Meet the Book: GRIMME
Synopsis
In this tale of an alternate history of Europe, human civilization has come out of an age of darkness to stand on the cusp of an era of discovery and enlightenment – yet remains haunted by the sins their forebears committed in the name of survival. Now, out of a forgotten past so old it is little more than myth comes a vengeful force threatening to cast down the upstart humans and spread across the face of Europas once more.
Three centuries ago, the Aquilonian Empire was brought down by internal power struggles and the coming of the dragonscourge, led by the first and greatest of the dragons, the Black Death herself. Out of that dark age came heroes such as Corolas, who dared to stand up and lead their people against the dragonscourge and other dangers. In the region of Europas known as Gothia, legendary figures like Wilhelm Grimme ignited the deadly struggle for survival against the Wood: an indigenous, eldritch sylvan race dwelling in vast primeval forests, from which few humans have returned alive. The struggles and victory of such legendary men and women allowed the peoples of Europas to resurface from that age of darkness and build a civilization: the Corolarian Kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Gothia.
Now, when all seems safely settled for generations and the dangers of that dark age are a distant memory, the descendants of Wilhelm Grimme will be called upon to solve a mystery that grows from a family matter into a spiraling crisis with the potential to rock the foundations of the Kingdom of Gothia and threaten the balance of power in Europas itself.
A tale of two brothers and a kingdom headed either to enlightenment or to ruin, Grimme is a novel of modern Young Adult Fantasy at its most epic.
Book Background
I wrote Grimme for a personal Nanowrimo challenge a few years ago. Though I have written fiction for years, it was the first full-length fantasy novel I had ever committed to completing, and when it was done I looked back with amazement that I could have accomplished such a tremendous thing! Then I made the mistake of looking forward and I realized for the first time exactly how much work happens only after a novel written before it can be called “finished.”
But I stuck with it, did my homework, spent the time with some amazingly helpful editors, and after months of sweat equity I had a book I was truly proud of. And when it was done, I suddenly had another realization: I’d spent all this time developing skills of composition, plotting, characterization, editing, revision, cover design, formatting, self-promotion, and most important of all, discipline. Why not put those skills to good use?
That was the start of Kindling Press, and along with my writing cohort Jason Vanhee we have brought half a dozen titles to publication since our start just a few months ago. Our goal is to bring an imprimatur of quality and significance to epublishing. We focus on taking the gatekeepers of traditional publishing out of the process so readers are put in control of what they read. By moving the reader closer to the author, the economy of reading changes; instead of receiving the smallest share of the profits from the publication of their own work, authors obtain the largest. And amazingly, the reader pays far less than they would from a traditional publisher!
With an exciting new Steampunk anthologie coming out in September, we are deeply pleased to be able to extend our repertoire with the addition of nine new authors to the ranks of those published by Kindling Press.
Grimme, by Peter A. Smalley
Kindle edition available on Amazon.com
All other formats available on Smashwords.com