Amanda Hocking's Blog - Posts Tagged "kanin-chronicles"

One thing that's great about the internet is the ability to create bonus content for readers who want to know more, and especially with a world as extensive as in the Kanin Chronicles and the Trylle series, there's so much more I could go on and on about. (Believe me when I say I spent an insane amount of time developing histories and lineages and back stories that were never even referenced in the books).



For those of you that can't wait for  Ice Kissed or even if you haven't picked up Frostfire yet, here's some more content from the Kanin Chronicles.



At WorldofAmandaHocking.com, there's the a new pronunciation guide that just posted today. I did make a video a little while (which you can watch: here), but this one is written phonetically, and it covers words and names from the entire trilogy. Don't worry, though - there's no spoilers for Ice Kissed or Crystal Kingdom . You can read it: here.



I also wrote brief rundown of the five troll tribes from the Kanin Chronicles and Trylle series. In one of the books in the Kanin Chronicles, Bryn is reading from a Tracker Handbook, and in the back, it contains a quick overview of each of the tribes. It's so that in case a tracker runs into a member of another tribe while out in the human world following changelings, they know a few things about them and how to interact with them.



So I wrote the overview for the series, but it was too lengthy and unnecessary to include in the actual series. But I still think it might interesting to readers who wanted to know more about the tribes and read an excerpt from the Tracker Handbook. You can read about the tribes: here. (There are spoilers for those who haven't read the Trylle series yet).



Royalty plays an important roles in the series, and I have facts about the current royalty of the five tribes posted at WoAH. You can read about the Kings and Queens: here. (Again, there are spoilers who haven't read the Trylle series yet).



For a more intimate look at Frostfire , I have posted character info at Wattpad. It gives a good introduction to the major and some of the minor characters in the series. You read more about the characters: here.



And of course, there is my favorite - the soundtracks for Frostfire and Ice Kissed are both up now. You can listen to the Frostfire soundtrack: here, and the Ice Kissed soundtrack: here. As far as bonus content goes, I do probably have the most fun making the soundtracks, but really, all of this was fun for me, and I hope that it's fun for you too.

Over the weekend, I was cleaning my office and reorganizing my notes. (When it comes to writing, I am an obsessive note taker.)



While I was going through my things, I came across my brainstorming sheet for titles of the Kanin Chronicles.



I knew right away that the series would be called The Kanin Chronicles, but naming the individual books took quite some time actually.



When I initially pitched the series to my publisher in early 2013, the books were called First Oath (which would become Frostfire ), Dark Marrow (which would become Ice Kissed), and Last Bastion (which would become Crystal Kingdom ).



It actually took me a very long time to come up with those names, but I wasn't completely in love with them. My editor Rose suggested changing them because they sounded more like high-fantasy titles, and since my books aren't high-fantasy, it didn't really suit them.



So the two of us spent a great deal of time trying to come with names. I always think it's interesting to hear what books and movies were almost called, so I thought I'd share with you some of the possible titles.




Book 1 - White Rabbit
Book 2 - Blue Blood
Book 3 - Black Heart or Black Knight






Book 1 - A Rabbit So White
Book 2 - A Heart So Blue
Book 3 - A Throne So Black






Book 1 - A Promise in White
Book 2 - A Betrayal in Blue
Book 3 - A Heart in Black



I was really going with colors there for a while. But then I also just threw singular names, the way I had with the Trylle and Watersong series.




Book 1 - Dynasty (which really is too 1980s soap opera to have ever worked)
Book 2 - Throne
Book 3 - Empire



And eventually, I just had words written down that weren't attached to any particular book:




Trothe
Liege
Betrayal
Treachery
Sedition
Covenant
Chicanery
Branded



Eventually, after much deliberation, we finally decided on Frostfire, Ice Kissed, and Crystal Kingdom, and I do think they fit the series best. What do you think? Do you have favorites?

The first introduction I gave to Bryn Aven back in December 2014 before Frostfire came out was a teaser quote from her, when she said, "Remember my name, because I'm going to be the one who kills you." Throughout  Frostfire , Bryn managed to avoid getting too much blood on her hands, but as you'll see in  Ice Kissed , things are about to take a much darker turn for her...

If you haven’t preorderd Ice Kissed yet and you’d like to, here are some ways you can do it:

Exciting news! A couple months ago, I wrote a prequel novelette to the Kanin Chronicles called "The King's Games," and now it's available for FREE at Wattpad, for everyone to read. You can read it: here

Here's the official synopsis:

Set five years before the events in the Kanin Chronicles, Bryn Aven is struggling to find her place in the secret kingdom of the Kanin—a realm as beautiful as it is treacherous. Born of mixed heritage, fourteen-year-old Bryn has never felt like she completely belonged. Now, with the summer sun thawing the frozen province, the yearly King's Games are about to begin, and an opportunity has arisen to squire for the popular guard, Konstantin Black. Bryn can finally prove herself and earn the respect she craves.

Here's some questions you might have about "The King's Games:"

What's a "novelette?" It just refers to the length of the story. It's longer than a short story, but shorter than a novel or a novella.

Will I be spoiled if I haven't read any or only some of the Kanin Chronicles? No. Since it's a prequel, there are no spoils for the Kanin Chronicles, or even for the Trylle series for that matter.

Where's Ember? The story takes place in June of 2009, and Ember doesn't move to the Kanin capital until February 2010 (after the events at the end of Ascend). So she's just not there yet, but she will be.

Where's Ridley? He's only just retired from tracking, so he's not able to participate in the King's Games, and he hasn't yet taken over the Rektor position. So he's relaxing on the side.

Will this ever be available in print? Right now, I'm going to say no, it will not. But the upside is that it's for FREE at Wattpad, and you can read it now .

For other fun stuff to go along with the release of "The King's Games," I also created a soundtrack for the novelette. You can listen to here at Youtube, and check out the tracklist below.

1.Arctic Monkeys – “Do I Wanna Know?”
2.Big Data – “Dangerous (feat. Joywave)”
3.Daniel Johns – “Preach”
4.The Echo-Friendly – “Same Mistakes”
5.Echosmith – “Cool Kids”
6.Emily Wells – “Becomes the Color”
7.Florence + the Machine – “What Kind of Man”
8.Lorde – “Ribs”
9.Sia – “Free the Animals”
10.Sufjan Stevens – “No Shade in the Shadow of the Cross”
11.Tove Lo – “This Time Around”

You can also check out the Pinterest inspiration board I made for "The King's Games." It was fun, because I got to pick more summery images, and that was a nice change of pace after the snowy scenery of the rest the Kanin Chronicles. (Well, more Frostfire and Ice Kissed, because Crystal Kingdom definitely has changes in scenery).

Follow Amanda Hocking's board The King's Games on Pinterest.

So check out "The King's Games" and I can't wait to hear what you all think. It was a lot of fun to write, and it was great digging more into Bryn's past and what it was like for her growing up. I hope you all enjoy it :)

This week's teaser is a simple one, yet it hints at the chaos that will break loose in Crystal Kingdom.

In the scene this teaser quote is taken from, Bryn is wearing a white gown inspired by the one below. But without the belt/bow. I don't much care for that. And also, for the record, Bryn isn't that thin. She's much more muscular and fit, like Gina Carano or Pink.

I think it's technically a bridal gown, but just so you don't all freak out, I'm telling you know that Bryn is just wearing it as a dress - she's not getting married in it. As to where she's wearing that lucious Zuhair Murad coutoure gown, well, you'll have to wait and find out ;)



If you haven’t preordered Crystal Kingdom yet, and you’d like to, here are some ways you can do it:

iBookstore – for ebook 
Barnes & Noble – for paperback, ebook, hardcover, & audio
Amazon – for paperback, ebook, hardcover, & audio
Indiebound – for paperback, hardcover, & audio 
Powell’s– for paperback
Books-a-Million– for paperback, hardcover, & audio 
Booktopia (Australia) – for paperback 
Waterstones (UK) – for paperback

The wait is finally over, and Crystal Kingdom is released, and the Kanin Chronicles has come to an end.

My publisher sent out ARCs and had Crystal Kingdom on Netgalley, so I've been able to see early reviews of the book. And I can tell you in all honesty that these are the some best reviews I've ever gotten for a book. I've had good reviews before, but these are ones have been consistently good in a way that they haven't before. So I guess that means that Crystal Kingdom may be the best book I've ever written, which is exciting.

Basically, what I'm saying, is that Crystal Kingdom is out now, and you should pick it up. I know some people like to wait until a series is complete until they start it, and now the Kanin Chronicles is complete. If you want to get the first two books in the Kanin Chronicles as well, click here for links: here. 

While you're reading, you can also check out the soundtrack for Crystal Kingdom  here , and you can also check out my dreamcast for the Kanin Chronicles over at Pinterest  here .

And finally, here are some places you can get Crystal Kingdom. If you got to a physical bookstore, and they don't have it on the shelves, ask for it. They might not have put it out yet, or if its not in stock, they can order it for you.

iBookstore – for ebook 
Barnes & Noble – for paperback, ebook, hardcover, & audio
Amazon – for paperback, ebook, hardcover, & audio
Indiebound – for paperback, hardcover, & audio 
Powell’s– for paperback
Books-a-Million– for paperback, hardcover, & audio
Audible – for audio
Target – for paperback
Walmart – for paperback
Booktopia (Australia) – for paperback 
Waterstones (UK) – for paperback