Let's talk about the Garden of Infamy. In particular, let's talk about Seeds of Juniper. Like all the Garden of Infamy books, Seeds of Juniper is a tour through the life of one character, showing us who they are, who they were, and giving us brief glimpses of who they will be. Book one of the series, Seeds of Revenge, answered a lot of questions everybody had after reading The Madness Wars. Book two, Seeds of Tarako, gave us a better look at Victor Kneerock and the inner workings of his army, his mind. Book three, Seeds of Forfeit, took us to a continent we'd never been on before. We crossed oceans with the crew of the Venture. We found ourselves in Hemlock. We found ourselves in The Madness Wars. But with Seeds of Juniper, things get really intense.
Early in my career I was talking to an editor about the origins of my world. I mentioned a god war and she did everything but laugh at me. She said god wars were overdone, and she dismissed the whole notion, telling me to start again. But I just couldn't get the image of gods struck down from the sky burning in the atmosphere as they screamed to slam into the ground of man, I couldn't get that image out of my head. I started thinking a lot about PTSD and how the gods, after such a horrific war, would be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. I started thinking, what would end the war? And the worst offenders of the war, who had committed war crimes, where would they be? I considered a prison for evil gods, how that prison would be Hell.
I've heard of god wars before. I've never seen the after effects portrayed in a realistic way.
She was there. Juniper was there during the war of the gods. She was there when the goddess of death rose to be the most powerful deity in all existence. Fueled with the deaths of such awesome creatures, The Pale became mighty beyond comprehension. And Juniper was there to see it all.
Now, book four of the Garden of Infamy won't be coming out for some time. Most likely there'll be another newsletter about this book when we get close to release. But we're talking about it today because I'm revealing the cover. I'm very proud of this cover. My wife and I put it together. And I hope that when you look upon it, you can see the beauty and the sadness that makes Seeds of Juniper an event.