L.L. Stephens's Blog

Yes, I have been away from this website for a while. Sometimes life gets cluttered. Other times, however, it gets painful. I lost my mother and, though she had lived long and well, her passing was difficult and losing her hurt quite a lot. Ironically, at the same time I was giving birth -- to a book. A great part of my sadness is that she will never see it.

But my readers will. That was always a given. The God Spear is being published on schedule, April 16. (Originally I was told it would be pu...

Have you ever fallen hard for one (or more) of the less main characters in a book or series? You know the ones. Take Lord of the Rings: the characters I most love are Samwise and Faramir. Granted, Sam pretty much is a main character because he’s such a great presence and Frodo, cast to be the main character, is just not particularly colorful. It happens. And Faramir is so noble and set upon by his father I can’t help but join his team. When I fall for a character, any character, I fall all the w...

It started with this.

One of the ideas tossed about for cover art for The Second Stone was this one of Dorilian and Hans in a standoff. This is my hand drawn version, hastily sketched on an iPad.

This concept was not used, of course, in favor of Sordan and sailing boats. I rather liked the idea, though, so I commissioned ,Margarita to create the illustration.

And here it is!

It's important to note that I, when writing, do not have photographic images in my head of what my characters look li...

Some of the lore and artifacts of the Triempery have yet to be visited. Their time simply hasn’t come just yet. One of these is the Gweroyen Sword, created at the end of the period known as the Exile and which played a major role in the Return—and after. It continues to do so in this series.

A fabled Highborn relic, the Gweroyen Sword is the sole remaining pre-Return weapon. Those known to have brandished it during Exile include the Leur, Amynas Malyrdys, and each of the Three.

Origin

Upo...

Some of the lore and artifacts of the Triempery have yet to be visited. Their time simply hasn’t come just yet. One of these is the Gweroyen Sword, created at the end of the period known as the Exile and which played a major role in the Return—and after. It continues to do so in this series.

A fabled Highborn relic, the Gweroyen Sword is the sole remaining pre-Return weapon. Those known to have brandished it during Exile include the Leur, Amynas Malyrdys, and each of the Three.

Origin

Upo...

Now that The Second Stone is being published next month, and three books in this six-book series will be out, readers might reasonably ask if they need to start with Sordaneon, the first book.

The answer is No.

Fans of the series can argue that Sordaneon should be read first. Dorilian is such a strong main character and his arc—his birthright, the Rill, his possible destiny—drive the first two books powerfully. But Dorilian's story is not the lone entry point. In fact, The Second Stone not onl...

As my readers should know by now, I love talking about book covers--especially my own.

Look at this one! Is that not a gorgeous cover?

I love the color palette. Soft. Earthy. Heavenly also. It's lovely. And the use of golds and browns brings forth notes of things common yet also signals of wealth.

Because... Sordan.

Readers of Sordaneon will instantly recognize that City, which is seen on that book's cover but from much nearer. On this cover, Sordan is seen from the water, from its encirclin...

Here is the first (well, actually second) excerpt I will be sharing from The Second Stone, Book 3 of the Triempery Revelations. The book picks up soon after the end of Book 2: The Kheld King.

You will notice the Leur's Ring in the illustration at left. It figures prominently in this excerpt. If you have not yet read either Sordaneon or, especially, The Kheld King...

THERE WILL BE MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THOSE BOOKS

Epigraphs.

You will notice that going forward in the series, epigraphs preced...

I'm keeping this image large so you can all see more of it. If you're reading The Kheld King, this map would be useful in conjunction with the Essera map that's in that book. It's kind of a companion map. It shows the greater part of Dorilian's empire/domains and pinpoints many of the locations visited in Dorilian's portions of the story.

Most of the story of The Second Stone takes place on this map. The map will be included in the book.

Hans Stauberg-Randolph doesn't start out in Sordan, of ...

Sordan figures prominently in THE SECOND STONE. Much of the book is set there and readers are introduced to many facets of the City. Not only is Sordan the ancestral and political seat of the Sordaneon dynasty upon which so much of the Triempery Revelations is focused, but Sordan serves as a cultural touchpoint for the Staubaun-centered society upon which the Triempery is founded.

Readers looking for overarching themes and foundational politics will find them in THE SECOND STONE—and in Sordan.