels when I was a teen. That was a long time ago. Fifty years ago, in fact. The kernel of the story changed and became more complex and interesting as it grew. I wrote other novels over those years—mostly science fiction and fantasy but some subgenre novels also–and published quite a few of those. I’ve had a long writing career. Which just goes to show you can write a lot of books and remain completely unknown. It probably would have helped if I had kept the same pen name.
Q: Best advice for new writers?
Put yourself first because your writing should not be the most important thing in your life. You are, and those you love or who depend on you. If the writing comes first, the rest can fall into disrepair, and you need to last a lifetime. Give priority to your mental health and the wellbeing of your loved ones.
Q: Best advice you’ve received on writing?
If a character commands your attention, follow that character. An editor at DAW told me this about one of my characters—and told me that character’s story was the one I needed to write. He wanted to read more about how certain things happened in my series, and those things belonged to a side character’s story. That side character is now the star of a six-book series.
Q: What are some of your favorite indie authors?
I gravitate toward two types of books: those filled with wonder and originality, usually epics; and smaller, more intimate tales. Current indie authors who’ve grabbed me include P.L. Stuart with his Drowned Kingdom saga, AJ Calvin’s Caein Legacy, and K.E. Andrews for Hills of Heather and Bone. Whatever these authors put out, I will buy and read.
Q: Was the series plotted before you started, or has it evolved over time? Did you know the direction for the book before you started writing?
The Triempery Revelations series grew organically from the characters I first conceived when I was a teen. I didn’t know then, at 14, what it would become. Over the decades, as I grew and matured as a person and writer, the series grew too. The plot acquired strength and direction, its characters evolved full lives and agendas, becoming multiple villains and heroes. What started as one kingdom became empires, with cities that became Cities, immortal and mysterious. The Triempery learned its own history. I figured out who was important and who was not; I moved the most compelling stories and characters forward. In some cases, I knew exactly what was going to happen—what needed to happen—and I had to find ways to make those things happen. It wasn’t easy! In other cases, the story almost wrote itself as the plot thickened. I wrote and rewrote and wrote again until the story became what it is today: the full tale of this world—this Second Creation—and its inhabitants.
All six books are written. I’m currently “finishing” the series by putting the last two books through professional edits and publication.
Q: Would you consider writing in the world even after the main series closes? Short stories, novellas and the like?
I’ve been doing just that! The sixth book is written and the series is complete—at least to that point. I’ve written short stories of what comes after; I’ve also written stories of what came before. My audiobook Kickstarter for Sordaneon, the first book in the series, includes a short story from the earliest years of the Triempery, showing the conflict between the Aryati and the newly created Highborn—and the origins of the Dog Men.
I would also like to write a novel or duology set in the years immediately preceding the Triempery series, revealing how the Wall’s plan to save the Second Creation unfolded. Let’s just say it didn’t go as planned.
About the Author
L.L. Stephens is a hot modern female with delusions of supervillainy trapped in the body of a little old lady. Weekdays, she writes epic fantasy sagas and the occasional erotic novel or story. On weekends she plays card and board games with her husbands’ Big Italian Family, cooks delicious family meals, and paints board game miniatures. Occasionally she visits family in Wisconsin and Ohio and aspires to at long last visit the son in Georgia.
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