The Secret Chronicles of Lost Magic Q&A

Recently, I conducted a Q&A with newsletter subscribers all about my epic fantasy series, The Secret Chronicles of Lost Magic (TSCOLM). I distilled it down to five main questions and answers which my newsletter subscribers have already received (if you'd like to get this kind of stuff first, be sure to sign up to my monthly-ish newsletter). Now it's time to share it with the world. So if you've read any or all of The Raven, Dragonshade, The Doom of Arlg-Teg or Escape to Ilvadran, you might just be interested...

Question One – Why is TSCOLM not a series but a collection of separate standalone books?

When I first got the bug to write a lengthy epic fantasy series I knew world building would be a major part of the project. I tried to do this ‘encyclopaedia’ style, to fill in a rich canvas of cultural, religious, political, magical, historical, factors and many more. But doing it that way proved to be about as interesting as reading Wikipedia – well it’s interesting for a while, but not all that entertaining. So, I thought why not write the history of my epic fantasy world as a group of novels? Thus, The Secret Chronicles of Lost Magic was born. Does this mean there’ll be an actual continuous series in the future? Yes. After Book Four of TSCOLM, a new series based in this world will begin that will be a series rather than a collection of standalone books like TSCOLM.

Question Two – Who is Sage Vivlian of Wyllt?

Both The Raven and Dragonshade begin with a prologue written as a letter from a character named, Sage Vivlian of Wyllt. She is the fictional ‘author’ of the stories (the ‘chronicles’) that make up the secrets about magic she has researched. Vivlian will provide a letter for the prologue of Books Three and Four, too, however she will also appear as a major character in the story of Book Four, so readers will get to know more about her then.

Question Three – Will Iluna ever appear in another book?

Readers seem particularly interested in Iluna from The Raven. I think people enjoy her underdog story. My answer to this question may be a little frustrating but here it is: There is an answer to this, and readers will know one way or the other with the new series that will begin after Book Four in TSCOLM. In the meantime be sure to read The Doom of Arlg-Teg and Escape to Ilvadran if you haven’t already as Iluna is central to that storyline (these two follow-up stories are available exclusively to newsletter subscribers, so another reason to sign up).

Question Four – Do Iluna’s descendants appear in Dragonshade?

This is a good question, and one that’s come up a few times. At the risk of being annoying I can only say, all shall be revealed ;)

Question Five – Book Three of TSCOLM – what’s its title and what will it be about?

As newsletter subscribers will know I am currently working on this book. Book three is set in a classical world era, think Ancient Rome-ish. So the history of this universe continues to progress. What’s it about? As with the Ancient Romans, there’s border troubles for the colonising power. There’s a new religion dominating the realm, and trouble with a certain highly addictive substance that almost brought an empire to its knees. As with Dragonshade there’s a fair dollop of political intrigue. There’s also magic, of course, though this one explores what happens if the only ones with magical clout are the bad guys.