A New Blog

Hi everyone, 

when I first wrote "The Three Feathers," I could not in my wildest dreams imagine that there would be other books to follow. Therefore I didn't really think about my blog at all. I thought I'd make a blog for "my book" because this would be the one book I'd write. Now that there are other books, I realized that I need to phase out www.thethreefeathers.blogspot.com and change it to a different format in order to have more space for different projects. 

For that reason, please, from now on, go to www.thethreefeathers.com or www.stefanbolz.com to read all about what is to come, things that are happening right now, other projects, etc. There, you can also order a signed copy of the book, sent to you by me.


Thanks so much for your awesome support and I will see you soon at the other site.

Much luck!!


Stefan

A Writer's Moment

Hi everyone, it's Stefan,
this morning while working on "The Second Searcher," I had one of those moments a writer always dreams of. It was the moment when a new character knocked on my imaginary door wanting to be let in. I felt his presence when I saw him in my minds eye. He was powerful and protective and strong. In short, he was just so cool I can't wait to write more about him. I think he'll start out as a side character but he might just become one of the main ones.
I am also including 'Day One' and part of 'Day Two' - the first two sections of "The Second Searcher," in here if you want to read some and get excited about the prequel to "The Three Feathers." Please excuse and grammar or spelling mistakes. I have not edited much yet.

Day 1

For a long time there was darkness. Thoughts of comfort and warmth enveloped her, telling her of things she did not yet understand. The one who thought to her was never absent for long from her mind. And after a while she reached out as well, first brushing against the other’s mind with hers, then staying longer until there was a bond between them. There, in the mind of her mother, she saw images of a world beyond the darkness. It was a world bright and green and vast. Slowly she became aware of voices outside. They were softly spoken, far and close but never distant. One in particular spoke to her always. There was excitement in this one. Laughter. Then a melody, sung to her quietly at times and loud at others. And when her mind reached out to the one who spoke and sang to her, it embraced hers within it instantly.

Then suddenly there was pressure on her body. The voices outside became louder, more urgent. Her heart rate increased until her mother’s thoughts reminded her, assured her silently that all was well. The light came. Flickering at first, breaking through the dark and creating patterns inside her eyelids. She welcomed the cool air and took her first breath willingly, inhaling deeply the scent of it. When she opened her eyes, she could not focus on anything at first. But for a moment she saw the darkened shape of her mother’s head against the window and she thought it the most beautiful thing there was. Then the brightness of it all made her close her eyes again.

Her mother’s nose nudged her, began to lick her face until it was clean. Experienced hands began to rub down her body. The sun that came through a gap in the wood planks of the stall illuminated them as they worked, as they dried her fur with straw and removed the water bag. She recognized two of the hands as belonging to the one who had sung and spoken to her. She felt her joy as they went very methodically up and down her spine and over her head cleaning it from any remaining residue of her birth.

When she stood up, the girl wanted to help her but the old man gently held her back so that she could get on her feet by herself. She had to sit back down several times before she could stand. And when she stood she swayed back and forth, adjusting her hooves on the floor trying to hold her balance. After a while she took an uncertain step. Then another and yet another after that. Her ivory coat began to dry and her mouth found her mother’s belly and she stilled her hunger. And throughout it all she heard her mother say one word in her thoughts over and over again. She did not know what it meant and she would not hear it again until much later, until almost a full year had passed. But at that moment she heard it and she knew it was her name. And her name was Wind.

Day 2

Leannah could not contain herself. She awoke when all was still quiet and the only sounds she could hear were the animals in the stalls below. When she peered through the thick drapes of her attic room window she saw that the streets were deserted. Only the baker’s son, she thought, would be out that early. In her mind she saw him running down the street, late as usual, barely making the corners without sliding on the sandy surface of the streets; his thick hair unkempt and sticking up in all directions; his long, dark brown coat wrapped around him despite the warmth of the air.

She opened the curtain just enough to let the light stream into her attic room. Dust particles danced in the beam as it illuminated the plank floor and part of the narrow wood framed bed to her right. The straw filled mattress on top was wrapped in white linens. Several handmade stuffed animals were perched to one side of it. Next to the bed and on the floor sat a small box also made of wood that served as table and dresser. A chair on the other side of the bed held a few pieces of neatly folded clothes. There was a second bed on the other side of the room. That one was empty and perfectly made, a quilt tucked into its sides and several stuffed animals perched on top. The wall with the window in it displayed several gray, thin, square stone plates with detailed chalk drawings on them. Most of them showed a white horse either running through meadows and woods or standing next to a girl who held a resemblance to Leannah herself. They were obviously self portraits but done in such astonishing detail that for any outside observer must have seemed to have been drawn by another person. One of the drawings hung near the second bed. It showed Leannah on a horse and another girl, slightly older, holding the reigns.

Leannah's talent of drawing anything from what she saw in her mind's eye was not something she was aware of. For her it was normal. She saw something and drew it without spending much thought on it at all. But this morning none of this mattered. This morning, after her chores were done, she would go and see her foal again. She had known for a few months now that it would be her foal, the one she would bond with and be with for the rest of their lives according to the custom of her people. She had felt the slightest brush of the foal's mind on hers when it was still in the womb. But Leannah was not yet able to hold on to it for longer periods of time. She was too young and her training not advanced enough. Most of it would happen within the next year when she and the foal would both attempt to reach a deeper bond until what one would think the other would know; what one would see would be visible to the other also.

When she changed from her night gown into her day clothes, her glance fell onto the empty bed for a moment. The memory of her sister was still overshadowed by her grief over her death three years ago. It took a whole year for Leannah to be able to sleep in their room afterwards. Too fresh the memory of her, too deep the pain over her loss. And suddenly, while she stood there tying the shoe laces of her boots, the memory of that day pushed itself into her mind and she could do nothing but witness it again.

It was the week before Bellerose's horse was to begin her solo pilgrimage up the Path Of No Return, the narrow, spiraling walkway along the steep, vast walls of Hollow's Gate all the way past the Gate of Time and far up to the Plateau of Wills to make the jump into the unknown; into either life or death. Bellerose had told Leannah the night before that she had seen a raven on one of the totem poles at the borders of their city. It just sat there and when Bellerose approached it, she saw that one of its eyes was missing. Then it had flown away from the city and toward the plains. It was not only forbidden to cross the borders of the city without one of the masters, it was also dangerous. The city lay under the protection of a permanent light shield that the Dark - the ones that came out during the time of the seven nights - could not penetrate. Beyond the shield and during the week of darkness that always followed the week of light in Hollow's Gate, the Dark reigned and whoever was still out there when the sun set in the eastern sky, fell prey to their hunger for blood. There was a reason the week of darkness was called The Time of the Dark.

Leannah had told Bellerose to stay away from the borders but she could see in her sister's eyes that the temptation had become too big. During the weeks before the pilgrimage the horses and their bond partners were always the most vulnerable. They needed to shield themselves from any influence from the outside and concentrate solely on the task that lay ahead: for the horses to prepare for the jump into the abyss and with that leave their limitations far behind and learn to fly. For the girls, this was the time when they were about to cross the threshold of childhood and become not only a woman but join the ranks of Protector of the Realm. Whoever passed the trials during their horse's pilgrimage was automatically considered to enter the rigorous training to become one of The Circle of The Nine. This was considered the highest honor but also the highest responsibility of leading their people in peace, protecting them and guarding them against outside forces.

The day after Bellerose had told Leannah about the raven, she went to Master Torin's house. He was one of the Elders in charge of her own training, in charge of determining when she was ready to begin her own bonding to a foal and thereby enter the three-year curriculum. She never went to his house before and had only known him from her lessons at school. He was a very kind man and she knew he would not rebuke her for coming. But her respect for him never allowed her to even think that she would go to his house. It took her a good part of the day to muster the courage to do so. During that time she made several attempts to talk to her mother who was pre-occupied with her little brother. Eventually her concern for Bellerose won over her fear and she decided to go.

When she stood before Master Torin in his study, surrounded by books bound in worn leather with fading letters in ancient languages, she forgot for a moment why she was there to begin with. She suddenly felt small amongst the accumulated knowledge of her people. Master Torin stood, hunched over a large table thickly layered with written pages, drawings and notes. One of the drawings showed a schematic of five structures with a large opening in their center.

The boy who had let her into the room had disappeared quietly. She knew him to be Master Torin's grandchild. He must have been seven or eight years of age and two years younger than herself at that time. The old man looked up from his studies.

"Leannah, what a pleasant surprise. What has brought you here?"  For a moment she couldn't remember why it was she had gone to him in the first place.

"Do you know everything that is written here?" She asked, mostly because it was the first thing that came to mind. 

"Hardly," he answered with a smile. "And the more I study those, the more I reckon how very little I know."

Leannah suddenly felt silly to have come here. It was just a raven and nothing more. There was no cause for concern and therefore no reason for her to be here.

"I'm sorry... to have interrupted you, Master Torin. I... I forgot. I forgot the reason... I shouldn't have come. I apologize." She turned abruptly and walked toward the door.

"Leannah." She heard his voice behind her and stopped. "Why don't you sit and we'll talk for a few minutes. Now that I have you here, why not use this time to get to know each other a little more."

She turned and looked at him. Her conflict must have shown plainly in her face for he smiled slightly while walking to one of the two chairs in front of the hearth where he sat down. From a small table he took a pouch with pipe tobacco and began to stuff a craftily carved wooden pipe.

"Or you can just tell me what it is that bothers you and let me decide whether or not you are right in thinking it silly. If it is, the both of us will just forget about it. If it isn't, well then I'm going to be very glad you have told me.

He lit his pipe, puffed out several times until he relaxed into his chair.

"What do you think?" Pipe in hand he pointed to the chair across from him. His smile encouraged her more than she wanted to admit. Eventually she walked over and sat down, her back straight up her hands folded on her lab. She looked at him for a few moments, looked at the short, mostly white, scruffy beard and equally scruffy hair. His eyes of slate gray watched hers calmly, waiting patiently for her to speak. The fire crackled in the hearth, its warmth extending toward her bare feet.

"Bellerose saw a raven yesterday. On the outskirts of the city. He was one-eyed."

Her words hung in the air like thick smoke. It seemed as if all color left Master Torin's face at once. His eyes did not leave hers. Gone was the friendly old man. Gone the wise Elder.

"Asher!" He spoke loudly into the room and then more quietly to her: "Are you sure of this?"

The door opened and the boy came back. "Get Peregrine."

"Yes, Grandfather." Asher briefly looked at Leannah as if astounded by the command, then he quickly left the room. She could hear his hasty footsteps outside.

"Are you sure of this?" Master Torin asked again.

"Yes. Yes, I'm afraid I'm sure. What does this mean?"

Master Torin got up and crossed to the door. He took a hooded cloak from one of the hooks.

"Where is your sister now?"

Leannah just looked at him. She could see the foreboding in his eyes. Tears welled up in her.

"Leannah, do you know where your sister is now?"

"No. I don't. I have not seen her since this morning." She began to cry.

"Go home at once. I will send someone."

All she could do was nod. "Come," he told her.

She got up from the chair and walked toward the door. Before Master Torin opened it, he knelt down before her. His callused hand removed a string of hair from her face. His eyes told him more than she wanted to know. Then he got up and left the room.

She followed him to the outside. It was as if all strength had left her legs. Asher stood there, Peregrine behind him. The wings of the white Pegasus were stretched out reaching at least twelve feet on either side of the creature. Having grown up amongst the Pegasus and having been around them all her life, Leannah still could not help but be astounded by the creatures' magnificence and for a brief moment her concern for Bellerose was washed away and exchanged for a deep sense of comfort.

Master Torin's words brought her back. "Go now," he told her. Then, with a fluidity completely belying his age, he jumped onto Peregrine who pushed forward, her front hooves already in the air. They gained speed fast and after a few seconds, the Pegasus lifted up, her wings pushing them upward and toward the sky.

Leannah remembered very little of what had happened afterwards. Only one scene stood out from the blurry images and raw memories of the day when her sister disappeared. All she remembers was that she suddenly had found herself at home sitting in the kitchen with her mother there and her father trying to comfort her. Master Torin was in the room and several others and all she could think of was why she couldn't have told him earlier. She could not fight the thought that she might have been able to save Bellerose if she would have gone to Master Torin in the morning. She felt that her sister's death lay on her own shoulders and as much as everyone told her that she could not possibly have known, she did not believe them. She was certain she never would.

Book Signing at Lenape School

Hi there, it's Stefan,
I had a great time at the Lenape School Library Fair yesterday (If I would have known that it was also 'Crazy Hair Day' I would have done something with mine). I spoke to many awesome young readers about Joshua's adventures and signed a lot of copies. It inspired me to work on the sequel and prequel to The Three Feathers even more and to get through writing it faster. As a writer it is always very helpful to know who you are writing for.
If you have read the book, feel free to write me with your comments at stefanbolz@yahoo.com or leave a review on Amazon.
I also wanted to tell you about the German translation of The Three Feather. As I am writing this, a friend of mine is working on it very diligently. I'm expecting the book to come out sometime over the summer. Because German is my native language it will be interesting to read it once the rough translation is done. To read something in your native tongue is always deeper, affects you more than in any other language, however long you have known the other one. I very much look forward to reading it. This is in part due to my having been influenced by German fair tales like the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Andersen. A few of those tales made their way into The Three Feathers for sure.
I also met several young readers yesterday who expressed an interest in writing. If you are reading this and you have an idea about a story or a book or even just a scene, as crazy and 'far out' as it might seem to you now, just dive in and let yourself completely immerse in it, if only for a few hours. See what happens. Put your pen to paper (or your fingers to the keyboard) and write. The Three Feathers is nothing but me giving complete permission to myself to dream up a story as fantastical as this one. Let your imagination soar and see where it takes you. I always use my iPhone's voice recorder when I get an idea about something and record it immediately - even if it's 2AM at night. Those ideas are usually the best ones. Several of the scenes and images in The Three Feathers came to me at night or while driving my car. As a writer it is your job to catch those ideas. They usually only appear once. You gotta be quick and don't let them pass by.

Until next time, best of luck to you,
Stefan

Reading & Book Signing at the Gardiner Library

What's new?

Hi everyone, it's Stefan. It has been a while. Much has happened in the last six months. The story of The Three Feathers has been well received so far. Reviews exceeded my expectations many fold. About 200 copies sold locally and there is no end in sight. Inquiring Minds in New Paltz, NY has been very helpful in promoting the book. But there were others who, unexpectedly, invited me to do readings and/or book signings. There was the Stone Ridge library, the Kingston Farmer's Market (twice), Half Moon Books in Kingston, COTA in New Paltz, and last but not least, the Natural Pet Center at Ireland Corners in Gardiner. I had lots of fun talking about the magnificent journey of Joshua, Grey and Krieg and their quest to find the three feathers.

For The Three Feathers this year, I think, will be about schools. There are several in the area that are interested in an author's day which means me reading to 5th through 8th graders and talking about Joshua's journey. I'm really excited about this. Not in my wildest dreams did I think that children would make such a strong part of the book's audience. There will be an author's day during the library fair at Woodstock Day School in April, an author's day at Lenape elementary school in New Paltz and a few others that are in the works.

Besides touring for The Three Feathers, I'm working on something that is very close to my heart even though it took some convincing for me to do it. It is called "The Three Feathers - A Spiritual Journey". During the writing of The Three Feathers I realized that Joshua's journey was a metaphor for a spiritual journey, from beginning to the end. I decided to go deeper into this and see what would come out of it on the other side. I'm done with a rough draft, now have to flesh it out a bit and put it into proper format. If everything goes well, I would think that by March it should be ready to be published for kindle and in paperback.

Then there is the prequel and sequel to "The Three Feathers" both waiting to be written. The prequel is set about a thousand years prior to Joshua coming on the scene. It tells the story of the second searcher and her task of freeing her people from slavery and oppression. It will reveal lots of back story to Joshua's quest in The Three Feathers. I have been allowed glimpses into some of the scenes already and I have to say they look amazing. A good portion of the book will involve the training the horses in Hollow's Gate have to go through in order to be prepared for their pilgrimage up the ancient path along the walls of Hollow's Gate. On their pilgrimage they have to ready themselves for the jump into the unknown to go past their limitations and get their wings. Wind will be in it and we will meet her as a foal and find out what happens to her and why she ends up petrified in stone.

The sequel, "The Fourth Sage", is set one thousand years after Joshua's quest and in a completely different, high-tech future world where corporations own everything. There we will meet Aries who is in search of her own destiny. What Joshua's role in this is, I cannot reveal just yet. All I can say is that I can't wait to write this one.

There is a bit more information on the above mentioned books here in the blog. Enjoy!

Until next time, very truly yours,

Stefan