A Milestone Is Reached! The Final Volume of the Ki'shto'ba Series Has Been Published!

      

Back cover of The Revenge of the Dead Enemy
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        I began to write the series The Labors of Ki'shto'ba Huge-Head at the beginning of 2001 (in fact I labeled it as starting on Christmas Day, 2000) and I completed the revision of the first draft of the final volume on 7/29/03.

       Now on 10/27/14, the entire series has finally been published!

http://www.kidsdiscover.com/spotlight/sound-and-vibration/

Do I hear a round of applause?

 

      

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

       I've taken Ki'shto'ba and its Twelve Companions on the promised Quest to reach the sea, moving from the original Three Companions (Di'fa'kro'mi, Wei'tu, and Twa'sei) to the last Two, Mo'wiv the Shipwright and Da'sask'ni'a the Doubly Cursed Seer (both introduced in v.5).  Along the way we met the 4th Companion, Ki'shto'ba's Twin, A'zhu'lo (later surnamed Beloved of Champions under tragic circumstances).  We acquired the 5th Companion, Za'dut the Tricky Lizard (also more nobly surnamed Fortress Breaker), who provided an endless stream of audacious, useful, and entertaining pranks and inventions.  We added a Healer, Ra'fa'kat'wei, who had a quest of her own -- to find an antidote to the snail-poison that killed a great Champion of her people.  We discovered a young Warrior of the Water People, Is'a'pai'a, an exile who knew nothing of its heritage, and that Warrior's helper Krai'zei, one of the Yo'sho'zei, a people with the reputation for mysterious powers.  Finally, we met the 9th Companion, Bu'gan'zei, a word-crafter who has invented a new way of speaking that can charm the very leaves and stones -- who is destined to guide Ki'shto'ba into the World Below.  And then there is the 10th, Thel'tav'a  the Intercaste, a female winged and eyed Warrior whose name means Loyal to the Good and who will give her fidelity only to one who can best her in battle. 

       When the Quest finally reaches the sea, the emphasis shifts to Is'a'pai'a's own quest -- the Quest for the Golden Fungus.  Ki'shto'ba begins to play a support role until events unfold that fulfill the final prophecies that have hedged the Quest about from the very beginning. 

       And this means that the final volume leaves much unresolved.  It means that I need to write a seventh volume.  In 2003, after working intensively on this series for two and a half years, I was a little burned out on it and I decided to write something else for a while.  I started The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars, and that was a disaster -- not that the book was without value but it swallowed me up and became endless.  I never got back to that seventh volume.

       Now I've got to write it.  It won't be called Volume Seven -- it will be called

 

 The Labors of Ki'shto'ba Huge-Head: The Sequel

The Buried Ship at the End of the World

(unless I change my mind on the volume title) 

 

       I have a lot of notes, but I have to do some more research on the mythology that I'll be interpreting and I have to carefully work out the timeline.  I also need to make a chapter outline, because I want to cover certain events in a structured way that will keep the book from growing to an unmanageable length (my worst failing).  I guess I really am a planner and not a pantser, because improvisation is deadly for me.  That is, I can improvise in the actual writing process, but not in figuring out what I want to put in the plot.   

       This won't be a quick undertaking, because when I get inspired, I can write fast, but then I like to take a lot of time to "cook" the book -- let it simmer, rest, and then be stirred and seasoned over and over.  And I'll also have to do a cover drawing from scratch -- no older drawings here that I can pull out of my hat.  And I'll have to make the maps, also.

       I may work on some other material as well, like trying to decide what to do with The Man Who Found Birds among the Stars, and also that extract called Father and Demons that I had planned to publish earlier only to change my mind.  So I think I have more than enough creative projects to move to the front burner.

       In the meantime, I'd love to have more readers for what I've already published.  I'm going to try to do more promotion.  I think there are a lot of people out there who would be surprised at what a great read my books are, particularly the Ki'shto'ba series, which only gets more intense and more moving as it goes along (be sure you have some hankies handy when you read The Revenge of the Dead Enemy). 

       So stay tuned for further developments, and let me hear from you as you enjoy my creations!  You can find me on Facebook, on Twitter @TermiteWriter, and also on my Google+ community, Books by TermiteWriter.  Or leave your comments on this blog or on my other blog Ruminations of a Remembrancer. 

 

       P.S.  Watch for a Facebook event soon!