Dan Kretzer's Blog: Letters from Skara - Posts Tagged "adventure"

“What does that mean, Sword of the Feara?”

“It was a title. The Arovorians once named great men by their tools. A gifted musician might be named Harp of the Elves, or an accomplished sea captain would be Sail of the Empire. Your ancestor, a Feara, earned recognition with his sword.”

Welcome to my blog, and thanks for reading! I’ll take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about my novel.

Sword of the Feara is an adult fantasy novel set in a high fantasy world of swords and sorcery. What sets it apart from similar works of fiction is the focus on a more realistic and relatable set of protagonists than you’re used to seeing in this kind of heroic fantasy. Bereft of Conan’s might or Gandalf’s wizardry, these are people who must use their heads if they wish to keep them.

The setting is high fantasy. There are different sorts of magic, monsters from legend and my own imagination, gods who act through their faithful, and other races sharing the world with men. The world itself has its own unique history and geography. The main setting for the first series of novels is Skara, an island kingdom wrested from the dryads by a people called the Feara, who were subsequently dominated by and liberated from sorcerers, dragons, an elvish empire, and an empire of men that followed.

What do I mean by the first series? Well, Sword of the Feara is the first book of the Skara Trilogy. Two more books in this setting will follow. Then I have plans for more books set in other very different parts of this world. How fast I get these out will have a lot to do with the reception of Sword, but I’m aiming for about a year between releases.

So, who is this novel for? I wrote it with the intent that adults would enjoy the book, but depending on maturity, I think this is one that a lot of young adults will like as well. It contains implicit but not explicit sex and has sparse profanity. There is drinking. The villains are cruel. The violence is frank and realistic, but I do not wallow in gore. As a parent, I was comfortable letting my children read it at age 13. You know what you can handle, and if you have kids, you’re the best judge of what they can handle.

Thanks again for reading! I’ll be updating this blog periodically with news about Sword of the Feara and future projects, as well as other musings about writing in general and indie writing in particular. I hope you’ll come back and check in. I would love to hear from you either in the comments here or by e-mail to infodankretzer@gmail.com.