Publishing Dates and Humans in Calhortea

Yes, I'm having a two-fold purpose for this post. I wanted to finally give projected dates for the publishing of Creighton Hill, but I didn't really want to skip my worldbuilding post either.

Though at the beginning of March I had a brief freak out because I could suddenly feel time breathing down my neck, I'm actually quite on schedule. What does being on schedule mean, exactly? Well, it means I'm getting close to the end of applying family feedback to Time Captives so I can send it to beta readers soon. My dad and sister just finished Crannig Castle yesterday, and I don't think any major revisions still need to be done (though certain family members have started lobbying for one of the characters to get killed or maimed in battle, to which I give an emphatic "NO!" :P). Even though I felt behind on March 1st, at the moment I feel ahead, which is good, since I didn't exactly factor in time for a post-beta readers proofread by some friends. Anyway, you probably want dates.

First off, I finally have my cover photo and a finalized design. There will be some slight adjustment, since I don't have my spine width yet, but I know exactly how it will look. Which means *drumroll* a cover reveal can finally happen! I still have some details to work out in regards to the reveal itself (*cough* actually asking blogger friends other than my sister to participate), but I have it planned for April 6th. So in three weeks, you get to see what the cover of Creighton Hill will look like.

I have June 8th planned for the release of Creighton Hill. Just in case the paperback isn't actually ready, it's just the kindle release date for sure, but I'm hoping to have the paperback ready as well. It's also (approximately) the second anniversary of the release of Across the Stars, so chances are there will be some special things going on for that book as well. I also intend to have my first blog tour, so that should be interesting. I'll have more details on that later.

Humans in Calhortea
Humans in Calhortea are physically just like humans in our world. So really, there's not much to say there. They live in multiple countries. The humans in Calhortz at the time of Time Captives are all slaves. They live on plantations for the most part and work in the fields and as house slaves. Some humans are forced to be gladiators for the strytes. A large part of the Calhortan slaves are Christians.

Briznom was interesting to develop. All the inhabitants are human. It has a more traditional medieval fantasy type feel, but the king really has little power. They are governed by the vassal lords who represent the vassalage of their birth at Court. The position of vassal lord is passed down from father to son. The level of control of the common people really depends on the vassal lord. The people of Cumberland are very free and happy in their peasant village. In Roland, the people are more poorly treated. There are no arranged marriages for the common people, but, unfortunately, it is the common practice for the children of noblemen. Infant betrothals are the norm for the heir to the vassalage, and they are often betrothed to distant cousins. Even should the match prove to be distasteful to both parties prior to marriage, the betrothal is very difficult to break.

The Yatachee Islands are also largely inhabited by humans. There is a small merfolk population, but it is only a fraction of the whole population. The Yatachee Islands are colonies of Briznom though they exert little control over it in actuality. It is a tropical archipelago, rather similar to what one would expect out of Caribbean islands from the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. There are many seafarers and merchant sailors, and, of course, pirates. Some pirates were drawn into Toarna's service as privateers under false promises. I want to explore the sea more, and I have some characters for it, some of which make an appearance in Time Captives, but as of yet, I have no plot.

That's a brief overview of the culture of the humans who inhabit Calhortea.