October 2010 – From the Editor

Welcome to the October 2010 issue of the Musings of the Othar.  It is hard to believe that this issue marks the one-year anniversary of the newsletter, and I would like to thank my loyal readers who have been kind enough to give me a bit of their time each month.

It was a busy and extremely fulfilling year.  In addition to writing the reviews and updates found in this newsletter, the past year saw the design and creation of the web sites for the books, the launch of Clarice Publishing to facilitate the business side of the endeavor, and the print and eBook publication of the first two books in the Harmony of the Othar Saga, Heart of Hauden and Animus of Hauden.  Of course, all of this occurred while I continued to make steady progress on the third book in the series, Tongue of Hauden, which is still on track for a mid 2011 release.  Here’s hoping year two will be as fulfilling and productive.

In celebration of the newsletter’s one-year anniversary, I will be conducting a self-interview in this month’s Feature Article.  This will give me a chance to answer some of the questions and comments I have received from readers over the last year.

The Fayersae Histories continue this month, and our story shifts to a new set of characters.  Our first scene opens with the brothers Lyhtan and Cettan Haelanhon arguing over Cettan’s decision to disregard their father’s wishes that forbid him to join the fight against the Dasyu at Torbod.  A quick refresher on our family trees is probably in order, however.  Lyhtan is the father of Byldan and Haldan Haelanhon, and Cettan is the father of Baran and Eessan Bruchmon.  Also, for those who may have missed an episode or two, the previous year’s installments of the Fayersae Histories have been assembled into a single volume and are available in all eBook formats via Smashwords: Fayersae Histories (Second Battle of Jent #1).

The Short Review this month will be looking at Mary Robinette Kowal’s Shades of Milk and Honey.  I enjoyed Kowal’s debut novel, but I do wonder about the breadth of her audience with this type of novel as well as taking a little bit of an issue with all the comparisons to Jane Austen, which Kowal does nothing to suppress.  More, of course, can be found in the Short Review.

Clarice Publishing and Othar Saga updates are pretty short this month, and can be summed up in one word: busy.

Anyway, this summarizes another productive month, one that once again disappeared very quickly.  I hope you enjoy this month’s installment of the Musing of the Othar as we begin our second year of publication.

Yours Truly

P.A. Seasholtz, Editor