Reader Question Day #59 – Ghost in the Ashes, Soul of Swords, and medieval cremation
James asks:
I was simply wondering when Ghost in the Ashes is going to come out.
Before I start GHOST IN THE ASHES, I’m going to write the final DEMONSOULED book, SOUL OF SWORDS. Once that is done, I will start GHOST IN THE ASHES. So unless something goes amiss, I should have GHOST IN THE ASHES out by the end of the summer or the beginning of fall.
When can a person expect Soul of Swords?
June. If all goes well. Barring any unforeseen complications, of course. Life has this habit of throwing out unforeseen complications, but hopefully not too many. 🙂
Manwe asks, concerning the covers of the new THE THIRD SOUL books:
Do you have a favorite of the three? Me personally, why I like the girl, either the knight or the mysterious robed stanger would be my favorite.
My favorites are the covers for THE OUTLAW ADEPT and THE TOMB OF BALIGANT, as seen below:
Without giving away any spoilers, the cover for THE TOMB OF BALIGANT is particularly apropos. I’m not completely satisfied with the one for THE BLACK PALADIN, and might change it at some point.
Manwe also concerning our ongoing CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE:
Will you ever go into who the Urdmordar were (more) in this adventure series, or will we have to wait for the books?
Yes. The urdmordar have a big part to play in the rest of this Choose Your Own Adventure, as poor Ridmark will soon find out.
And I see that you put these in the Frostborn tab….is that the name of the new series then?
Also yes. After I write SOUL OF SWORDS and GHOST IN THE ASHES, I want to write the first FROSTBORN book.
Seraph316 asks, also concerning the Choose Your Own Adventure:
Would medieval Christians (Catholics in particular) actually burn there dead? To this day they are still strong on burial, back in that age even more so. Or am I wrong here?
The thing about cremation is a good point.
That said, this takes place about fifteen hundred years after Malahan Pendragon led his people through the magic portal from Britain. So customs would have changed in that time, especially since in Andomhaim it is possible for a necromancer to raise undead. After the first few zombie attacks, I suspect the taboo against cremation would have gone by the wayside very quickly.
And how many more of these episodes are you planning, and will yo do any other choose your own adventures in this world before you release the new series?
I think I will try to do at least one more Choose Your Own Adventure in this setting before I start writing books in it.
-JM