It's Official!!!

All along, I have been saying that Land Keep, book two of the Farworld series, will come out this September. Unfortunately, as I think many of us authors are learning, the current economy makes nothing certain. As most of you know, my wife, Jennifer and I have been working on school visits fulltime since late December, when we realized that a fall release of book two might not be as sure of a thing as we had thought. It has been a great experience, but I also know that it has been pretty taxing on everyone having Mom and Dad gone as often as we’ve been.

Well, last week, I got the call from Chris Schoebinger at Shadow Mountain. They had their meeting, and . . . it’s a go. Book two is coming out in September. I don’t know how I sounded on the phone when Chris called, but I can tell you that inside fireworks were going off, confetti was flying through the air, and a bunch of little guys were jumping around screaming, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”

First of all, let me just say that Chris is a stud. Every time a publisher makes a decision like this, they are putting their financial neck on the line. So to have Chris believe in my writing and support me as an author means a lot. I won’t have the marketing budget that I had on book one. But that’s okay. The second book in the series is coming out a year after the first one; which is all that matters to me at this point.

And let me just say that it is going to be such an exciting book, you won’t believe it. There is a climactic battle scene toward the end that gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. You will see some characters from book one you might expect, but there will be at least three you probably didn’t expect. You will learn lots more about Farworld, the elementals, the Dark Circle, and a whole new group of nasties called the Keepers of the Balance.

Here is a brief description I gave Lisa Mangum:

Marcus and Kyja thought convincing Cascade, a water elemental, to help them open a doorway between Farworld and Earth was difficult. But now it looks like their goal of gathering the other three elementals, land, air, and fire, may be coming to an end before it even gets started. Land Keep—home to the powerful and wise, land elementals— is empty, deserted for at least a thousand years, and the rumor is that the creatures who once controlled all land magic are extinct.

Marcus has his magic stolen by a group known as the Keepers of the Balance. His health is deteriorating rapidly as the Dark Circle’s power grows, and a terrible nightmare haunts his sleep. At the same time, something strange is happening to Kyja. What is the secret she is hiding? Could she be gaining magic? If so at what cost?

And what of the whispers that Terra ne Staric has fallen and Master Therapass is dead? Cascade might know the answers. But if he does, he isn’t saying. Instead, he seems strangely interested in the growing distance between Marcus and Kyja that threatens to tear their friendship apart.

The only hope seems to lie in the Augur Well, a legendary Oracle protected by traps and trials set by the Land Elementals before their disappearance. But to get there, Marcus, Kyja, and Cascade must travel deep underground, where Cascade’s water magic is weak. And if anything should happen, Marcus and Kyja will be unable to leap to the safety of Earth.

I can’t wait till you can read the whole thing!