Some of you may have noticed I have published two Jalia novels in the last two weeks or so, so now seems like a good time to talk about her and them. Jalia is my favourite character and I have written an enormous amount about her. She and Daniel are destined for great things. Daniel is the last of the Magician Kings, something he doesn’t believe in the current books. He’s still a teenager, brought up on a farm until his parents died and then dragged around the Golden Triangle (a trade route) by his older half-brother. At this point in his life, he couldn’t be a king if he wanted to. What he does want to do is follow Jalia wherever she wants to go. He knows he is in love with her, even as he knows that she isn’t yet capable of love. Jalia is the daughter of a Master Trader and was brought up in luxury among the rich and royalty of Bagdor. She is very intelligent and incredibly lucky (you’ll find out why, eventually.) Her mother was a mystery, blonde and blue-eyed in a country where no one like that exists. She claimed to come from a village far to the west, but that was a lie. Jalia is a sociopath with nothing remotely like a conscience. She puts herself, first, second and last. Ruthless does not begin to describe her. However, she has some rules she chooses to live by, one of which is that her word is her bond. She is drawn towards Daniel, but he is still largely a travelling companion. Because she wants to keep on travelling with him, she often considers what Daniel would want her to do to avoid annoying him. These books are about the two of them growing up. They are on a sightseeing tour around their world because Jalia wants to see things, and because many of the places they’ve been have a price on Jalia’s head. She can’t keep out of trouble as it’s in her nature. Daniel wanted a quiet life, but by the end of Jalia and the Slavers, he knows he can’t have that and Jalia. There is an epic story rumbling away in the background as hints to their future are dropped here and there, but these books are a series of adventures caused by Jalia’s irrepressible nature. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
3 Comments
Stewart
25/6/2013 10:47:38 am
Thanks for the update - and I did read all of the Julia. Good but didn't enjoy as much as the Laura and Tom world and was wondering if you were going to do more in that or if book 3 was the end for now.
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John Booth
25/6/2013 01:17:59 pm
A fourth Tom & Laura book is planned, and the fourth Wizards book is in progress. However, I have no timescale for these books and family issues have interfered with my writing. A fifth Jalia book is in preparation and will be my next book published.
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Pamela Smith
17/1/2017 04:46:54 pm
I love the Jalon books. Do you plan to add to them in 2017?
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