Map of Superion (Book 1: Bane and Blessing and Book 2: Cleave the Darkness)

Map of Superion

Cleave the Darkness is the second book in a series entitled, "Superion." I have plans for five books right now, perhaps more after that.  I wanted to add a larger map for the blog to peruse at your leisure. I personally love maps and am thankful that I have a great cover artist who can do covers and maps. Now, this is essentially the map that I had in Bane and Blessing with a few additions. People have shared with me how similar the towns are to some in MI - that of course was done on purpose. Millington, Flint, Frankenlust, Burt, Port Austin, Port Sanilac - all of those places have in some way been significant in my life.

Some have also noticed some of the places as being significant in Lutheran history and scripture. Wittenhelm, for example, is taken after Wittenberg - the small town in Germany where Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the church door. The island Wittenhelm is located on is called "Batmos," an allusion to the island of Patmos where John had his Apocalyptic revelation that would become the book of Revelation. The Rakkath Forest is taken from a fortified city on the sea of Galilee (Joshua 19).

My U.P. (Upper Penninsula of MI) friends have noticed some prominent locations in Superion - namely the Ironwood forest, L'Anse Forest (a city in MI - translates from French to mean "the cove") and Iron Mountain, home of the dwarves. I was blessed to call Iron Mountain home for almost five years. Book three will spend a lot of time with the dwarves of Iron Mountain.

The continent which holds the five nation-states (Galatia Major, Galatia Minor, Askani, Korsica, and Baktrani) is called Superion, which is also the title of the series. This is based on a story I once heard (don't know if it is true or not), about a group of people who wanted to extricate the Upper Peninsula of MI from the lower portion (affectionately referred to as the abode for trolls), and become their own state. A suggested name was Superion (as the rumor goes). Lastly, the elves reside on a peninsula called, "The Finger of El," El being a Semitic word for God. The insinuation is that the elves consider themselves gods amongst the other races.

Cleave the Darkness is now available in paperback with the ebook (Kindle & Nook) edition available sometime around Easter. Book three (no title yet) is progressing nicely.

God Bless

Jim