The next book I expect to be publishing is The Fallen, the first in a new fantasy series called The Greatest Sin. The cover isn’t finished yet and it still needs a few final touches, but it’s nearly ready to go, and should be unleashed on the world in early February. For this project, I have a co-author, Erik Kort.
The main character of the series is Chavali, a fortune teller. She’s a well respected member of her clan, a large family grouping loosely based on gypsies. The clan has just over two hundred members, and they live in wagons, never staying in the same place twice. Everyone is related to everyone else and they’re tightly-knit, trusting each other, but no one outside the clan. When they stop near a town, they set up a carnival of sorts, and Chavali practices her trade as part of it.
In The Fallen, we are introduced to Chavali living firmly in her comfort zone. As the story progresses, things change and she’s pushed out of that zone. In many ways, this novel can be seen in the same light as a superhero origin story. Much like Spiderman, Chavali begins as a relatively normal person, then something happens to her and she isn’t normal anymore. Except that, for her, it’s all about magic, not spiders.
The world The Greatest Sin series takes place in is called Tilzam. In this world, the god, referred to as The Creator, is known to be female, but has shut herself away from the world out of disgust for her creations committing a horrible sin. The only problem? She never said what that sin was. The people of Tilzam have many different ideas about what it must be, and have formed groups, or Orders, dedicated to eradicating the one behavior they believe is The Greatest Sin.