I’m a science nerd with a love of fantasy since childhood. I learned a love of history from my father. This particular story has been a long time growing in my mind. I’ve spent years of my life, and a fair amount of cash, researching the history that will be the skeleton upon which I write the flesh of my story. I hope for it to be educational as well as entertaining.
Myths and legends have been part of every culture on earth since primitive man started sitting around the campfire at night. We were scared of what lay beyond the light of the fire.
Our curious minds sought answers for mysteries that were beyond our primitive knowledge base. Perhaps it was the imaginative among us, trying to entertain our friends, who made up those myths.
But what if it wasn’t all imagination? What if some of us could see through the veil of worlds? What if those first people peered through that veil and saw, however imperfectly, those who stood on the other side. What if those visions were the seeds of stories told to others?
Cloudy visions turned into fanciful tales in the hopes of entertaining and perhaps gaining fame as a storyteller. Who knows how much was that which lay beyond the mysts and how much invention from the mind of those who could see? And then what would happen if those on the other side walked through to visit with us? Mysts of Mythos will be tales set in our world after the mysty veil has been parted. The lives of every man, woman, and child, will be changed forever. This first book will focus on the lives of four particular young folk.
Merewyn chose to take on a nun’s habit at the age of seven to spare her family the cost of yet another dowry. For the last nine years she has lived at an out of the way Abbey in central England finding true joy in her service to God.
Bjorn Halfdansson, the tallest man anyone in his tiny swamp village has ever known of, has spent most of his seventeen years learning the art of working iron from a renowned master smith. He wants nothing more than to live in the peace that his father brought them away from Denmark to get.
Gabrielle Lefevre is the eldest, and most favored, daughter of a master silversmith living in Paris. Her deepest desire, that her father indulges her in, is to learn the trade of working in silver, precious stones, and other metals, to turn them into beautiful jewelry. Already, at the age of sixteen, she is nearly his equal.
Aethelstan Aetheling is the son of the King, Aethelred II, of England. He yearns to become a great warrior and leader of men, but chafes under the inconstant leadership of his father and dreams of one day avenging the terrible Battle of Malden upon the Danes that threaten his land.
On the night of Winter Solstice in the year 1001 an eerie mist suddenly covers all the land and sea. Soon there are beings from out of campfire tales walking among them. Some bring miracles and magic.
In this new paradigm lives are thrown into chaos and Merewyn, Bjorn, Gabrielle, and Aethelstan must learn to survive in a changed world.
Do you like my characters? What can I do to make them more appealing to a broader audience? How can I improve the characterization of my female protagonists? Do my words make you want to turn to the next page to see what happens?
For mobile viewers who are unable to see the sample chapter, please go to to www.mystsofmythos.com where I have posted a text copy of the same sample chapter