The sixth draft for Book 4 of the Stormfall Chronicles is finally done. The text now stands at 122,000 words long, up from 118,000 at the end of the fifth draft.
It took longer than expected, with my two oldest daughters in college now. They're back for winter break this next week.
I'd like to give the text one more proof-read before cutting it loose for publication. Almost there.
Hella Vella has both a Facebook Group and a YouTube channel that highlights Kindle Vella authors and their Vella stories.
Many thanks once more to Azrielle for the opportunity to reach out to Vella readers.
I had a question posed about the different languages and names used in the Stormfall Chronicles, and where they might come from. I would best describe the world of Stormfall as being a sort of parallel universe to our own. There are similarities and differences to our own world. Many of the places, languages and cultures have analogs to our own, and I have therefore employed personal names and a similar language pallet to illustrate these similarities.
The City States of Trevio, for example, are organized in a manner similar to the Italian city states of the Middle Ages - although with a military tradition which resembles that of ancient Rome. Many of the individual names, such as Petrus, Sergius, and Julian, were likewise drawn from Medieval Italian sources.
For the fae, I wanted to provide a familiar touch-stone for readers. As some will be aware, J.R.R. Tolkien created two distinct languages for the elves of Middle Earth, one modeled after Finnish and the other around Welsh. To provide this touch-stone for the fae in the Stormfall Chronicles, I therefore chose personal names and a language pallet which was primarily drawn from Welsh. Names like Arwel, Delyth, Glynis, and Maidoc are all traditional Welsh names. Similarly, the name of the "darrow" tree was selected to be similar to the Welsh "derwen" or "oak" tree. Again, the goal was to provide a familiar sound pallet and reference point for readers, not to directly duplicate Welsh legends or fables.
Another example can be found among the giants. I wanted to evoke a sense that the dialect of the common tongue which the giants used in conversation had drifted from that spoken by most of the world - human or fae. The idea was that the giants had less contact with the other races during the preceding centuries, and their pronunciation of the common tongue had essentially been frozen in an earlier state. The giants therefore speak in a dialect reminiscent of Scots in daily use, or exercise their own tongue when among themselves. For their own language, I chose a sound pallet modeled after Scottish Gaelic. Similar, but not identical to.
The Empire of Bateria, meanwhile, borrows from the Byzantine Empire as a template, with personal names which can be traced back to Byzantine, Greek or Macedonian origin. An obvious example of this is Callisto's use of the nickname yah-yah, drawn directly from Greek, to refer to her grandmother.
There were a few exceptions. A few completely made-up names. There are also a few names which were drawn from specific reference sources in legend. Sybille or Sibyl, for example, was the name of an ancient Greek oracle at Delphi. Similarly, Callisto and Makednos were the names of two of the children of Lycaon in Greek legend. Lycaon of course, was cursed by Zeus and transformed into a wolf - from which the term lycanthropy was later derived.
Again, the objective was to provide familiar reference points, providing the world of Stormfall with a greater sense of depth - not to precisely duplicate a particular society, culture or time period. There were intentional similarities, but also intentional differences. A parallel world, but not a duplicate one. The juxtaposition of different societies or different time periods, for example, allowed for contrasts to be drawn which would not otherwise have been possible. Which kingdom or empire represented "proper" or "civilized" society was often a matter of perspective. That contrast was intentional.
The fifth draft to Book 4 of the Stormfall Chronicles is finally done. The text now stands at 118,000 words long, up from 114,000 at the end of the fourth draft.
My two oldest daughters are still wrapping up their spring semester, so it will be a couple more weeks before they can begin beta-reading the final text.
It's definitely getting closer to being publication-ready. Time to start thinking about cover designs as well.
Book 1 of the Stormfall Chronicles will be available for FREE on Kindle from 28 March - 1 April 2022.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MYK9QHC
An absolutely gripping story. Getting a peek at Callisto’s life before she appears in the series was interesting and really added depth to her character. . . . The action is vivid, and the story will keep you turning pages wanting to know what happens next. I cannot recommend this enough.
https://www.thefaeriereview.com/2022/03/review-a-wolf-before-the-storm/
Thanks again Liliyana! So glad you enjoyed it.
I've updated the master character list from the Stormfall Chronicles, for anyone who might be interested. The newest update includes characters from the Stormfall Chronicles Prequel, currently being released under Vella, as well as from the upcoming Book 4 of the series.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1_N3VCDJ-dFocD7ObKbnbg3Ork2cp_YvK/view?usp=sharing
I thought it might be interesting to share what the cover art might have looked like, had I released A Wolf Before the Storm as a novel rather than as an episodic series on Vella. I also wanted to share what the book blurb would have looked like - as opposed to the shortened version Vella supports.
My thanks again to my daughter, Liron for pulling the cover design together.
In an age of magic, in a realm where werewolves still stalk the land, a lost girl awakens from a nightmare – and claims a legend as her own.Callisto never saw herself as a hero in anyone’s tale, least of all her own. She never saw herself as a villain either. Just someone making the best of an impossible situation.
An indentured servant to a den-master of thieves, she has had to live by her wits and talents – all the while hiding the secrets of her past. Trained as a pickpocket and lockpick, she proves equally adept with a dagger. Fate, it has seemed, had never thrown her many favors. The few it has thrown she has been determined to make the most from.
Everything changes when a chance burglary hints at a hidden cache of letters – letters left behind by an Arche-Mage centuries ago. Secreted somewhere in the imperial library, the documents promise to fetch a fortune from the right buyer. It could be everything she dreamed of. Enough to pay off her debts. Enough to start a new life. Or it could just as easily land her in the dungeons of an empire vowed to exterminate her kin.
Amidst fleeting glimpses of a life she longs for but can never have, Callisto must maintain her cover long enough to find the treasured documents – before the shadows of her past overtake her.
A Stormfall Chronicles Prequel, “A Wolf Before the Storm” follows the story of Callisto more than a decade before she appears in Book 3 of the series.
The first chapters in the Stormfall Chronicles Prequel, A Wolf Before the Storm will be released this week.
The first four episodes will be released at a once-per-day cadence. Other episodes in the story will follow each week on Friday.
My thanks go out again to my daughters who have been my beta-readers throughout this journey.
From the moment I had introduced her in Book 3 of The Stormfall Chronicles, I knew the story behind Callisto was a tale which deserved to be told. A tale of both tragedy, and resilience. I'm glad to finally see it available online.
It's done! Draft six of the Stormfall Chronicles Prequel is finally complete. The text has grown moderately since its last edit, from 63,000 to 66,000 words. The number of chapters has grown from 44 to 45.
It's finally ready, however. Time to begin uploading episodes to Kindle Vella.
While my oldest two daughters have been visiting over winter break, beta-reading the latest edits to the prequel to the series, I've been making use of my time editing Book 4 of the Stormfall Chronicles.
I've now completed the fourth draft of the book, with the text growing from 111,000 words at draft three, to 114,000 words at draft four. It's been good to see the story arcs of Lynette, Baxter and Eirlon (among others) finally drawing to their conclusion. It will still need another couple of rounds of edits - but it's getting close.
The prequel to the series, meanwhile, should be released on Vella later this month. Looking forward to it.
It's been great having all of my daughters at home over the break. Sharing stories, movies, and games again. I'll be sad to see them returning to their respective campuses at the end of this week.
