Illustration by Nini Kvaratskhelia via Pixabay Stefan is one of the more controversial—and roundly hated—characters in the Triempery Revelations series. I see him as a foundational character whose family and interactions with other characters keep him center stage. He sees himself very differently from how others see him; though Stefan doesn’t have the page time of some other main characters, his point of view is an important one and his presence in the overarching story is d

Illustration by Margarita Bourkova A few stories have come out of The Rill Lord that I could not release before now because they are spoilers for the series ending. Like this one, for example. This story is kind of cozy, kind of an epilogue for a certain character. And it is chock full of spoilers. If you want to read The Rill Lord completely unspoiled, DO NOT READ THIS STORY. A Bowl of Soup Robdan squinted into the sun at the new bridge. Only seven months had passed

Often when writing novels I explore characters and concepts in isolation. In this case those characters are Dorilian and Hans, and the concepts being explored are permutations of events that happened in the series ending. Two characters coming to terms with who—and what—they have become I also had fun while writing this story showcasing Leur's musical instrument: the mallyr. While this instrument doesn't appear directly in the Triempery Revelations series, other than in epigr

Cover art: Larry Rostant Every author has a chapter or character sequence that was just plain fun to write. It happens with every book, every series. A fun chapter with which to play around. Fun to revisit and fun to read. For me, this is that chapter. As ever, a warning: If you have not yet read The Rill Lord or the other books of the Triempery Revelations series, this chapter will hold SPOILERS. Most of the spoilers in this chapter are minor in scope but they still spoil ev

I’m seeing posts from some fans re-reading the Triempery Revelations series in advance of the release of the final book, The Rill Lord , next month, I’m delighted to note that many are discovering something I already knew: The Triempery Revelations is a generous re-read. The writing of this epic fantasy took place over many years. Decades actually. It was imagined as one story, a single book, though it grew too large to be published as such. Still, the story was imagined

Illustration by CB Lansdell When I mentioned to my husband that I was writing a post about women in the Triempery universe, he said, “What? All two of them?” He later amended his remark to concede that there are three. To be fair, there are more than three. It’s also true that it’s easy to underestimate the importance of women in the series. After all, the womenfolk aren’t as numerous—or flashy—as some of the male main characters. For one thing, women are in fewer positions

Art by Larry Rostant This is a recap of the first book in the Triempery Revelations series. It's also an experiment to see if there's interest or any benefit to me in creating recaps. It SPOILS the ending, which most readers consider amazing, and also the rest of the book. This recap is intended for readers who have already read Sordaneon and wish to refresh their memory of events. *************************************** Seven-year-old Dorilian Sordaneon witnesses his mothe

As I do for every book, I've commissioned illustrations for The Rill Lord. These are from Jamie Noble. Fair warning though: these illustrations depict scenes certain to spoil key events in the book! If you care at all about reading a pristine, totally unspoiled finale of a book... skip this post until after you've read The Rill Lord. If you prefer to read a book completely without outside images competing for space in how you envision the story... skip this post until after y

This is the first chapter of the final book of the Triempery Revelations series. It follows almost immediately after the events of The Walled City . In this chapter Nammuor and the weasely Epopte Quirin have an important conversation. There's talk of Dorilian and the Rill and battles to come, peppered with Quirin's observations on the people and stakes involved. It's a great set-up for the book and one I hope readers will enjoy. If you haven't read The Walled City or the pre

I've just handed first edits of The Rill Lord back to my editor. There are several rounds of edits, beginning with the ones I conduct myself before turning in the finished manuscript. Next come a couple rounds of edits from my "first readers," both of them people with strong editing skills who I trust to point up weak parts of the story, character arcs, dialogue, or plot. Only after they have seen it do I pass the manuscript along to my publisher. There are no spoilers in the

This is the first chapter of the first book of the Triempery Revelations series. In short, it is the beginning. 1 The Rill grieved, and Dorilian listened. Other voices drew him along shadowed corridors and into the courtyard. Nights in Sordan were never dark. Rill glow from the City’s heights paled the sky and silvered rooftops, walls, and even the flowers in the trees. He’d run barefoot through the immense palace’s empty halls and pillared courts and seen

The Triempery series has a variety of villains. Nammuor is the main villain, of course, but he’s not the only threat faced by the other main characters. Foremost among this second tier of villains is Chyralane, Denizen of Phaer: murderer, schemer, and almost Nammuor’s peer when it comes to the number of times she appears in the series. Is she a sorcerer in possession of a god-infested device of immense power? No. But she’s leader of the Seven Houses and that’s almost as na

Full World map of the Second Creation as it is understood in the Triempery novels. When I started writing the Triempery series of novels...

Emyli is the first female main character introduced in the Triempery Revelations series and she stands solidly atop the female character...

Many things enter into the series' conclusion in The Rill Lord and some make their appearance early. For one thing readers get to return...

Doodles are casual sketches or scribbles. When arrayed around a book cover, doodles are often silly (and occasionally profound) comments on the contents of the book within. Take, for example, my doodle for Sordaneon . First, let me note that this doodle is my very first effort. It's clunky. No variety in the doodles at all! Woeful failure to use color. The more I look at this doodle the more I want to redo it. That said, it is recognizably a doodle and a fun one. Sordaneon

I created this meme in 2022 following the publication of The Kheld King . In 2021 when I published Sordaneon I didn't need a meme or...

As readers of the Triempery Series know, each book's cover presents a microcosm of the story within. The elements may be concrete or...

Nalf is one of those series characters who pops up in early books in minor ways—and then becomes a more major character later. I think...

I wrote the Triempery Revelations series over a period of more than 20 years. As such, it is a sweeping, many-layered tale with a host of characters whose stories span decades and whose relationships grow and change over the course of the series. Some characters reveal surprising powers; others devolve into monsters. Their universe is one I wrote and rewrote and wrote all over again several times over until I got it right. The series is fully written. At this point you will f