L.B. Graham, a friend of mine here in St. Louis, has signed a three book contract with AMG Publishers!

This is fantastic news, because L.B.’s last book series was finished in 2008 (The Binding of the Blade, see the cover to the right).

Now his fans finally get to taste a new adventure, this one more expansive in scope and adding in a touch of sci-fi to the fantasy world.

The working title for the new series is THE WANDERING.

But I won’t say more, so you’ll have to keep your eyes on his blog for more announcements!

And L.B. is in great company … here is a list of other authors with AMG’s young adult imprint, Living Ink Books:

Many of these folks I know, but none as well as L.B. Graham himself.

Here’s his bio:

L. B. Graham was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1971. He loved school so much that he never left, transitioning seamlessly between life as a student and life as a teacher. He and his family now live in St. Louis, Missouri. They would like one day to have a house by the sea, which he wants to call “The Grey Havens.” He and his wife have two children. Both love books, which pleases him immensely.

L. B. holds a B.A. in Literature from Wheaton College, and an M.Div from Covenant Seminary. He is chairman of the Bible department and teacher of English and ethics at Westminster Christian Academy. He has written several articles in IVP’s Dictionary of Biblical Imagery.

I created these for a publisher to give them an example of what I was thinking for a book cover for Merlin’s Blade.

My son, Leighton, portrays the blind Merlin, and my daughter, Adele, with the harp (from a photo when she was sixteen) portrays Natalenya.

So, without further ado, here are the book covers (click to see a hi-res version):

Note that I’d like to completely redo the blue fire emanating from the stone. This might cause many of the other elements to change, either in composition or position.

Anyway, I would be interested which of the two you prefer … to see Merlin’s face (sample 2), or to keep it a mystery (sample 1)?

January

I began the year with things “in the works” with two publishers … “A” and “B". This was as far as I thought I would get in the publishing world, and I imagined that if neither of them were interested, I would be left with self-publishing. Boy was I wrong!

February

This month I had some communication with Publisher “B", and they said they were going to take it to committee. As you will see in the next ten months, this process was going to stall. I found out later from a friend that this publisher is over-busy and barely has time to even communicate even with their signed authors. That “patience is needed in this business” is one of the primary lessons I have learned in 2011.

March

This month I formally sent my proposal to publisher “A", and they showed some cautious interest.

Shortly thereafter I came into contact with Les Stobbe, an excellent agent with a lot of experience selling novels to the publishers in the Christian market. We began negotiations about signing a contract.

April

I finished writing the first draft of MERLIN’S SHADOW (book 2) this month. It turned out fabulous. Though I definitely have some editing to do, it is ten times cleaner than Merlin’s Blade’s first draft. It’s taken me 13 drafts to get Merlin’s Blade ready for publishing. Merlin’s Shadow will probably only take 2 more drafts.

May

I finished reading some books on the craft of fiction, including Stephen King’s ON WRITING.

I also began the difficult process of cutting Merlin’s Blade down from 118,000 words to as close to 100,000 as I could get. This was necessary, I felt, before I signed with Les, because the major Christian publishers are highly concerned about a book’s size affecting the printing costs.

June

Publisher “B” supposedly took Merlin’s Blade to committee. I began the waiting process … but never heard anything good or bad.

I contacted another small Publisher “C", and sent my proposal for Merlin’s Blade to them. They only open their submissions occasionally, so this was good timing.

In my cutting efforts—success! Merlin’s Blade now stood at 105,000 words. Not below 100,000, but very close, and close enough.

July

With Merlin’s Blade cut down to size, I finally made my mind up and signed with Les Stobbe as my literary agent! Les promptly sent my proposal out to all the major publishers. Note that Les also took over communications with the three smaller publishers I was already in process with.

August

Publisher “A” asked for the full manuscript to Merlin’s Blade. They had only published one fantasy series in their entire history, so I wasn’t sure what they would think.

September

The first day of the month brought quite an amazing email from Les, alerting me that Publisher “D” (one of the big ones) had already gotten approval for Merlin’s Blade from their Editorial Board. Woo-hoo!

Thankfully I was already working on a “Video Proposal” for Merlin’s Blade. Once it was finished, Les passed it on to the acquisitions editor at Publisher “D” so she could use it during her presentation to the Publishing Board.

Later in the month I visited the ACFW conference here in St. Louis and had an impromptu meeting with the acquisitions editor from Publisher “D", and she encouraged me that she was going “to fight for [Merlin’s Blade]". Wow!

My wife and I also had dinner with Les Stobbe, and that was fun.

October

This month was a test of waiting, as well as catching up on some things that I had dropped during filming of our latest book trailer for Jill Williamson.

I did, however, make progress on a new cover for Merlin’s Blade. If anything, this can jump-start a marketing department’s creative ideas for how to put one together.

November

The first day of the month brought big news again! The acquisitions editor from Publisher “D” had gotten approval from the Publishing Board to sign Merlin’s Blade … as long as it could pass a profitability analysis step. Normally this step was a formality, but because I was a new author and the book was Christian fantasy, it was more involved.

Also, a new Publisher “E", whom Les had originally contacted, expressed interest in Merlin’s Blade.

December

Publisher “A” notified me that they were no longer considering Merlin’s Blade. You win some, you lose some. Still no word, yay or nay, from publisher “B” or “C".

Meanwhile, I have also not heard from Publisher “D", so we will begin 2012 with expectant hope of hearing the final word on the profitability analysis. Publisher “D” has a lot on their plate this time of year, so this delay was not unexpected.

I do know this … barring some bizarre twist, 2012 will be a watershed year for The Merlin Spiral. One way or another, a publishing decision will be made, so get on board the roller-coaster, click the safety-bar tight, and hold onto your hat!

Okay, this post is pure speculation. I don’t pretend to know anything at all about the inner workings of HarperCollins, Zondervan, or Thomas Nelson. But I do know a bit about the corporate world, having worked there for the last 22 years.

So, in my opinion, these two Christian publishers will merge sometime soon, barring the deal falling apart. To see why I think this, click here.

So, when they merge , it is my understanding that the names Zondervan and Thomas Nelson will continue as imprints. But what will the main company be called? If Thomas Nelson were smaller than Zondervan, it might just be absorbed. But since Thomas Nelson is larger than Zondervan, I would think it possible that the main company might get a new name.

What name? In the style of HarperCollins, I would propose either ZondervanNelson, or ZonderNelson. If either of these happens to be the name that is chosen, I have some logo ideas to propose.

Yes, this is a bit cheeky , but the graphic-designer in me came up with a really cool idea—a 45 degree angled “Z” that doubles as an “N". I have also included the HarperCollins fire and water elements, both of which have symbolism within Christianity. (Any logo may be clicked to see a high-res version of it.)

   

I realize that Zondervan might not want to drop the “van”, although I do see a benefit to keeping the two the same number of syllables and number of letters. So, assuming they want to keep the full name, here is a logo presented that way. It is not as symmetrical, but that is okay.

And here is another set, this time with the text horizontal, and the last also including the full name of Thomas Nelson:

   

Zondervan’s current logo uses a special font which I don’t have access to, and I would expect that my standard “Times New Roman” font would be replaced.

Anyway, this was fun to do. Even though I claim ownership of these logo ideas, I would gladly give them free of charge to Zondervan / Thomas Nelson / HarperCollins for use.

Well, this is a big development in publishing, perhaps the biggest in the last five years, not counting the bankruptcy and liquidation of Borders.

HarperCollins is buying the #1 Christian publisher in the world, Thomas Nelson, Inc. The interesting thing is that HarperCollins already owns the #2 Christian publisher, Zondervan, which they purchased in 1988.

Because of this purchase, which will close before the end of the year, there has been a lot of speculation about how it will happen and what the end result will be. Here are the facts that I have gathered:

• Both the names Zondervan and Thomas Nelson will continue to exist. This makes sense because both names have a long history within Christian publishing and are well known.
  
  
• Both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Nashville, Tennessee will continue as company locations. This is important so that no one is forced to move to keep their job and will provide the easiest merger.

Beyond that, it is anyone’s guess. So, in the spirit of guessing, here are my predictions, which are based the experience of being in the corporate world for the last 22 years:

1. HarperCollins will want to keep Thomas Nelson as a wholly owned subsidiary and not absorb it into the parent publishing company. This makes the most sense with how they bought Zondervan.
   
   
2. Like all corporations, I would guess that HarperCollins wants to save money. This will mean the elimination of duplicate services. The best way to do this is to merge Thomas Nelson with Zondervan.
   
   
3. The merging of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan will take place immediately during the closing of the sale. That means within two months. That’s fast, isn’t it? To me, it makes the most sense.
   
   
4. The merger will take place by giving Zondervan a huge chunk of money which will then allow it to purchase Thomas Nelson. Why buy it, and then merge it later? It is much simpler just to do it right away. This is exactly how the company I work for was bought by a much larger company. The big company gave one of their subsidiaries the money to purchase us.
   
   
5. All of Thomas Nelson’s human resources and benefits will come from Zondervan, and Thomas Nelson employees will be put on their health, 401k, life insurance, and dental plans. This will result in lots of meetings, lots of paperwork, and lots of flying back and forth. This happened to me two years ago.
   
   
6. Because of this, it will feel to Thomas Nelson, more than anything, that Zondervan bought them out. Zondervan might get a new name to reflect the new makeup of the company, but maybe it won’t. either way, “Zondervan” and “Thomas Nelson” will become imprints of Zondervan, the parent company.
   
   
7. Other than that, the merging of the day to day business practices of the companies will take place later. This will involve LOTS of changes, including leadership simplification, the slimming down of duplicate services, authors being moved around as sections of the business are organized, etc.
   
   
8. I predict that all the current editors at both companies find a new “normal” and that all of them retain their jobs. A publisher only makes money by publishing books, and I doubt it is HarperCollins goal to reduce the number of books published.

So … there are lots of changes ahead in the publishing world. No doubt HarperCollins will see a lot of benefits to their bottom line. Hopefully any employees lost in the shuffle will find a nice place to land. Hopefully all the current authors, including those in the process of negotiating and signing contracts, will encounter smooth sailing.

To read more of my thoughts, as well as to see a cool logo idea for the merged company, click here!

Here we are once again, folks, the CSFF Blog Tour of Stephen R. Lawhead’s THE BONE HOUSE!

It is just plain hard to believe that it’s been a year since we reviewed THE SKIN MAP and the treasure hunt I held last year.

Unfortunately, I don’t have an extra copy to give away this year, much less a signed-by-the-author one, sorry!

By the way, the cover that I have is different, and BETTER than the one on the left. I don’t know why they changed it, but the image you see must have been an early draft which they improved.

I really like the ice-blue theme, which is an awesome counter-point to the red-orange theme of the first novel. These book covers are just TOP-NOTCH in my opinion.

If you haven’t read my THE SKIN MAP reviews, here they are:

• Stephen Lawhead’s THE SKIN MAP — Day 1
• Stephen Lawhead’s THE SKIN MAP — Day 2
• Stephen Lawhead’s THE SKIN MAP — Day 3
• The Laity Lodge Writers Retreat: A Travelogue (Where I met Stephen Lawhead in person)

THE PLOT

Here is the description from Amazon:

Kit Livingstone met his great grandfather Cosimo in a rainy alley in London where he discovered the reality of alternate realities.

Now he’s on the run-and on a quest-trying to understand the impossible mission he inherited from Cosimo: to restore a map that charts the hidden dimensions of the multiverse. Survival depends on staying one step ahead of the savage Burley Men.

The key is the Skin Map-but where it leads and what it means, Kit has no idea. The pieces have been scattered throughout this universe and beyond.

Mina, from her outpost in seventeenth-century Prague, is quickly gaining both the experience and the means to succeed in the quest. Yet so are those with evil intent who, from the shadows, are manipulating great minds of history for their own malign purposes.

Those who know how to use ley lines have left their own world behind to travel across time and space-down avenues of Egyptian sphinxes, to an Etruscan tufa tomb, a Bohemian coffee shop, and a Stone Age landscape where universes collide-in this, the second quest to unlock the mystery of The Bone House.

So, the plot of THE BONE HOUSE is similar to the THE SKIN MAP … we alternate between multiple storylines: Kit’s, Wilhelmina’s, Arthur Flinders-Petrie, Douglas Flinders-Petrie, Lord Burleigh, Lady Faythe, etc.

And all the while, poor, hapless Kit gets himself lost and in great danger. Or is he? You won’t know until the very end of the novel where Lawhead pulls a big surprise.

The complication, here, is that everything gets more complicated. Not only are we jumping around in physical location, but we are also jumping back and forward in time at these locations, AND back and forward in time during the character’s lives. That doesn’t even bring up the fact that these different locations are actually in different dimensions.

It all adds up to a wonderful mystery that you really need to keep your head on straight for—both to unravel it and just keep up with the author.

And that brings up a big point: This novel is not an action-packed thriller. Rather it is truly a mystery set in time and space to solve the riddles of the universe. The back cover says it this way, which is an apt description:

The Bright Empires series — from acclaimed author Stephen Lawhead — is a unique blend of epic treasure hunt, ancient history, alternate realities, cutting-edge physics, philosophy, and mystery. The result is a page-turning adventure like no other.

So put on your hat—no, your thinking hat, no, your thinking helmet, power it up—and get ready to chase after the ultimate prize in the multiverse: The Well of Souls.

THE CHARACTERS

THE CRAFT

Lawhead, as always, is at his best here, writing not only authentically, but in a brilliant way. Here’s a sample from page 55:

Just as [Kit] stretched himself out and pulled the blanket over him, the dog-and-donkey chorus began—each setting the others off until the entire Nile valley reverberated with the barking and baying cacophony.

Since sleep seemed to be the last activity any creature was allowed to pursue in this place, Kit lay on his back and stared up at a sky ablaze with far more stars than he had ever seen in any one sky. The Milky Way, never so much as glimpsed in his London, and most often seen elsewhere as a thin dusting of stars, was in the arid atmosphere of Egypt a bright band of luminous cloud. He watched in wonder as the dazzling show slowly wheeled across the gleaming dome of the sky, spinning majestically around the fixed bright point of the Nail of Heaven. And although the moon was late rising, the fulgent starlight radiating from the cloudless heavens cast hard shadows on the earthly landscape below.

Wonderful! Lawhead writes this way not only because he is a fine author who has honed his craft to a soul-cutting edge, but he writes this way because he has visited these places himself.

I can just picture Stephen trying to fall asleep in some remote part of the Nile valley and the donkeys and dogs start howling, and he makes a mental note to share that tidbit with us all.

MY GRIPES (IF THEY CAN BE CALLED THAT)

Let me just say right off that these are very minor points, and not only that, but each gripe contains a real positive nugget as well.

The Bone House Itself

To me, it was an incredible way to end the novel, but I felt that there needed to be more foreshadowing, either about the bone house, or about their quest. Why are they doing all this skin-map-chasing anyway? More time on Kit and Mina’s motivations would have helped a lot.

The positive nugget, however, is that book two ended the way I thought book five might end (and it was exciting).

This means that if what I thought of as the ultimate goal has been achieved in the second book, then perhaps there is a far greater goal that has not even been imagined. The mystery deepens yet more.

The Stone Age

My gripe here is how the people of the stone age look. They are described as true “cave-men” in looks.

Kit even compares them to a cartoon “Thag” he has seen, which I can only assume refers to The Far Side cartoon:

So what DO stone age people look like? Well, here is an article titled Forensics Put a Face to a Stone Age Boy’s Remains.

This article was published four days ago over at History.com (The History Channel’s website) that uses forensic techniques to recreate a stone age boy’s face:

To put it mildly, if I saw this kid at Wal-Mart, I wouldn’t even blink. Now, to be fair, Lawhead’s cave-men live in another dimension, but I still think it was a bit unscientific to paint them the way he did. However … this is fiction, so take it with a grain of salt.

On the positive side, I do think Lawhead did some cool things here, like giving them telepathy, and making it clear that they are created and each one has a soul.

My Recommendation

If you like Stephen Lawhead, then you will love THE BONE HOUSE, as well as THE SKIN MAP. If you like a good mystery / treasure hunt with touches of philosophy and science, then you will adore these books. Recommended for adults on up.

For other reviews, check out the other CSFF Blog Tour Members:

Welcome to The CSFF Blog Tour! Where do I begin writing a review of such a wonderful novel? I think with the author himself, Andrew Peterson.

• Singer and Musician: (Andrew Peterson & The Captains Courageous, with ten albums, his latest being the impeccable and soulful, Counting Stars).
• Songwriter: (Andrew has often been compared to Rich Mullins, and I agree in the sense that his ministry is down to earth, honest, and has a bit of a folk sound to it. But Andrew has, in some ways, a different perspective than Rich, and I appreciate both of their music deeply.)
• Artist: (numerous excellent and humorous illustrations for his own novel, as well as here.)
• Author: (The Ballad of Matthew’s Begats, and books 1 and 2 in the Wingfeather Saga: On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness and North! Or Be Eaten).

The Publisher

One thing to note is that THE MONSTER IN THE HOLLOWS (book 3) is the first of Andrew’s novels to be published by his Rabbit Room Press, while novels 1 and 2 were published by Waterbrook/Multnomah. I don’t know the reasons for the change but I can imagine one of the following:

• Waterbrook/Multnomah made a two book deal with Andrew and declined to renew it for the final two novels. This practice seems to be more common now-days.
• Andrew felt it would be a better investment to publish books 3 and 4 on his own.

In either case, I think it is a smart move, because not only has Andrew built up an audience for his novels already, but as a musician he is already traveling the country and can hand-sell them.

The amazing thing to me is that Andrew went to a lot of trouble and expense to make sure book 3 matches books 1 and 2 perfectly, including artwork by the same professional illustrator (Justin Gerard), a matching background, the same font, and the fancy glossy/satin cover scheme.

What an awesome job, Andrew! If it wasn’t for that little Rabbit Room logo (which is cool), I would have never guessed the switch.

Characters

• Janner: Our 12-year-old hero, the novel is mostly written from his perspective. He is the first-born son of the last High King of Aniera, and this makes him … not the next High King, but the Throne Warden of his little brother, who is the true heir to the throne. Janner’s role as Throne Warden is to protect his little brother, and this isn’t easy, nor does he really want the job.
• Kalmar: His 10 year old brother, and the next High King of Aniera. The problem is that he looks like a wolf, having been changed in the previous book, and even Janner doesn’t fully trust him. Like his older brother, Kalmar isn’t sure about this king thing.
• Leeli: Their young sister, the Song Maiden of Aniera. She is slightly crippled and uses a crutch.
• Nia: Their mother, whose spirit of steel holds the family together through every danger imaginable.
• Podo: Their grandfather, a former dragon-hunter. He has been forbidden by the dragons from ever sailing again, on pain of death.
• Oskar N. Reteep: The family’s friend and a lover of books. He is trying to translate the First Book into the common language of the day, with the help of…
• Bonnifer Squoon: Their long-lost royal adviser, he appears out of nowhere and gives the family back their ancestral home, Chimney Hill.
• Rudric: The Keeper of The Hollows, he cares for Nia and helps protect the family from every danger.
• Olumphia Groundwich: A long-ago friend of Nia’s, she is the head Guildmadam at the children’s school.
• The Cloven: Strange, twisted beasts who roam the Blackwood forest.
• Gnag The Nameless: The arch-enemy of the novels, he will stop at nothing to gain ultimate power.
• Sara Cobbler: Janner’s friend who is still stuck in the Fork Factory. Can she muster the strength to lead a rebellion and escape?

Plot

The novel centers around these aspects of the Wingfeather’s normal family life, but weaving in exciting plot elements that all come together in the end to surprise you and set the stage for the last novel in the series: The Warden and the Wolf King.

• Life In The Hollows: Life is anything but normal for the Wingfeathers living in the Hollows, what with a son that looks like the wolf raising everyone’s hackles and suspicions.
• School: The children attend school, which is a hilariously fun example of what school might have looked like if the Green Hollows had actually existed: Leelie takes care of puppies in the Houndry, and Janner and Kalmer go to Sneakery and Sock-it-too-em School (my name).
• Family Life: Life seems to be returning to normal for the family, or is it? One night a Cloven invades Chimney Hill, and their lives will never be the same.
• Dugtown & The Fork Factory: Sara Cobbler, with the light that Janner left behind in his own escape, organizes a revolution, but everything goes wrong. How can she possibly survive?
• The Troubles: Things start to heat up for the Wingfeathers when animals start to go missing in the Green Hollows. Suspicions falls on young Kalmar, what with his snout and sharp teeth, but did he really eat them all?
• The Climax: I made some guesses as to how it was all going to turn out. I was right on one point … and wrong on all the rest. Read the book for an exciting and heart-wrenching ending. I cried twice.

Craft

Andrew, in my opinion, is one of the best Christian authors for young adults alive today. His craft is impeccable, his editing top notch, his ear tuned to the beauty of words, and his sense of story superb. You can hardly get any better than this folks, so don’t miss out on this excellent fantasy series, they are novels that will turn into classics of our day.

My Recommendation

Buy this book! Bronze This book! Keep it safe, but don’t keep it secret! THE MONSTER IN THE HOLLOWS will appeal to all kids 10 and up, including adults who enjoy an excellent story of fantasy, sneakery, betrayal, and deadly secrets.

What About Day 2 and 3 In The Tour?

Sorry folks! I normally write up a continuation of my review for both day 2 and 3 of the CSFF Blog Tour, but not this time. My kids have gotten our whole family deep into filming a fan book trailer for Jill Williamson’s FROM DARKNESS WON this week, and I’m busier than I’ve ever been.

Jill herself is flying out for the ACFW conference and will be playing one of her own characters in the trailer. Christian Miles is reprising his role as Prince Achan, and Jacob Parker as Esek. My daughter Adele is playing Vrell Sparrow, my son, Leighton, a minstrel, and my youngest daughter, Ness, is playing a fiddler and a standard-bearer. I am reprising my role as Sir Gavin, and thus the long hair and beard.

(If anyone is interested in supporting our fan project, you can find a page here that will give you all the details, including the rewards.)

So, since I don’t have time right now to write more, please, please, PLEASE check out the other tour members to see what they think of THE MONSTER IN THE HOLLOWS! Awooooo!

Just to let everyone know … my laptop got a nasty virus, which is now removed.

The problem is that it killed my internet connection except for email. The long and short is that I’ve done everything to fix my internet connection, but cannot. Now I need to backup critical files, wipe the entire computer, and start over.

So … if you haven’t heard from me for awhile, you now know why.

Until next time … possibly with some BIG news …

Okay, this is not the biggest news, although it certainly could be a precursor to some possibly big-Big-BIG news coming in the future:

I signed with an agent who is a veteran in the CBA.

This means, for the first time, that MERLIN’S BLADE is being sent to the bigger publishers, all of whom have been closed to me until now.

And this only adds to the fact that I still have two smaller publishers actively looking at MERLIN’S BLADE.

So… the next six months will be interesting. It’s still a VERY difficult market to catch a publisher, any publisher, but things have not looked this positive since I began writing in 2006.

And to celebrate, I’m giving a sneak-peek into a portion of MERLIN’S BLADE, chapter 23:

When Merlin opened his eyes, he found himself lying, wet and cold, at the edge of a small glade within a vast forest. And his eyesight was clear.

In the center of the glade stood a giant boar, grunting and snorting as he thrashed his feet in every direction. His massive bristled back reared eight feet high, his regal snout jutted two feet long, and along his flanks rippled muscles of incredible strength.

Merlin lay in awe… transfixed by the magnificence of the creature. Surely none like it existed in all creation. From its mouth curved two tusks, each the length of a man’s forearm. One swipe and anyone would be crushed or impaled.

But the boar wasn’t beset by men, rather by thousands of rat-like creatures, all carrying ropes, and running on two legs. One belt-high creature scrambled past Merlin, its stinking fur coated in slime and a fang-toothed smile upon its face. Merlin watched in horror as they skittered around the boar, trying to bind his legs. The boar slew dozens of them, but was soon bound and cruelly stretched upon the forest floor.

Out from the shadows stalked a stranger, taller even than Merlin, and he held a bronze sword. But he was not a man, but a beast in man’s shape. His skin was yellowed with age and his nose long, almost like a rat’s. His pupils were horizontal like a goat’s and his jagged teeth covered with strings of raw meat. Antlers grew from his skull, and his head was covered with a mane of thick silver-green hair.

A forked tongue slithered in and out of his mouth, and he turned to face Merlin. “Gett-est-thee gone, briiight one. Keep not Kernunnosss from his preyy. It is I who claim the throne of the Lord of the Forestsss!”

Kernunnos jumped at the boar and drove his blade into its back.

The boar shrieked in mortal terror and thrashed wildly.

The fallen leaves became slick with blood.

Bile rose in Merlin’s throat. He wanted the boar to escape and turn on these vile hunters. He pulled Uther’s sword from where he had dropped it on the grass and tested it, sharpened to a deadly edge by his father just that morning. He stepped forward to save the boar.

By then Kernunnos had stepped around the great boar, and he lifted his bronze sword above the taut belly.

Merlin winced as he looked to the anguished face of the boar, who strangely was able to grunt the plaintive words of “Hhheelllppp-Hheelpp-mmaaay”.

It was Merlin’s last chance. He ran forward and yelled, “Stop… you will not do this!” Six rats died under his swinging blade, and the rest backed away. He jumped into the center and started to sever the rope holding down the boar’s forelegs.

Before he could finish, however, Kernunnos ran toward him. “Ii warned youu and ssso your flessh shall be feassted as welll!”

Their swords struck with a clang.

Again and again their blades met, and each time Kernunnos pushed Merlin back by the ferocity of his attack. Whenever Merlin tried to gain an advantage, his sword met either empty air or a slicing parry. Kernunnos slowly pushed Merlin toward the rats, who now sported flint-tipped spears.

In desperation Merlin charged, but his foe leapt to the side.

Merlin tumbled to the ground with Uther’s sword flying from his hand. In panic, he stretched out and touched his fingers to the hilt.

Too late.

Kernunnos had planted his foot on the flat of the blade, and try as he might, Merlin could not wrench it free. The amber-colored blade of his enemy jabbed toward Merlin’s face, and the rats trussed him and hung him by his hands from a tree.

He kicked at the silent rats, until he spied Kernunnos. Once again, the creature stood at the chest of the boar. This time he held Uther’s sword.

“No-o-o!” Merlin yelled.

Kernunnos’s goat eyes burned with glee. “You cannot sstop mee, briight one, and now I use your own ssteel. There is only one Lord of the Foresssst, and I will have revenge!”

Uther’s blade plunged into the boar, who squealed in agony and arched his bristled back to pull away, but in vain. He shook his head until blood poured from his mouth.

Kernunnos slit the boar down the front, and the rats rushed in to gorge their appetites.

Merlin wept, yet through his tears, he beheld an angel in a blinding white robe. He spoke, and his mighty voice shook the trees.

“BEWARE EVIL, MERLIN!”

The man disappeared in a flash of light.

And Merlin’s last memory before passing out was Kernunnos slipping toward him through a haze. And before his face he held Uther’s blood-stained sword pointing to the moon.

Jay Lauser, also known as Sir Emeth Mimetes and the founder of the vast Holy Worlds universe of websites, gave me a surprise endorsement of Merlin’s Blade:

I have read Robert’s first book, [Merlin’s Blade], and as a prolific reader and fellow aspirer, I can honestly and truthfully say it is one of the best books I have read. I highly recommend it for endorsement, reading, and publication.

Treskillard’s research into the culture of the old Britons and Celts acts like a firebrand to the story, kindling it to a brilliant blaze of color and vibrant depth. He masterfully weaves ancient myth with a storyteller’s instinct into an intricate knot of living events that stir your heart and imagination.

Holy Worlds is a “Community of Christ-Centered Creativity”, whose purpose is to: Encourage, equip, train, challenge, and facilitate quality and effective use of niche media genres for the glory of God and the furtherance of Christian culture. So make sure you check it out and join on up.

Also, for those of you waiting for my BIG announcement, (although not the biggest) you’ll have to wait a bit more. Stay tuned, it’s coming this week.