Random Tidbits From the Bloodline of Senbralni

As a world-builder, I find myself with a gigantic folder filled with information that just won't fit into one of my novels. For instance, there is absolutely no reason for a reader to know the name of every single Leyrkan and Leyrque the Sandleyr has ever seen. There isn't even a reason to know the names of all the Sir Not Appearing In This Films of the Sandleyr. I can tell you exactly where the villages are that the Fire Queen and other Onizards have completely missed. This is useless, however, unless I write another story involving one of those villages (they're fishermen, so sailing across the sea and getting freaked out by the Sandleyr isn't out of the question).

Since the next book is titled "The Blood of Senbralni", I felt like bringing out one of those tidbits from my folder of random information: the bloodline of Senbralni.

Senbralni is a character who has only appeared in the prologues, but he is a legend among the Onizards for bringing love, light, and the Sandleyr to the world. He is also the ancestor of almost every ruler of the Night Kingdom. There has been so much time since Senbralni's reign that rumors and legends about this bloodline are as common as rumors and legends about Senbralni himself. 

So what is truth, and what is legend? Well, it's more fun to leave some things a mystery, but I do have a list of the Leyrkans and Leyrques of the Night Kingdom, a list that I save for future stories. Here are a few stories from that list:

Maraeni (f)

Maraeni was Senbralni’s youngest daughter, and it is said she had the strongest heart of all of his children. Since she had become a joinmate shortly before her father died, she chose to be the Lady of the Night Kingdom instead of the Leyrque. Her devotion to her love meant that, while she was not particularly memorable as a Child of Light, she was the ancestor of all future descendants of Senbralni.

Delraeni Fire-tamer(f), great-great-great-granddaughter of Senbralni

Delraeni was jokingly called Fire-tamer after winning the heart of the Rantrefi, the son of the Day Kingdom’s Leyrkan. Rantrefi had been sent to the Night Kingdom as an ambassador after a scandalous rumor involving an unclaimed egg. Delraeni proved Rantrefi’s innocence, but when he had a choice to return to the Day Kingdom, he confessed the Night had a better view. Ever since, the occasional descendant of Senbralni has sought a mate from the children of the Day Kingdom's rulers.

Bralkanni the Pure (m), great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of Senbralni

Bralkanni had a fear throughout his lifetime that the people of the Night Kingdom would end up worshiping the Bloodline of Senbralni more than the Great Lord of the Sky. This fear kept him from acting on his feelings for the woman that he loved. He was adamant that his people pay proper respect to the Great Lord of the Sky, even to the point of ignoring his proper title. It is said that when he sensed the love his niece, Ranmani, was trying to hide from the Onizard man she loved, he repented from his views on the Bloodline's celibacy and insisted on performing the joinmating ceremony. He was much loved in his later years, and he never wavered from his love for the Great Lord of the Sky (I have to wonder what he'd think of the events described in The Zarder and The Speed of Wind). 

There are many more examples, but I don't want to post them and spoil the story for you. Besides, even though there is a lot of world-building going on in the background, I may not know all of the story yet. There is a very early, very terrible draft of The Zarder in which Lady Delsenni is Lord Delsenni, Leyrkan Mekanni's dear and platonic friend. Enjoy these tidbits while I write the rest!

Project Update: The Blood of Senbralni

The cover is ready for The Blood of Senbralni. There are a few more things to do as far as editing is concerned, but I'm pleased to announce that it will be released August 26, 2012. For those of you keeping track, that is exactly one year after the release of The Zarder. It is also over a week after the Hunger Games DVD is released, so you have plenty of time to get your Katniss fix before moving on to the third chapter in the story of the Onizards.

I hope you enjoy this journey with my characters as much as I did.

I'm FREE! I'm FREE!

The giveaway for "The Speed of Wind" on Goodreads had over 300 entries. This is an impressive amount of interested people. Rather than disappoint them all, I have made the Kindle version of "The Speed of Wind" free today (June 7) and tomorrow (June 8).

Check it out here!

Thank you all for participating, and welcome to the Sandleyr!

Busy, busy...

Life as a writer certainly never has a dull moment. I'm working on a few projects right now; one of them is in the final editing stage, one of them is in the first draft stage, and the other is in the daydream stage.

First, let me tell you a little about the project in the final editing stage. The third Onizard novel, "The Blood of Senbralni" will be out in late August/early September (date TBA). Within this novel, the potential conflict hinted at the end of "The Speed of Wind" will come to pass. I'm still working on the blurb, as the story is still changing in this round of edits (one character is insisting on a larger role, and helpfully pointed out a plot hole he could fix). Here is what I can tell you:

When tragedy strikes the Night Kingdom, the youngest Zarder, Delma, and her Bond Amblomna are considered the only ones capable of stopping the Fire Queen for good. After all, Amblomna has a strange gift: she can speak to the rain, and the rain listens. Unfortunately, the spirit in the rain has no intention of helping Amblomna find the Fire Queen, and he does not intend to reveal the real reason why Amblomna was chosen.

Meanwhile, Senrae has once again been forced to stay behind and leave the heroics to other Onizards. While this troubles him, not knowing the identity of his enemies within the Sandleyr is far more troubling. A shy Child of Fire named Delgrafi seems to have more knowledge of the tragedy than she should, yet she acts as if she is trying to protect him from something. Only one thing is certain; he must discover Delgrafi's secrets if he has any hope of protecting his friends and family.

The Blood of Senbralni binds them all together...but will it be their undoing?
"The Zarder" was the novel that took the longest to write, but "The Blood of Senbralni" was the toughest for me to write. I am hoping that the effort I have been putting into this novel shows, as it will be the last Onizard novel for a while.

I am not saying goodbye to the Sandleyr for good, though. The first draft project is a collection of short stories with some of the characters who got stuck in the background, but who still have a story to be told. I suspect Lady Senmani is going to have the longest story; it may end up being novella length by the time I'm done with it. Isenna, a.k.a. Ransenna's mom, has a decision on how much she can do to stand up for justice. Since I'm still writing the roughest of drafts, I can't tell you much more than that.

The daydreaming stage of "Sea Foam" is even more mysterious. I can tell you it's based on a fairy tale, but it's set in modern times with a very skeptical main character who is not going to enjoy getting caught up in the mess the fairy tale left behind. Plotting is in progress.

So if you wonder what I'm doing, know that it's either writing, editing, or playing online games to get rid of the clutter in my mind.

I'm giving away a copy of "The Speed of Wind" on Goodreads this week; stay tuned for further fun announcements.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Speed of Wind

by Sara Jo Easton

Giveaway ends June 07, 2012.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

"The Speed of Wind" is here!

This is an exciting day for me; my second novel, "The Speed of Wind", is now available on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback format! (Other formats/retailers coming soon...)

This book was one of my biggest challenges, as the Fire Queen has a much larger role than she had in "The Zarder". Where there's the Fire Queen, there's madness, treachery, foul language to edit down to not quite as foul language, and Random Lady Gaga songs for writing music. She's a seriously disturbed villainess, and this novel will answer the question of how she got that way. Unfortunately, she's kidnapped three hostages, including Idenno. It's not exactly a secret that she hates that guy; she smiled for the first time in "The Zarder" when she heard he was miserable.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we have Ransenna, who is doing her best to keep Idenno and Deldenno alive. She's also dealing with an awkward crush on Deldenno. Needless to say, the tough environment and time away from their Bonds is going to turn that into something more significant.

In the six years since "The Zarder", Bryn has gained a wife and a Bond. He and his Bond Xoltorble will have to protect said wife by taking her place when the Fire Queen demands a confrontation with the Zarder. Also, there's a ten year old girl tagging along to give him advice on how to find "the dragon" and how to avoid dying from poisonous plants.

Will Bryn and Xoltorble reach the hostages in time to save them, or will the Fire Queen have her revenge? Find out when you read "The Speed of Wind"!

A lot of free stuff this week.

First, I have added another Goodreads giveaway in anticipation of "The Speed of Wind" coming out, so be sure to enter for an autographed copy before March 9.

I'm also participating in the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week promotion, which means you can get a free eBook copy even if you don't win the Goodreads giveaway.

Free stuff for everybody!

What is it like outside the Sandleyr?

For the Onizards, life outside the Sandleyr is unthinkable. Their greatest punishment is banishment from the Sandleyr, since they believe that they need each other to survive. There are stories of the Onizards who rejected Senbralni being "killed by the human tribes", which raises an interesting question. Where are these humans that are capable of killing an Onizard? Clearly they are a wealthy and bored class of people that are far separated from humans like Jena and Bryn.

In "The Speed of Wind", we finally find out what it is like past the training grounds and into the wilderness. Bryn and his Bond Xoltorble are on a mission to rescue three hostages, and their guide is a ten-year-old girl named Delma who has a very personal score to settle with the "dragon".

Delma is an interesting character; she was part of a group of humans who were never slaves, and she has spent her life in the woods. Culture clash is inevitable, but she keeps an open mind. I had fun writing her.

The wilderness is full of fascinating things like trees with blue flowers and unicorns. Yes, unicorns. Trust me, these unicorns aren't like Amalthea.

The downside is that there are plenty of glades and caves for the former Fire Queen to hide from the rain, and she has the head start as well as six years of practice living in the woods. Her scenes were a challenge to write, but the reviewer who commented "I would have liked to find out more about what made her the evil she is now" should be quite pleased.

"The Speed of Wind" will take everyone outside the Sandleyr and force them to face some demons. I hope you all will enjoy the journey.