Finally . . . my announcement
Sorry, for the long delay, but now that it is quasi-official, I can tell the world that Shadow Mountain will be publishing my YA fantasy novel, Farworld. Farworld is a five book series; each of the first four books will be named after the four elements. So the first book will be called Farworld Book 1: Water.
We are still working on dates, but it looks like it will either be late 2008 or early 2009. I am still publishing with Covenant, and both they and DB have been very supportive. In fact it looks like I may publish two books with Covenant next year: my next Shandra book and a supernatural thriller, which would be the first Mormon horror novel.
Farworld takes place both on Earth and in Farworld, a land where farm animals tell jokes, evil guys turn into snakes, and everything and everyone has magic. Except for Kyja, a girl who not only can’t cast a single spell, she’s actually immune to magic of any kind. Even her pet skyte (kind of like a mini dragon, but just don’t call him a lizard) can do more magic than her.
Meanwhile, back on earth, a boy named Marcus is having his own problems. Found by a Greek Orthodox monk as a baby, Marcus was nearly dead. Although he managed to survive, he is severely crippled and must use a wheelchair to get around. Add to that his strange abilities, and Marcus never lasts long at any boys’ school or foster home.
Together, the two of them discover that the fates of both their worlds are at stake, and the only way to save them is by creating a Drift—a doorway between the two worlds. Only that’s a lot easier said than done.
I'll keep you updated as I get more information.
We are still working on dates, but it looks like it will either be late 2008 or early 2009. I am still publishing with Covenant, and both they and DB have been very supportive. In fact it looks like I may publish two books with Covenant next year: my next Shandra book and a supernatural thriller, which would be the first Mormon horror novel.
Farworld takes place both on Earth and in Farworld, a land where farm animals tell jokes, evil guys turn into snakes, and everything and everyone has magic. Except for Kyja, a girl who not only can’t cast a single spell, she’s actually immune to magic of any kind. Even her pet skyte (kind of like a mini dragon, but just don’t call him a lizard) can do more magic than her.
Meanwhile, back on earth, a boy named Marcus is having his own problems. Found by a Greek Orthodox monk as a baby, Marcus was nearly dead. Although he managed to survive, he is severely crippled and must use a wheelchair to get around. Add to that his strange abilities, and Marcus never lasts long at any boys’ school or foster home.
Together, the two of them discover that the fates of both their worlds are at stake, and the only way to save them is by creating a Drift—a doorway between the two worlds. Only that’s a lot easier said than done.
I'll keep you updated as I get more information.
Jeff Savage — 6/29/2007 08:20:00 PM
16 comments
16 Comments:
Sounds exciting! All of them. I'll have to decide if I am up to a horror novel, even a "Mormon" one. I'm very excited about Farworld. It sounds like something my teenage son would love.
Congratulations, Jeff. You're announcement is about what I expected.
You owe me $50
Congrats, Jeff, I am so dang excited for you.
Happy Dancing!!
So, now do we get the interpretation of James' crazy little riddle?
More information? All you need to know is five books. Get typing Jeff. You have a lot of typing to do. Don't you hate it when non-authors call the creative work you do something so naive as "typing"? That said, get those fingers a-typing big boy. You got lots of work to do. More information? What sort of a goofy comment is that. What more information do you need than the deadling for five novels. Go. Go. Go. And don't look back lest ye turn into a magical snake. An believe me, you are not immune to Sister Dew's magical spells they call deadlines.
A word of advice: don't read the first book of the Xanth series. =)
--FHL
Hey I'm up for a Mormon horror novel. I just saw 1408, wasn't as scary as it was advertised to be.
Congratulations, Jeff! Awesome news!
Ooh, yes, sound extremely similar to "A Spell for Chameleon", the first in the Xanth series.
Well done all the same.
Thanks for all of your kind words. Actually hadn't read the Xanth series. Piers Anthony turned me off with some of his questioable short stories.
Not a worry though. Kyja not having magic in a magic land is a minor part of the story. In my book, Kyja and Marcus can leap back and forth between worlds, (A little like The Talisman) but only part way. The rest of them get's trapped between worlds. And they require each other to get back and forth.
The Dark Circle has opened a doorway between the two worlds by force. Without giving too much away, the future of Earth and Farworld are dependant on Marcus and Kyja creating a door between the two worlds. The problem is that without using dark magic, the only way to open the doorway is by enlisting the aid all all four elementals. Which would be much easier if the elementals actually talked to humans or each other.
Lots of other fun twists and turns. I don't think any comparisons between the two books would last for long.
You mean the answer to James's riddle wasn't obvious?
A band of yellow and blue = Green Day (a band which plays a song about walking by my shadow)
The nun is from the sound ofmusic and sings "Climb Every Mountain."
So the answer is Shadow Mountain. Either fiendishly brillant or criminally insane. I'll let you make the call.
Jeff,
We're all so proud! Now, we expect you to be at group every week from now on with lots of pages we need to be reading! No more waiting until the last second for you, especially not with two publishers beating down you door.
That's great! Congratulations!
Congratulations Jeff. I look forward to reading your books though I am not sure about Mormon horror but if I can't bring myself to read it my sister loves horror novels.
Wow. Shadow Mountain is really investing in YA fantasy. It's interesting that the category doesn't seem to have the same issues with the Mormon market that it might have in the Christian market (even though there are a lot of other parallels in the two markets).
I would note that D. Michael Martindale's "Brother Brigham" most likely falls in to the horror category. Or perhaps it's a supernatural thriller? I don't know for sure -- I usually stick to sci-fi/fantasy and mysteries when it comes to genre fiction.
Wm,
Interestingly enough, Shadow Mountain is selling more of their YA Fantasy through the national chains then they are through the LDS stores. They have really become a player in the national market.
I read an early draft of BB and would consider it horror, although maybe not classic horror. The direction I am coming from is writing a scary novel that does not have content the average Mormon would find objectionable.
I see my book as the first "mainstream" Mormon horror novel. BB has several graphic sex scenes, that—at least in my opinion, would keep it from being mainstream. Although it is a fairly well written novel if you can stomach the scenes.
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