Hello Readers!
So here we are at the end of Book 1 of The Unexpected Vanguard. Honestly, I wasn’t sure I would ever get here, not to mention you! This is the first fiction I’ve ever written, and I greatly appreciate your patience and tolerance as readers, as I fumbled through the awkward prose construction of those early chapter drafts.
I began this project to distract myself from the frustrations of the current job market and invest some of my currently abundant free time in something productive, and I am so glad I did.
What began as a bit of a lark, taking the characters my friends created for our current D&D game and spinning them into a homebrew world and a plot constructed from campaign ideas I had as a DM, but never got to use (because players!), quickly became a passion. Whatever the future holds, writing has become an essential part of my life.
I wanted to rekindle the types of fantasy stories I grew up with in the 80s and 90s from authors like Weis, Hickman, Salvatore, and Brooks while giving the prose the distinct flavor of an actual D&D campaign – something you could imagine playing out around your table, but without the disruption of dice rolls and rule challenges. One part Fantasy and one part mystery, I wanted The Glimmerstone Enigma to be a story that even fantasy-averse readers might enjoy. By focusing on the characters and plot, while avoiding excessive political and historical expositions and overly complicated magic systems, I hope to expand the appeal of our great genre beyond the hardcore veterans.
I just wanted to tell a good story, even if no one ever read it (a likely outcome given my inexperience and the lack of current fantasy ‘hot buttons’ like stat blocks, reincarnation, or romance).
The fact that so many of you found The Glimmerstone Enigma and enjoyed it enough to get this far is humbling, and I am truly grateful.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
The idea for the grift component was an afterthought. I needed a way for the party to encounter the Red Queen and come away with the stone while staying true to my original premise that our protagonists are not powerful heroes. I was adamant to avoid the trope of ‘weak to strong’ (perhaps again unwisely given its current popularity!) and wanted to find a fresh alternative. As a fan of the show Leverage, I fell in love with the idea of overlaying the specialized roles and execution of an intricate con onto a fantasy setting. I hope it was as much fun to read as it was to develop and write. It seems obvious in hindsight, but there were many nights I struggled to piece together how the group could successfully acquire the stone without defeating a lich. That heist dimension will materialize again as The Unexpected Vanguard progresses, I promise!
Speaking of what comes next, rest assured, all three arcs of the story are firmly grounded in my mind, and I’m already hard at work on Book 2. I’m taking a short break to build some backlog before I start publishing in August – something I didn’t do with this book. I won’t miss churning out chapters on a week-to-week basis just in time for my Friday publishing commitment. Also, now knowing there is an interested audience, I need to be stronger out of the gate with the early chapters!
In the interim, I’ve got a few treats to keep your interest. I will share a ‘blurb’ for Book 2 – The Siremirian Conundrum, a sneak peek of the cover, and the relevant maps of Venn for the second part of the adventure over the coming weeks.
One thing I didn’t appreciate is how lonely writing can be. Unlike the constant feedback of the corporate world, I’ve found it very difficult to know what’s working and what isn’t in my writing. I’d welcome any thoughts or feedback you may have on The Glimmerstone Enigma. What resonated for you as a reader? What could I have done differently or better? What would you like to see more or less of in Book 2 and beyond? Drop me a line (or a comment!), I'd love to hear from you!
Thanks again for getting to this point in the journey, and I hope you stick around for The Siremirian Conundrum!
With deepest gratitude,
Bryn Norel (Ravensaloft)
The Glimmerstone Enigma! Fear not, The Siremirian Conundrum is coming right up.
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