The Fronds in Tond (and other stories)

Chapter Two of "Grendul Rising" begins a parallel storyline: like Chapter One, it features two characters, a "mechana" (something like the traditional fantasy "magic item") and has something to do with music. MadStones Tetralogy, Book One: Grendul Rising Chapter Two Morning on Horn Hill         A little more than half-way to the Tower of the Star from Len, a journey of at least two months by horse, sits Horn Hill, a majestic half-dome rising out of the forested plain of Kaii. It is there that Kúa Taa Kualéima, the current Nánta Kennáekikabérika , lives in her small hut. On this particular morning, the same morning that Arnul and Tulann had spoken to Sren about the ahíinor in the Tower of the Star, this same Nanta awoke with a stabbing headache and a bellyache the size of Kaii. She grumbled. If only she hadn’t ridden into the town the night before and partaken of both Kayantii ale and Fyorian cherry-wine, she might have liked the sunlight better. But th...

 This awkward urban romance appears in the middle of my short story collection, "Fronds". The title keeps with Andre's fluster by being a groaner of a pun, but the truth is I didn't invent this title. I entered a contest to write something based on the electronica album " Wayward and Upward " by Spinoza Gambit, and "Prodigal Moon" was the title of one of the songs. Unfortunately the story was disqualified because I'd written about all of the songs: Andre's haiku near the beginning states the name of the album and the artist; Kim's haiku contain the names of all of the songs in order. Note: this is set in a mythical Seattle. As far as I know, there is no Emerald Biotech (or Emerald Street, for that matter), Skyward Park, or Max Coffee and Espresso. At least in the real Seattle. Prodigal Moon  Star Welcomes You Home The air was bright with morning when the lone rental sports coup drove along the highway to the city park. Reaching a wide...

 By popular demand (okay, a couple posts on social media), I'm beginning a new book today.  The MadStones Tetralogy, the Second Tond Series, takes place 25 years after the events of the first series. New, strange trouble is brewing in Tond. "Grendul" is, of course, named after the villain in Beowulf (spelled differently), though at this point we know nothing about him. And, there's a moon-horse on the cover, and we know nothing about that either. In fact we know very little about anything except that there may have been a murder. Note on the text:  ahíinor = loremaster. It says so elsewhere in the book. MadStones Tetralogy, Book One: Grendul Rising Chapter One Nocturne   Arnul arrived in the Sherványa town of Len near sundown. A gentle music of bells and gongs had begun somewhere in the distance, but Arnul decided not to go listen more closely, yet. He found the hut of the elder ahíinor Tulann, wanting to see if either of them could determine the source of the st...