The Five Kingdoms

 Today, I thought I'd introduce new readers and old ones to an updated map of the Five Kingdoms. This map appears only in the final book, so if you haven't got that far, it gives you a  broader idea of the geography than in your current book. This map covers all the major sites from all the books, except The Green Islands from Blue Mantle.

 

Love this image of Foix Castle in the region of the Ariege, France. It forms part of the cover for my first book, 'Silver Mantle' in its new format on Amazon. It stands on the top of a hill that can be seen from miles around and guards the valleys that converge at the town. It also overlooks the Ariege River, rather like the Citadel of Vellin in the book. It was the home of the Counts, including those who became protectors of religious freedom during the Wars of Religion. It became a refuge for the persecuted Cathars.

Re-learning How to Blog and The End of a Saga

 Yep! Forgotten how to do everything it's been so long between blogs. Well, that's because writing has had to take a back seat for quite a while, but now I'm back, well almost. 

Here's the thing, I've decided to put all my now out-of-print work on Amazon. It's been fun and not always easy, but in the end it is done. 'The Mantle Chronicles' (Y.A. upwards), first published with Lothian, are complete. 

However, I haven't finished with The Five Kingdoms. Young adults grow up and some of them wanted to know more, so a new series will be spawned, 'The Codex of the Queens' details the lives of some of the more important women in the history of Magra, starting with Katherine, the legendary first woman to wear the crown, not to mention a full suit of armour. She's also Megwin's ancestor. More about all that on the Mantle Chronicles Blog, soon. It will also be having a name change.

The first draft of 'The Gathering' - Katherine's story, is completed and now needs a good edit. It will be published under the name 'H. G. Merritt' to distinguish it from my Y.A. books. 

AND OFF WE GO AGAIN!

Starting to revamp this Blog. So much to catch up on but for today, just check out the new Books list. I’ve been busy. The books are all on Amazon and available as e-books or paperbacks. Images of the cover and what they are about will follow but if you can’t wait, check my author page on Amazon too.

Quick word about publishing on Amazon - it’s wonderfully easy really and all the pitfalls that you might encounter are easily fixed. 

Ready for a 'Good News Item'!
I love a happy ending and I have lots of people to thank for this one.
- Thanks to Helen who supported Julia when she discovered she had lost her new and much-prized iPhone in Adelaide. It would not have been the best of times, specially when the anxiety brought on the vomiting - poor Jules!
- Thanks to Apple's 'Find My Phone' app which suddenly came to life this evening to tell us that the phone had been switched on (the Sim had been deactivated by Julia and Helen).
- Thanks to the Adelaide police officers who did take time to get the details of the address where the phone was and follow it up.
- Thanks to the manager of the Pier Hotel Glenelg, who had the phone after it had been handed in by an anonymous member of the public (a big thanks to them, whoever they were).
I know this wasn't written in true narrative form but hopefully you get the gist of the story. We are now awaiting the package from Adelaide police containing the itinerant iPhone in order to live happily ever after!

Since my last entry, so much has changed, including technology and the rise of such fun, time consuming delights as Pinterest. I waver between regretting not having enough time to use it better (and use the recipes I pin) and wasting time on it when I should be writing.
The writing almost came to a compete stop and hasn't been upper most in my mind since my last rejection slip. I even toyed with posting the whole library on the Elfwood website but find their html requirements are beyond me, I get rejected not for content but for formatting. Can't waste my time on getting that right either!
Facebook and Youtube get regular visits. Facebook in particular links me to distant relations (in space and blood), while Youtube satisfies my inner sloth - as it's easier to watch something than create my own.
Recently, I returned to Magra and its queen, Katherine. I'd left her acting as a temporary queen, a political stop-gap to keep the would-be-king Lords from each others throats until the mantles had chosen the new king. She'd just received news of a mining disaster in far away Rynth and was planning to go there.
I moved her along quickly, after introducing her escort and had her risk her own safety to help the stricken miners. She also had an encounter which will have important ramifications both for her and those who come after her.
Ahead of her, the mantles' selection of the future king will cause more heartache and she will need all her determination and diplomacy to weather the coming storm.

Anyone like to design / draw a crown with the emblems of lions and pentangles? The lions were for the royal house of Magra and the pentangles are the symbol of the Mantles' inner circle, the Souran.
I'd love to do it myself and spend time sketching on my Wacom pad - but who has time to do that when I'm 'Pinning', 'Facetiming' and -Tubing?

So Long Ago - So Busy

With the start of a new school year, I can see that time will slip away from me again and this blog will become as obsolete as a Beta movie tape. So the resolution is to concentrate on three main themes - education (well, my views on it anyway), my failing writing career - nothing published since 2004. Yes, that came as a shock to me too! And lastly, the pursuit of happiness (within a tight budget).
The first theme will largely depend of the directions we'll be taking at school this year.
The second starts with my renewed efforts to find an agent who will offer to take me on and do something useful in getting a manuscript published. It would seem there are about ten agents in Australia and I've started to put together an email submission to the first on my list.
The last one begins with Rosie, my new pink bike. At the moment the affair is a little shaky but we're taking it slow, endeavouring to steer a straight path and knowing how to stop in a controlled fashion! We've tried turning a few corners but that's not really our thing, just yet. When the school cycling club starts up again (and we've finally got McQueen home), I hope to be there to wobble round after everyone.