Stacked High: Issue 8: The Official Newsletter
of Gilbert M. Stack
Happy New Year, and welcome back to Stacked High. 2018 was a great year for me, seeing the publication of five more Legionnaire books and the supernatural thriller, Blood Ties. 2019 promises to be even better with the three more books in the Legionnaire series scheduled for release, the first two books in a new fantasy series, titled Winterhaven, and another special supernatural treat to celebrate Occult-tober. This newsletter is all about Winterhaven—a story that has been near to my heart for most of my adult life. Check out the excellent cover by Shirley Burnett.
Background:
I first started actually writing the novel more than twenty years ago and have been tinkering with it ever since. On its most basic level, like all great fantasy literature, Winterhaven is the story of an epic clash between good and evil, but it’s also a story of family, trust, the struggle for power, and the demands of honor.
The Story:
This is my longest and most ambitious novel to date, but for the blurb I decided to go minimalist rather than try and capture every feature of the story. Here it is:
In the far off Duchy of Winterhaven at the edge of human civilization, a young knight investigates a most unusual murder while the Great Lords of the land scheme to expand their borders and take control of the duchy. A decade of relative peace is about to collapse and only young Dhrugal of Edgefield and his brothers and sister stand between Winterhaven and dark-spun chaos.
The Map
One of the most important parts of any fantasy series is the map. Fantasy landscapes quickly become complicated and epic adventures often occur over long distances, but unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of talent as a cartographer or artist. So I turned to painter extraordinaire, Chris L. Adams, who generously painted my map of The Jeweled Hills for the Legionnaire series. The first thing Chris did for Winterhaven was tinker with my line drawing to add a little color that distinguished the geographical features and clarified the place names. Then he began to paint and the results are mind blowing, as you can see in the image below that bleeds through the three stages of map production:
I think you’ll agree that the progression is astounding. The full map has been painted and Chris is inserting the place names now. You can see more images of this extraordinary painting at gilbertstack.com and get regular updates by liking me on Facebook.
If you want to see more of Chris’ amazing painting, please visit him at https://www.chrisladamsbizarretales.com/.
Discount:
Winterhaven is available now for pre-order at Amazon, iBooks, B&N, Kobo, and other fine e-retailers. If you pre-order it before February 7, 2019 you can get it at the discounted price of $2.99.
Until next time, I wish you a happy 2019.
Gilbert M. Stack