Kim asked Kate Elliott:

Are your series separate from each other or do any of them take place in the same world and have any crossover characters?

Kate Elliott Great question!

I’ve written the following series:

The Labyrinth Gate is a standalone fantasy novel and has no relationship to any other series I’ve written. When I originally wrote it I sketched out some possible follow up novels but I have no plans to work on those at this time.

The Highroad Trilogy is a complete science fiction trilogy, set several hundred years in a speculative future with space travel and encounters with intelligent alien species. It is set in the same universe as the Novels of the Jaran, and takes place AFTER the Jaran books although it was written and published in full before the first Jaran novel came out. It is a completely standalone story that needs no reference to or knowledge of Jaran to be enjoyed or understood. It has no sequel and I have none in mind. As per below, there are a few shared characters.

The Novels of the Jaran (four volumes so far) are set in the same universe as the Highroad Trilogy. Set chronologically before Highroad, they were published after. There are a few characters who appear in the Jaran books who also appear in Highroad: one relatively important character and a few minor ones. As with the Highroad Trilogy, the Jaran novels stand completely alone. You do not need to have read Highroad, and while they are set in the same timeline and reference some of the same overarching events (at different times) they are set in different sectors of the galaxy and have very little overlap otherwise. I do have the first chapter and a basic outline for Jaran 5.

Crown of Stars is a seven volume epic fantasy series. With the exception of two short stories (which can be found in my short fiction collection The Very Best of Kate Elliott), I’ve written nothing else in this world, and it is not related to any of the others. I do have a sequel trilogy in mind which I may or may not have time to write some day.

The (completed) Crossroads Trilogy is set in the same fantasy world as the Black Wolves trilogy (which is currently not complete). The two trilogies are set about 60 years apart, in the same timeline, and share some characters, but they can be read separately without reference to the other one, and in either order. Here’s where I note that this fantasy world is in fact set on the planet Rhui, which is the planet where much of the action takes place in the Jaran novels. I imagine the fantasy stories as being written by an individual in the science fiction timeline who is writing fantastical stories set in a “fantasy history that never was” in their own world (of Rhui).

The Court of Fives trilogy is another complete and standalone trilogy intended to be read as complete in itself. Two e-novellas (Night Flower and Bright Thrones) are also set in this world and, while written to stand alone as stories, share characters with the main trilogy. The Court of Fives setting is also part of the Crossroads/Black Wolves fantasy world setting, but it is not linked to them in any other way (with the exception of a single group of people who are mentioned in passing in both Black Wolves and Court of Fives) and is not intended to be a companion in any way. In fact, it takes place on a different continent and in a different time frame. As with Crossroads, it includes magic that doesn’t exist in the Jaran universe. I honestly just wanted to use the same map, which has many unexplored territories.

The Spiritwalker Trilogy is alternate Earth history, with magic. It is not related to any of the other series. I have written some additional short stories set in the same world, and often featuring characters from the novels.

I’m currently working on the Sun Chronicles, my genderbent Alexander the Great as a space opera trilogy. It is set in a far far far future, very loosely linked to (a mostly forgotten) Earth, and is not intended to be part of the same universe as Jaran but rather a setting of its own, so no overlap with anything that's come before it.

Thanks for asking!

Kate Elliott

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