The Rangers of Laerean series was born from an idea I had about a story for a character that my brother and I had created many years ago for a comic book. There were actually three characters created for that comic, but the one that always stuck with me was the ranger/warrior Baric. Perhaps he was the person I’d always wanted to be, or was my ideal image of a true hero. I’m not sure, but I knew the character intimately, and when I decided to write fantasy novels, I wanted to ensure he was one of those characters I’d write about.
When I made that decision, to write a story with Baric as the main character, I realized I wanted to tell more than just one story, and I wanted to tell stories about more than just Baric. So, I set about creating a world for my stories to take place in. I’d always been impressed by the worlds great fantasy authors had created, and I wanted one of my own. Thus, the Lands of Hir were born in my mind.
My first step was to create a map of the world. I used some software called Fractal Mapper to create the continent of Hir, and kept working on it, adding mountains, forest, and so on. Interestingly enough, as I did that, a history for the world began taking form in my mind. It was this process of world building that actually led to the first story for the Rangers of Laerean series.
The series revolves around a group of characters simply called, the Rangers of Laerean. They are named after the forest and town where they are based, and they are central to the history of Hir in the Fourth Era. It was in the year 1503 of the Fourth Era that the three human kings of northern Hir decided to cooperated together and create a group of warriors that could protect all three regions from the evil Manenase that raided from the south.
When I completed the first book, A Whisper in the Shadows, I quickly realized the story had a lot more to go. So, I planned a trilogy to tell the introductory tale that would bring the reader into the Lands of Hir, and the series. Where Shadows Fall and The Shadow of Narwyrm quickly followed, and spun an epic tale that revolved around Baric and the Rangers.
Now, I’m working on the fourth book for the series, a new story, one that takes place ten years after the events in the trilogy. This new tale is about a female bounty hunter and a magician Ranger who team up to go on an epic quest of discovery, and to protect Hir. The original trilogy took the reader throughout the Lands of Hir, allowing them to see many places, but this new tale will expand on the world and introduce the reader to new lands.
I will be blogging more about the new book in the weeks to come, so be sure and bookmark my blog and stay tuned for more insights and facts about the worlds and characters from my books. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to comment, like, and share. Until next time.