Preface

For a long time now, I have been debating with myself about what I want to do with my writing. Those who know me well, know that I greatly enjoy writing, and I do so on a regular basis. Sometimes, this is in the form of poems and songs, many more times it is in the form of lyrics intended to be performed like rap (much to the amusement of my friends), but of all of these mediums of expressing myself, the constant has been writing stories. Despite the fact that I do not write every day, sometimes I go weeks or even months without working on this project, I always come back to it. I believe that I keep returning to this particular story, because it is a story I am desperate to tell. Even though I am not entirely sure of where the characters within this story will go and who they will become, this is something I am eager to discover.

Initially I was going to do this on my own. Whether through embarassment or fear of people not liking my writing, I have purposely witheld sharing the story so far with the exception of a few close friends who either know their history, know their fantasy, or know both. Now though, I find myself less concerned by the scrutiny of critical analysis, and believe that only through feedback – both positive and negative – will I be able to grow as a writer. With this in mind, I have decided to share my book-in-progress on this blog. Chapter by chapter, I will reveal the stories of my characters; Nadir, Leona, Robert, Riechard, and Jerimeh, and I hope you find their journeys enjoyable.

So what is this about then? Well, Beyond the Crypts and Castles is the working title for a series of four books set on the fictional continents of The New World and The Old World. The first planned book in this series is The Cursed King. Tied to each other since the marriage of Prince Aron Hartlin of the Hartlands and Princess Lorne Byrne of the Blacklands, The Twin Kingdoms have been in a state of prosperity since King Eldrian and King Aedvard declared peace between the kingdoms. Now, almost ten years after their peace was declared, and five years after the marriage of Aron and Lorne, they are once again destined for war. Prince Edward, at just four years old, is found slain in his bed, his throat cut with his weeping mother cuddling him – bloody knife in hand.

King Aron faces an impossible choice. Execute his own Queen for regicide and reap the vengeance of her father, King Aedvard or spare her life, and face personal and political turmoil. In order to make his decision, he instructs his closest confidant, the decrepit Arkgodson Jerimeh to find out what drove the Queen to her drastic action. As Jerimeh begins to unravel the series of events that led to Prince Edward’s death, the world around the King’s court prepares itself for war, a war that whilst most dread, others have been waiting for for a long time.

I hope you enjoy these chapters, this book and this series. I will aim to publish one chapter per fortnight in an attempt to get myself to write more consistently. So basically, the more people that read and enjoy these chapters, the more pressure I will be under to produce more content, which is exactly what I want! Your feedback, good or bad, is absolutely welcome, however please try and keep it constructive and focus on ways I can improve the writing or the story!

Thank you for reading!

Here we go …