For a quick update, let me say that I have the sequel to Uprooted 90% outlined and I've written the first 3 scenes. I also have a Civil Air Patrol story (historical fiction, set in the '80s) 90% written, just not quite ready to release. I've outlined various other stories in the Orinthia series, some sci-fi, and even some 19th Century historical fiction based on my story Fire Warms the Northern Lands, about the Prussian royal family.
But today I want to highlight the work I've done on a story tentatively titled The Lifter. It will be part of the Orinthia series, but set in the 2nd Age (Uprooted is set in the 3rd Age), when humans suffered under varying degrees of subjugation in a world run by the Strongmages.
In my Orinthia stories I've made a big deal of "genre twisting" or tilting against convention. For instance, the heroes in Uprooted don't have any special powers -- they're just normal young men (children?) who aren't heirs to any fortune or prophecy, trying to survive in a complex world which seems to want to kill them.
The Lifter is a genre twister of sorts. On one level it's a more solid introduction to the world of Orinthia than Uprooted. It's set in the legendary city of Therfilamon (later called Selinda, in the 3rd Age).
The book will describe the gloriously dramatic capital of the Pelarch (noted in Uprooted as "Arch Protector Against the Armies of the Sea"). The Pelarchate consists of a large human subcaste which exists under the ruling class of Strongmages and Lesser Mages.
Revolution is afoot - unrest and turmoil, as the restive human population desires freedom. But against this backdrop an inspector must unfurl the story behind a series of high profile heists.
The Lifter is perhaps 50% outlined, and I'll be doing some writing in the near future. There's a better than even chance that The Lifter may be published before the sequel to Uprooted. Not to worry -- there will be compelling characters in each. Some of them may even be in both novels!
Edwin Hanks
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