Tag Archives: Swanland
First Impressions: Praitan
The action of The Leopard begins in the lands Over-Malagru, in Praitan and the area south of it around the city of Gold Harbour. (If you’re looking at the Blackdog map, that’s off the edge to the east, beyond Marakand. … Continue reading
First Impressions: Ivah … and Holla-Sayan
Ivah, you may know. She’s one of Attalissa’s enemies in Blackdog, and I’d always intended to write more about her. Ivah in Blackdog, even once she is into her twenties, is still a girl trying to be Good and meet … Continue reading
First Impressions: Zora and the Voice of the Lady
Zora doesn’t appear until halfway through The Leopard, yet she is one of the central characters of the story in the two volumes of Marakand. She’s a temple dancer — and common S&S clichés notwithstanding, that doesn’t mean what you … Continue reading
First Impressions: Deyandara
Enter a messenger. That, essentially, is how The Leopard begins. Deyandara first appeared in an earlier draft of the book as corpse, stage left — an earlier Ahjvar’s just-slain shield-bearer in an attack on the Voice within the Lady’s temple. … Continue reading
First Impressions: Ahjvar
“Possessed by a ghost who feeds on death, the undying assassin Ahjvar the Leopard . . .” (back cover copy for The Lady: Marakand Part Two) I’ve been thinking for a while it might be interesting to present some sketches … Continue reading
From the Wild Forest - Thoughts on a Writing Life 