Ialfa

Far from your typical fantasy, (if there is such a thing) this is a romantic comedy of manners set in a tropical empire on a world that only superficially resembles our own. The protagonist, Ikhsior, is man of intelligence and decision, with enough muscles to pick rivals up with one hand and dangle them a foot above the floor. Unfortunately, he unexpectedly inherited the family title. Now he is trapped in the art-obsessed and hypocritical Imperial Court, where life revolves around fashion, gossip, and one's ability to produce an appropriate song for any occasion.

Being a man of action just isn't the advantage it ought to be. Within a couple weeks of his arrival he has halfway committed himself to the wrong woman, accidentally introduced some political reforms, invented a new art form, and involved himself in a search for a mysterious mythical creature whose existence is doubted and whose presence is forbidden. Now, in order to prevent family dishonor, economic disaster, and the arrest of the most delightful young lady he has ever met, he must face the perils of irritated emperors, imperious ladies, sardonic courtiers and public performance. What a good thing he has a can-do take-charge attitude.

Or maybe it isn't a good thing. When you live at the Imperial Court, 'taking charge' is tantamount to treason.

Author's Notes:

When I started writing this book I had just finished working on a couple fantasy quest adventures, and although I love fantasy quest adventure, too much of a good thing is still too much. What I felt like writing was a regency -- something light and amusing and romantic. But I didn't want to have to spend as much time researching romance markets as I had already spent researching fantasy markets, so I decided to try for something light, amusing and romantic in a fantasy setting.

I had been working on a fantasy world suitable for fairy tales, and it had gone a little differently than I expected. That should have been my warning, I guess, but I wasn't paying attention. A fairy tale plot would work quite nicely with the comedy of manners feel I was seeking, so I picked one to use as a story seed and decided on a place to set it, and came up with a few main characters and started trying to write. I told myself it would be something short and simple. A trial run in the new world, so to speak. That isn't what actually happened, of course.

At first I just couldn't seem to get the story started. The strictly practical outlook of the main character seemed to be stifling the light, amusing tone I wanted -- the tight third viewpoint I was accostomned to using just wouldn't work this time. I started the story over several times, trying different approaches, until I had the notion of having it narrated by one of the main character's servants. As soon as I began the story in the voice of Deule the Scribe, it started to work for me. Authors talk all the time about characters who take over stories, bring it to life, and make it their own. But Deule as a person never infringes very much on the story he tells; the story remains, very clearly, the story of man he serves: Isde Ikhsior, the sea captain turned lord. But by chosing a servant for the narrator, I had chosen to tell the story from within the culture and traditions of the Coral Palace, a perspective that my hero could not provide. As soon as I did so, that culture came to life and from then on became one of the driving forces in the story.

Fortunately, it remained a light, amusing and romantic story. But it became a lot longer than I expected, and the revision phase was more complicated and drawn out than any story revisions I have attempted before or since. So much for a short simple trial run in a new world.