Chapbooks - Teern Truthbringer

A while ago I was reading several articles about how to better market your writing and one particular article that caught my attention was about chapbooks. What are chapbooks? Well, quite simply they are several sheets of paper that are bound or stapled together that contain a story or series of articles.

As an Indie Author it's difficult constantly thinking of new ways to market yourself and so the idea of writing a chapbook, printing out copies and just giving them to people seemed like a wonderful idea. But what should my chapbook contain?

I decided that I would write a prologue to my Southern Lands series of books, and explain how the protagonist became the person he is in the book. And so Teern Truthbringer the chapbook came into existence. I finished writing the 6,500 word chapbook a couple of weeks ago and it is now edited and almost ready for printing. The chapbook will be available as a free download in one week's time and in my next blog post I'll talk about the physical process of preparing and printing the chapbook.

In the meantime, here are the opening few paragraphs:

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“Teern,” his father called out, throwing the young man a sword as he turned toward him. “Teern, catch!”

Teern reached out and grabbed the hilt of the sword, quickly moving his hands into position. “What is it?”

“Kriks,” his father replied. “Coming down the hill and headed this way. We need to be ready.”

Teern threw down the bag he had been holding in his other hand and ran toward the far side of the room. He pulled on his tightly fitting leather breastplate and secured it at the side. “How many?”

“Just three or four I think,” his father replied, moving into position behind a window. “And hopefully they will pass us by.” He motioned for his son to join him by his side. “Your mother is already taking her hiding position.”

Teern stood behind his father’s shoulder, trying to follow his line of sight. In the far distance he spotted the small, squat figures coming down the hillside toward them. It had only been during the last couple of years they had been bothered by the kriks. Before that they had lived, mostly in solitude, on the outskirts of Treloon in their farmhouse. Teern watched as the kriks drew near. Yes, there were four of them. Each was about three feet high and naked except for a cloth that covered their loins. In their hands they each carried a two-bladed dagger they called a tissop. Teern took a sharp intake of breath and drew back a little into the shadows to watch them. He knew now not to underestimate their size. Their skins were as tough as wizened leather and they could move with tremendous agility. Their tissops were usually poison-tipped and a single cut could mean your death. Teern prayed they would pass their house by...