Valens Heritage Series
Current Books Available:
Book 1: Mihalis
Book 2: Sean (SJ)
Book 3: Be Of Good Cheer
Book 4: Troy
Book 5: No Place Like Home
You can see the Family Tree, as html, here.
About:
Series:
This one is a bit different for me, in that I wanted to try and do something different as well. This 'Series' is primarily about Sean's Children and it takes place about 17 years after the events of the 'Valens Legacy' series. Several of the books take place at the same time or there is overlap on the time frames.
The first book is about Mihalis, Sean and Cali's first son together and the only dark elf lion in existence (at the time of his birth). Mihalis's unique status leads to a fair number of issues for him and he eventually goes off to try and 'find himself'. But when you're a dark elf lion raised by a truly gifted assassin (his mother) and a powerful magic user (his father) and you're a lion to boot. Well, let's just say that 'finding himself' isn't going to be a Jack Kerouac story. Books 3 and 5 - Be of Good Cheer and 'No Place Like Home' are the further adventures of Mihalis (who is quite popular with fans). As of the time of this writing (Aug. 2022) there are plans for more books with him in it or about him.
The second book is about Sean Jr, Sean and Roxy's oldest son, and Sean's oldest son of all his children. SJ (as he's known by most) is also a lion and as the eldest son he's got a lot on his plate to deal with. This story takes place concurrently with Mihalis, starting actually a little bit before it on the time line. As Sean's two lion sons (Nguvu & Mtawala are reincarnates so they don't exactly count) SJ and Mihalis are pretty close. SJ does take after his dad a lot, and has his own issues to deal with, which sometimes includes getting in the face of his 'overly protective father'. Apparently the First laughs about their run-ins.
The Fourth book is about Troy, SJ's younger brother, who is a cheetah like Roxy his mother. While Troy isn't exactly a disappointment, Troy is a practical joker with an over-developed and sometimes odd sense of humor. However Troy is out to prove that when it comes to work, he's every inch a Valens and can be taken quite seriously. This story takes place around the same time as book 3 'Be of Good Cheer'. And Troy does prove that a sneaky speedy is more than a match for the plans of the djevels when it comes down to pulling a fast one.
Future Books
At the time of this being written (Aug 2022), there are plans for at least four, maybe five more books in the series. Could even be more. I've just got a lot on my plate and a few promised books under my own name that I need to get done. Troy and Mihalis are a lot of fun to write. There may be another SJ book, hard to say. I'm getting a LOT of pressure to write about their Sisters as well.
Criticisms:
Right now the biggest one is to write faster. Like everyone else out there, the last few years had some unique challenges and that has caused me some issues, but I'm working through them.
Extras:
We'll just have to see. I've only just started this series after all.
(The fact that I now consider five books as only just starting is too weird for words).
Any 'Mary-Sue's in this one?
No. Though I kinda wish I could be Mihalis at times. The idea of being able to fly, on your own, is just too cool for words...
If you have any other questions, by all means drop me an email: stryvant at gmail dot com