The Story Behind the Story with S. C. Eston of Fredericton, NB, Canada.

The Story Behind the Story with Charl... 2023 was Fantastic!

The Story Behind the Story with S. C. Eston of Fredericton, NB, Canada.

Steve is back.

His most recent publication is generatinga lot of excitement amongst his many fans. He’s going to share the SBTS with usthis week.

He was a guest a short time agochatting about his contribution to the popular Spring Path anthology.

If you missed it, please go HERE.

Read on my friends.

Steve C. Eston is the author of four books: The Burden of the Protector,The Conclave, Deficiency, and The Stranger of Ul Darak (Book 1 of The LostTyronian Archives).

He has been a lover of the fantastical and the scientific since he was ayoung boy. He wrote his first story by hand while still in elementary school —a five-page fantasy action/adventure about a tiger-masked ninja fightingmystical monsters that included his own illustrations.

When not spending time with his family, Steve try to make time for one ofhis numerous hobbies, which include reading, listening to music, playing videogames, watching movies, making puzzles, and playing hockey and tennis. He alsolove to travel and have developed an obsession with New Zealand after travelingthere in 2015 (visiting the set of Hobbiton and hiking alone the slopes ofMount Doom may have something to do with it).

For more information on his current writing projects and for free shortstories, visit him at www.sceston.com.

Title: TheStranger of Ul Darak

Synopsis:

In an age long forgotten, nineteen hundred and eighty-threeSeals were forged—magical disks placed around the world to repel the cosmicchaos beyond.

In the centuries that followed, the Sentinels were tasked with protectingthose Seals. For countless generations, they succeeded.

Until now.

At six years old, Shéana is recruited to the order of the Sentinels. Adecade later, she displays powers unlike anything any Sentinel has shownbefore. When she feels the world stirring in pain, she knows the shieldsurrounding Tyronia has been breached. The great chain is broken. And the orderof the Sentinels lies in discord.

In the isolated village of Valdur, young Arth struggles to belong.Spurned by the other children, he ventures south to the endless mountains, andthe strange barrier marking the edge of existence. The Final Horizon. Here hewitnesses the impossible: a man emerging from beyond the veil—where nothing canpossibly exist. A man Arth knows he must protect.

Now the fate of two worlds rests on a knife’s edge. Only the courage of avillage boy and the power of a fledgling Sentinel can save them.

But to save their worlds, they must reject all they’ve been taught,leaving behind everyone and everything they’ve ever known.

Because sometimes saving a world means rebelling against it.

The Story Behind the Story:

All the way back in 2003, my brotherMathieu, my friend Gaetan, and I, created the basis for a new imaginary worldwhere two divinities were caught in an eternal battle against each other; onebeing the master of frost and ice and living in the west, and the other beingthe queen of fire and flame and controlling the east. Back then, I was justexploring writing as a hobby, and I remember asking Mathieu and Gaetan if theywould be all right with me expanding the world by writing a few stories in it.They both welcomed the idea.

The first draft of the story was about 15,000 words, written in French,and titled “L’étranger” (The Stranger). It introduced the world and some keycharacters, but left many questions unanswered, teasing the reader’simagination more than anything else. Still, both Mathieu and Gaetan enjoyed itand I ended up writing two more novellas following this one (also written inFrench).

When I started writing more seriously about ten years ago, the firststory I ended up publishing was The Burden of the Protector, which covers someof the events leading to those taking place in “L’étranger”. Burden was in facta prequel and although it stands well on its own, its epilogue hints that moreis too come.

Exploring the world a second time sparked a series of new ideas, and moreimportantly, it re-awoke my interest in this world. I wanted to travel there,discover its realms and countries, meet its inhabitants and heroes. I needed tolearn what had taken place, why, and more importantly, if the events destroyedthe world or if it was, in the end, saved.

The Stranger of Ul Darak expands on what is presented in The Burden ofthe Protector. It dives into what took place and starts to expose the crisisfacing the world, bringing to light a series of new characters. It is the firstin an epic high fantasy series, inspired by some of my own favorite series,including The Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman, The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan, TheStormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson, and obviously, The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien. It has many of the classic fantasy elements, includingpowerful magic, a struggle between good and evil, a world on the cusp ofdestruction, and the unlikely heroes who will have to save it. It is filledwith mystery, intriguing characters, and takes place in a wondrous andunpredictable world.

It took me more than 20 years to bring The Stranger of Ul Darak to thebook it is today. Surprisingly, most of the work I did does not even appear inthis story (but will eventually come to light in the next installments of theseries). It was a new and daunting experience for me to write the first book ina long series. It was also a LOT of fun. After reading so many epic stories,it’s quite special to finally write one of my own.

Aquestion before you go, Steve:

Scribbler: How do youdecide on the titles for your novels? Do you have one when you start a newstory or later?

Steve:

Titles, in all shape or form, have been the bane of myexistence as a writer. Especially chapter titles! I wish I had a strategy,something, anything, to help make the decision of picking titles easier. Butno, it is mostly a struggle.

I like to choose a title early on when writing a story, because I find itacts as a guide, or put another way, it gives me a target to aim for. Thatsaid, it happened on a few occasions that I had to change the title once astory is completed because it didn’t fit with the text anymore.

The title for The Stranger of Ul Darak came from the original story.“L’étranger” became “The Stranger”, and the stranger is a key character in thestory. I also wanted some consistency with the titles in this series. It wasimportant to me that this title went well with The Burden of the Protector.This is why I added “of Ul Darak” at the end, giving it the same structure.

Now, here is an exclusive that I haven’t shared anywhere else: in thesame way, the next book in the series is titled “The Bridge of Carcia”. Itpicks up right after The Stranger of Ul Darak and it is what I’m working on atthe moment .

Thank you Allan, for having me on The South Branch Scribbler once again.You’ll have to let me know what you think of The Stranger of Ul Darak once youget a chance to read it!