When I announced that I’d be writing books four and five of The Twelve Kingdoms, some people asked if that would end the series or if there would be more after that. I want there to be more, and said as much. Then someone quipped that, after all, I’d have eight kingdoms left.
Made me laugh, though that’s not how I’ve thought of the series, with a book for each kingdom. After all, I keep creating more. Those agile with math may have noted that eight kingdoms after book five is thirteen, which is true, because Annfwn is the 13th kingdom.
Then in book three, THE TALON OF THE HAWK, I added yet another kingdom, the foreign land of Dasnaria, where Harlan, our stalwart mercenary hails from. Now that I’m writing book four, THE PAGES OF THE MIND, I’m probably adding yet another. Think tropical islands with dormant volcanoes.
It’s true, though, that as I continue to write in this world, the richness and variety of the original twelve kingdoms continues to emerge. In the aftermath of THE TALON OF THE HAWK – don’t worry, I won’t spoil the ending – there’s increasing reports of strange creatures. One of those comes from the north part of the Twelve Kingdoms, which is a wilder place, with the people more scattered. The northern kingdoms keep to themselves more, are less militant and interact less with the southern kingdoms.
In the kingdom of Carienne, there’s very large freshwater lake in the low mountains. Lake Sullivan is so deep that none has ever determined where the bottom might be. At the center, the deep blue water looks nearly black and the lake remains chill even in the hottest summers. Legend has it that a sea monster lives in Lake Sullivan. Certainly there are plenty of fish to keep one fed, along with the communities scattered along the shores of the lake.
