You all know what a paperback book is, I’m sure.
Well, what you may not know is that there are three different sizes of paperback novel – A format, B format, and C format. A format is the usual – the Australian editions of The Fallen Moon were released in A format.
B format is taller and wider – I believe the American editions were B. Meanwhile C is the largest size – it’s more expensive and looks nicer, and generally the more prestigious books are released in B or C.

Well, Voyager has decided to print the next three books in C format. That’s a big vote of confidence, plus they’ll look great! Unfortunately, though, they will be more expensive as a result. But if you ask me, it’ll be worth it.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!

I’ve now signed the contract for the American edition of the second trilogy, but for unknown reasons the release dates weren’t included. I made an enquiry, and can now inform you that the first installment, The Shadow’s Heir, will hit American shelves in January of 2013. The other two will follow, possibly at 6-monthly intervals, or possibly one-monthly as with the first trilogy – I’ll let you know once I find out.

Anyway, mark it on you calendars, American readers! Er, when you have your 2013 calendar, that is. You know, once they’re on sale. It’ll be a nice 27th birthday present to me!

But the darkness of it isn’t why I like it. It’s a really good read – fast-paced, full of exciting plot twists, and the characters are interesting and relatable. It’s one of those series that’s really hard to put down; I’ve been powering through each installment like a maniac. I read the last one in a couple of days. So don’t read it if you have exams or something else you have to get up early for and can’t afford to be distracted from.

And yes, it’s available in America. I checked. Go try it out – you won’t be disappointed!

Anyway, the university semester is about to go back so I’ll soon be busy with studying again. Not as busy as last time, though, since I’m only doing one unit. Just as well, since I’ll probably be editing book five soon enough. The books are getting more complicated, and the second and third installments of The Risen Sun are particularly complex, so editing them won’t be easy, methinks. (I love that word. I try not to put Olde Worlde speech in my books, but I do enjoy using it in real life).

Anyway, seeing as how I haven’t put up any short stories for a while and that probably won’t be changing soon, I thought I’d offer up an interesting piece of background to the series. This hasn’t been revealed in the books that have been published. It will be included in the prequel trilogy I’m planning to write about Arddryn’s rebellion, but since it’s not a huge plot twist or anything I thought I may as well share it now.

Now then, those who have read The Fallen Moon may recall that the name “Taranisaii” allegedly means “of the blood of Taranis”, and the family is said to be descended from the legendary figure King Taranis. However, those who know anything about Welsh will know that “Taranisaii” isn’t a Welsh word, and doesn’t sound particularly Welsh either. But there’s a reason for it.

The name “Taranisaii” isn’t a real Northern name – somebody just made it up. And the Taranisaii family aren’t descended from Taranis, or anyone of importance at all. The family really began with Arddryn, who started out not as Arddryn Taranisaii but just plain “Arddryn the Weaver”. But after she became a griffiner and gained the admiration of other Northerners, she started getting above herself (as the rulers of Malvern at the time would have it) and wanted to give herself some kind of legitimacy that went beyond simply having managed to stumble across a lost griffin chick which she secretly raised.

Someone among her growing group of admirers, impressed by her tough nature, suggested that she was such a fine Northerner that she must be descended from the great King Taranis himself. Whereupon the opportunistic young Arddryn replied quickly with “Aye, I’m descended from Taranis. Taranis, aye, that was my ancestor!”.

And how do you pronounce the name Taranisaii? Why, it sounds like “Taranis-aye”. Arddryn adopted it as a second name for herself, and when it came time to write it down the crudely educated young Northerner came up with a spelling that looked impressive and left it at that. The rest of her family soon adopted the name as well (most likely because they wanted a share of the glory), but none of them revealed the truth about it. Arddryn lied about it to her young daughter Saeddryn, who grew up believing in the inherent power of the name Taranisaii and helped carry the idea further. Arddryn, you see, didn’t just want power for herself. She eventually picked up on the idea of creating a legacy – a dynasty of her own which would inspire all Northerners. A dynasty based on a lie, of course, but all legends have to start somewhere, and nowadays just being a Taranisaii is enough to impress other Northerners and make them inclined to follow you.

And if you’re wondering where I got that idea from, it’s quite simple: I got it from the Da Vinci Code. Or rather from some criticism of it I read, which claimed that if Christ did have children then their descendents would either be all dead now, or the blood would be spread out over thousands of people. The important thing here isn’t the blood, really; it’s the idea. It doesn’t matter whether Arenadd and the rest of his family are descended from Taranis; what matters is that people believe they are. In the end, it makes no difference.

There, I hope you found that interesting. I think I shall enjoy writing Arddryn’s story; in her younger years she was a real piece of work.

PS: And was Taranis even a real person? Yes. There were actually a few real Northerners way back in history who went by the name Taranis, and the legendary figure of King Taranis is most likely an amalgamation of stories about several of them, with some exaggeration and pieces of other people’s stories thrown in. There are plenty of Northerners about with the blood of some Taranis or other. And now you know.

There was a much longer posting here originally, but I have decided to remove it for decency’s sake. Basically, the short version was that I explained how Cymria, like my own country, was originally inhabited by a different race – until the ancestors of its current occupants arrived and wiped them out.

Australia Day commemorates the day in which white people first arrived in Australia, so needless to say it’s a bit of a controversial celebration since Australia’s original inhabitants are still very much alive and not very happy about the treatment they’ve been getting. Which is probably why, yesterday, a group of protesters attacked our Prime Minister and stole one of her shoes.

Anyway, in light of that my original post seemed a bit too on-the-nose, so I’ve removed it. The only other thing I mentioned in it was that my third trilogy, which I’m currently writing, has a Southerner as the protagonist, and I’ve titled it The Southern Star. Very patriotic.

I’ve been considering doing a trilogy with a griffin as the protagonist. There would be human co-stars, but the main character would be a griffin. It’s definitely true that, generally speaking, readers like my griffin characters the best. The only snag is that they aren’t hugely sympathetic creatures, since they’re inherently selfish by nature.

But d’you think you’d like to read a book with one as the protagonist? I’ve been considering selecting one of the humans instead, but what would you prefer? Your input might help me reach a decision.

To wit:

If you read Bran the Betrayer, then you’ve met baby Laela. Here’s a picture of her when she’s a good bit older.

(Yeah, she has an attitude. If you’re wondering, that’s Bran’s sword. And it’s not supposed to be bloodied; it’s just in a sheath).

And here is a picture of Arenadd looking typically well-adjusted, which I just thought was cool.

Laela got her daddy’s jawline, dontcha reckon?

I’m hoping to get the new Nightwish album. Maybe that’ll inspire more books.

Wanamore
This is the other entry that came without art, so again, I drew some! Wanamore once fought in an Arena, so I added shackles to his legs.

I would like to introduce you to Wanamore, a 26 year old Griffin that makes his home on the east edge of the coppertops. He has grey fur and dark green head and scales with his wings being a combination of both and eyes such a light green they seemed to glow. He is small by Griffin standards half the size of the larger of his breed, but being so small has given him a ferocity that is rivaled by few others. His mother and siblings had all chosen humans but Wanamore couldn’t imagine trying to fly with someone on his back. After making his mind up that he would not pair with a human and realizing the chances of being chosen to mate with was slim, he decided to leave the Eaglehlom hatchery where he was born. Though he missed the fights that allowed him to use his superior speed to have his revenge on those who liked to tease him, it was not a total loss though the bears in the area put up quite a fight.

Serathi
I really like this one’s name, and the storyline as well! Serathi was designed by the same person who created Pip, and since Pip was selected as a winner I didn’t feel too mean about not giving Serathi a prize as well. Nevertheless, an interesting entry with a surprisingly detailed backstory.

Name: Serathi

Age: 36yrs old

Gender: Male

Magic: He can call create snow, from soft snow fall to full on blizzards within a certain radius. The more magic he uses the larger the radius.

Origin: Coppertops; Cymria

Backstory: Serathi’s parents came from the Amorani lands, though Serathi himself was born in the Eagleholm Eyrie and at the age of 12yrs was partnered to the Master of Law a generation before Rannagon’s reign. This griffin though had a bit of an oddity; a birth defect. Unlike most of his kin, he was born with actual ears versus the concealed ear holes his brethren had, this adding to his semi colorful plumage made him stick out more so than the others. Yet with his human partner, his status grew and no other griffin dared to speak of his ears when he was in listening range.

When the Master of Law passed away due to a sudden illness, the griffin was enraged of the others not believing it was poison rather than a simple sickness, he left the eyrie and set out to the coppertops near the fringe of the wild country with his former friend’s body. No longer caring about the humans and their greedy mindset he became a wild creature. His partner’s body entombed within a huge mountain of perfectly placed rocks, the griffin thrived in the mountains environment.

The mountains were the best place for Serathi, where he was free to fly, to roam and to hunt without any humans trying to control his actions. Calling forth great snow storms that covered the peaks, using the cold as a deterrent to keep humans and other wild griffins away from his territory. His thick feathers and fur allowing the creature to take on the harsh cold the winter bestowed on the lands he called home.

Travelers and other griffiners would come through on occasion in hopes to discover more in the wind country, yet most would give the coppertops a wide birth for fear of agitating the griffin who turned his back to the humans. He never would eat them like most of the wild griffins, but his distaste for humans was as plain as day whenever he had to deal with one, most of the time giving them a single warning to leave and if ignored he would use his magic or his brute force to be rid of them. Though on rare occasions he would respect a human enough to leave them and allow safe passage but that was only if he saw worth in them, not rich bloodlines.

So he goes on living the the coppertops without any real care as to what the humans are doing, as long as he is left alone he goes about being wild, retired from any political position, always watching his partner’s tomb in case of tomb robbers and his mind lost at times to the memories of what once was and what was now.

Forever alone in his domain, a guardian of the mountain peaks.

Seltharia the Surly Griffin
Behold, the world’s only roller skating griffin! He’s a mascot for a roller derby team, and his creator was kind enough to invite me to a match. I should take her up on that. Actually, I think I recognise the background to that picture.

Name: Seltheria the Surly Griffin

Physical Appearance: Green feathers with silvery accents, a silver beak with yellow eyes.

Power: Physical strength and endurance, good communication and the ability to knock others over while wearing roller skates.

Seltheria does not have a human partner, but has worked with a certain group of humans on occasion. Seltheria is a little on the wild side, but is by no means uncivilised.

We’re a roller derby team that is part of the Canberra Roller Derby League (www.canberrarollerderbyleague.com). I’m in the picture – the one in the back right with the hood but no glasses. Aunty Aggro (the one kneeling down on the far right) is an artist and created our griffin. I believe it’s made of cardboard, some foam and paper mache. We use it in our rollouts before bouts.