So. Remember last week when I posted asking what everyone thought about "Himingrath" as a universe name?
Well, it looks like the general consensus is that Himingrath is... a mouthful. Which is kind of what I was worried about, but I was also in love with the meaning behind it and thought maybe I could make it work through sheer determination.
Turns out: I cannot.
The feedback... Well, let's just call it diplomatic. Lots of "interesting choice" and thoughtful pauses. So I've pivoted to something people can actually say without hesitation:
The Seidh Between.
Seidh is Norse magic and fate weaving. The Between is the connective tissue holding all the worlds together (you'll learn more as the series unfolds). And critically, people can say it out loud without flinching.
Official universe name: The Seidh Between. All my stories live here now, the Aeldstorm Saga, the future Spellbinder rewrites, and whatever else I dream up.
A Quick Update on Book 2 (Now Books 2 AND 3)
While revising what I'd been calling Book 2, I realized it was doing too much. At 234,000 words, it was trying to be two very different stories at once, political intrigue in the first half, and a much darker, faster-paced second half.
So I split it at the natural break point.
Book 2 is now Koltja's Shadow (political intrigue, family secrets, and plenty of action in the Federation's capital).
Book 3 is Heretic Flame (which gets to keep its original cover, because that's exactly what this book is about).
The pacing is SO much better this way. Each book can focus on what it does best, and the emotional beats have room to breathe.
The Series Lineup:
Here's where things stand:
Fractured Rune (available now for pre-order!)
Koltja's Shadow
Heretic Flame
Revenant Frost
[Unnamed Book 5]
[Unnamed Book 6]
All part of The Seidh Between: The Aeldstorm Saga.
If you've been waiting to start, Fractured Rune is ready for pre-order. Norse-inspired magic, queer fantasy, and a guide character who may or may not be an eldritch being obsessed with spoons.
Thanks for coming along on this ride. It's chaotic here, but the story's worth it.
Comments
I'm too old, memries fading
I like the whole new universe name!
I remember the Norn, mostly Skuld, another with a name that started with a "U" and a third... I could have sworn the magic ended with an "r", but I may be wrong, seidr(?) maybe? this was back maybe 30+ years ago in my SCA and anime/manga days. Yeah, i'm weird and know lots of useless information, just not how to make umlauts and other diacritic letters (diacritics?). :D
Off to figure out where to pre-order the first book!
Hugs
Diana
Depends
It honestly comes down to spelling preferences. Seidr is probably the most common anglicized form of seiðr, but if you go digging you’ll find a whole family reunion of variants: seidhr, seidh, seidr, seithr, seith, and seid all show up in different sources. My attitude is just to let linguists fight about it, and pick the one that I like the most.
You can use alt codes to produce diacritic characters. For instance, in Windows if you want to use "ð" you hold alt and type 0240. Whereas on a Mac it's Option+d and on a web page it would be "ð". Of course, I set my word processor to automatically convert a: and o: into ä and ö respective, just to make it easier.
As far as pre-ordering....
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYHFXRWM
Have a deliciously devious day,