One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four?

First, I want to thank Joan for letting me take over her spot this month. To introduce myself, I am Helen Henderson, the author of the Windmaster Novels. I like to hang out with mages and fly with dragons.

Windmaster, the first book of the Windmaster Novels, was never intended to be a novel, let alone the start of a series. It was a short piece written to help someone during their recovery after a severe illness. But after Lady Ellspeth of the House of Cszabo, captain of Sea Falcon gave the order to cast off the mooring lines and set sail, the characters decided they wanted more story told and a full-length fantasy was created. The adventures of Ellspeth and the Archmage, Lord Dal took me on an epic quest from a tropical island to Dal’s clanhold in the high mountains and into a thrilling journey deep in a cave. Their story ended, or so I thought.

I went on to other projects, flew with dragons, but Dal and Ellspeth tapped me on the shoulder. “We want to tell you about our new ship, Windmaster.” Since he’s a mage, I couldn’t refuse. (I don’t think he’d turn me into a toad, but didn’t want to take the chance.) So while there was never a plan for a series, work on a Book Two began. The first problem was a name. I couldn’t name it after the ship because that was already taken. Since this trip would be to take Dal’s mother to her ancestral lands overseas, the title became Windmaster Legacy.

I had fun researching Windmaster Legacy because of the foreign setting. Pictures of the Australian outback and Ayres Rock (now referred to as Uluru) surrounded my workspace. The scenes intermingled with images of koalas and giraffes that I’d taken. Unfortunately not in their homeland, but in local zoos.

One Book, Two Book, not a series you say. Just two books set in the same world. Although Windmaster and Windmaster Legacy are stand-alones and can be read independently of each other, there was one itty bitty little thing. In most of my novels, a myth or legend is told. While having dinner under the stars Dal notices two stars are brighter than the rest. Ellspeth tells him the legend of the lovers, Iol and Pelra. Although they were from competitor trading houses, Iol and Pelra petitioned to be handfasted and were granted same if they both accomplished a given task within the required time.

As the legend goes, “The ships returned in the final hour allowed by the bet. Despite their return within the allotted time, the parents reneged and declared Iol and Pelra had lost the bet and refused to allow the marriage. The ruling council of Iol’s house ordered him to a remote inland lake to captain an old scupper. Pelra was confined to her family complex. Unable to return to their ships and the sea, the pair sneaked to the twin rocks that guarded the harbor entrance. When the families sent soldiers to enforce their orders, the water god brought up a storm to protect the lovers. Then he transformed Iol and Pelra into shipfish. Legend has it they swam together to the end of the world. One powerful leap carried them into the night sky.”

As you may have guessed, Book Three recounts the full story of Iol and Pelra. Windmaster Legend, the tale of the star-crossed lovers and their quest sets sail Spring 2019.

But the title of the post is “One Book, Two Book, Three Book, Four?” Only three have been talked about. If you pay close attention at the end of Windmaster Legacy, you will get a hint of whose story Dal and Ellspeth want told next.

~till next time, Helen

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