Okay, now that I’m pretty well settled on back cover description for Book #2, naturally it’s time to do Book #3! Actually, I didn’t expect to be here quite yet, but I made a big push and stayed up late in order to finish the final read-through of Law of the Broken Earth and make the ebook and paperback files. I should be able to make the epub file and load that at my Patreon later today or maybe tomorrow, this week for sure.

Here’s the cover for Book #3:

And now I need back cover description, obviously. Here’s the original version —

***

In Feierabiand, in the wide green Delta, far from the burning heat of the griffin’s desert, Mienthe’s peaceful life has been shaken. Tan – clever, cynical, and an experienced spy – has brought a deadly secret out of the neighboring country of Linularinum.

Now, as three countries and two species rush toward destruction, Mienthe fears that even her powerful cousin, Bertaud, may be neither able nor even willing to find a safe path between the secret Linularinum would kill to preserve and the desperate ferocity of the griffins.

But can Mienthe? And, in the end, will Tan help her or do everything in his power to stand in her way?

***

This back cover description is not great. Most obviously, it is not accurate: Mienthe and Tan are never for one second opposed during the events in this book. And would you like to know why this description is so misleading? I’ll tell you: It’s because I wrote this description LONG before the actual story was finished.

It turns out that sometimes this happens in traditional publishing. The publisher sometimes wants the description so far in advance that the author literally has to write the description before she writes the novel. No doubt for an outliner, this is less troublesome. An author who outlines AND sticks to the outline can just do the description whenever. I, however, really can’t do that. Or not usually. I could have for RIHASI, and for MARAG, and come to think of it, I could do this for a lot of the Tuyo-world books. I suppose that’s one reason they’re so fast to write compared to everything else. However, I was seriously off base about where I’d go in the third Griffin Mage book.

Also, though Bertaud does play an important role in the third book, he isn’t a pov character and honestly there’s no need to mention him.

So, important elements: Mienthe, who is hesitant — her arc is from hesitant to trusting herself much more. Tan, who is indeed clever, cynical, and an experienced spy. Kairaithin, the titular griffin mage. Also lots of other important characters, a couple of whom actually do take brief pov roles — Kes, Jos, Bertaud, the white griffin (Tastairiane). The Arobern. Beguchren. I had sort of forgotten that I actually have four pov characters in this novel, which isn’t even all that long — Jos takes a couple of chapters in order to show the reader some important events (and also to show the reader Kes, who has changed tremendously from the first book, of course, and is not entirely comprehensible at this point. Beguchren takes one chapter because that was an important scene and someone had to show it, plus I just liked the scene too much to refer to it rather than show it.

Anyway: Mienthe, Tan, secrets, the breaking of Tehre’s Wall, the law of the world.

***

The peace forged with such difficulty between the griffins and humans is holding … for now.

Although a peace was forced upon the griffins, the root of the conflict was never resolved and now, six years later, a deep current of simmering anger remains. Now the uneasy peace is once again threatened, and no one knows why.

In Feierabiand, in the wide, green Delta, far from the burning heat of the griffin’s desert, Mienthe’s peaceful life is shaken by the arrival of Tan — a clever, cynical spy who has stolen a deadly secret from the neighboring country of Linularinum. Not even Tan himself knows exactly what he has stolen — but Mienthe, with magic unexpectedly waking in her hands and her heart, believes Tan may hold the key to a lasting peace.

Now, as three countries and two species rush toward destruction, Mienthe and Tan must somehow find a safe path between the secret Linularinum would kill to preserve and the ferocity of the griffins … before it’s too late.

***

What do you think?

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