Robert Fanney
Robert Fannéy was born on November 4, 1972 in Southeastern Virginia. He lived in Virginia Beach, VA for much of his younger life and currently resides in Washington Grove, MD with his wife, Catherine, and two talkative Maine Coon cats.
The scenic Seashore State Park and the frothy Atlantic Ocean bordered Robert's world as a child. Ever changing and full of mystery, both were an inspiration to Robert as he set out to create the fantastic settings of Oesha and the Vale of Mists. A surfer since a very young age, Robert has felt a deep connection with nature and finds that his most spiritual times are while sitting on a tiny surfboard upon a vast ocean or laying on the sand beneath an even vaster sea of stars.
As a teen, Robert often wrote short stories and poems about his adventures. He made frequent trips to the library and book store and read widely. Some of his favorite books were Michael Ende's The Neverending Story, Peter S. Beagle's The Last Unicorn, Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising, Roger Zelazney's Chronicles of Amber, and Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain.
Robert was also inspired by the strong women in his life and, while attending the gothic Flagler College in St. Augustine, FL, (1991-1995) he began writing a female epic fantasy which he later named Luthiel's Song. Despite numerous hardships, Robert continued to write throughout much of his adult life. He worked at a number of different jobs -- waiting tables, serving as a police officer, and even working as a coordinating editor and author for a well known niche publisher -- Jane's Information Group. During his time at Jane's Robert edited and contributed to over 15 books and magazines and co-authored Jane's Citizen Safety Guide.
Robert was able to put his experience -- both in writing and in life -- to good use and finally, after nine years, Robert had a completed first novel. With the help of his friend Matthew Friedman, an amazing artist by the name of Siya Oum, and his wife Catherine, Robert decided to publish independently. He started a boutique publishing house named Dark Forest Press and in six months produced a professional quality fantasy novel (2005).
Robert then set out to promote the book himself, beginning with online promotion and talks at local venues. By 2011, Robert had given over 300 presentations at libraries, schools, and bookstores, appeared on local and national television including CSPAN's BookTV and independently sold over 32,000 copies.
Robert has also recently completed book 2 in the Luthiel's Song series -- The War of Mists -- and is now working on book 3 -- The Nightmares of Winter.
If you'd like to find out more about Luthiel's Song, you may do so by visiting these websites:
www.luthielssong.com
www.facebook.com/luthielssong
www.myspace.com/luthielssong
“The wolf was not far away. After only a short time, he crested a nearby hill. His eyes blazing yellow fire. Fierce. For his mistress called. There she knelt. Queenly and yet so wild. Arrow set to bow - spilling out a bloody light. At the sight of her, passion filled him. It rose in his gut, swelled his chest, then burst out of his throat. It overwhelmed the air and beat against the starry roof. The howl filled the mounds, rang out through the Vale and then rolled into Minonowe. She had called him and here was his answer. The spiders were out there. Running. With Luthiel, he would hunt them.”
“Silent. So it should be. You have no place in this world, Luthiel. And there is no other.' Zalos reached out and lifted a few strands of her hair. 'Bright songs and the magic of hope are but a dangerous illusion. The fake comfort of witches charms.”
“Under tyranny it is right to be a rebel!”
“The world is a bitter thing For a dreaming heart to bear alone.”
“In the depth a light will grow,A silver shine no shadows know, Like wings unfolding in the sky,That circle 'round a gleaming eye,Turning darkness all away,Even depths will know their day,For every shadow has its end,In light!Life will return again!”
“There are very few things that live in both this world and the world of dreams. Most are gods, angels and demons. The Stone you hold was made by Vlad Valkire the son of an angel and a demon. By the divine blood that ran in his veins, Valkire could see the light and hear the song of creation -- if only as glimmerings and whispers. "Over time, he became aware of the light and the music and as he grew so did his understanding of it. At the age of twenty two, he began his greatest labor -- the making of the Wyrd Stones. In them he captured the light and song of creation and by them some of the powers of gods, angels and demons fell into the hands of elves and men. A sorcerer who knows its secret may -- like a god, angel, or demon -- stand with one foot in this world and another within the world of dreams. "Your Stone is a gateway into the world of dreams, Luthiel. When you sing, it opens and you are, in part, taken there. Others who hold a Wyrd Stone like yours may know when someone crosses into dream. When you sang, I could hear you quite clearly.”
“May your feet ever walk in the light of two suns... and may the moonshadow never fall on you... ”
“Without realizing what she was doing and more on an impulse than anything else, she leaned forward and kissed him. It was a simple, yet firm kiss and she pulled back after only a moment. But it sent a thrill through her. He leaned down for another. But she put her finger on his lips to stop him. "That was my reward to you," she said as they danced. "Don't squander it." "Reward? he asked still seeming both surprised and delighted at this unexpected attention. "What for?" "Why for living, Vaelros. And for doing so much else to help me. I will have you rewarded in state as well. But that was just from me." She saw Vaelros flush and she gave him a brilliant smile. "You don't like my reward?" she asked. "I do!" he replied. "I want only to learn how to earn more." The music was fading. The song was ending. Luthiel stepped back and let her hands drop. "A mysterious thing, my heart," she said. ”
“Mithorden said it well," she said finally. "It's worshipping death. They say they follow light. But, in the end, they're really following desolation, division, the end of things. You should hear their prophecies -- war, destruction, only special chosen people are spared." She felt sad and angry. Worse, she wondered to what ends people who believed these things would go to assert their views.”
“How can I judge?" she said at last. "To me, he is a hero. To the world a monster." She let her head fall into her arms and started crying quietly. "I miss him! Curse him! I miss him!"Mithorden put a hand on her shoulder and let her cry for a few minutes. A sad smile slowly spread across his face. "I'm glad you can forgive him," he said at last.Luthiel lifted her head. "How do you know?"Because you miss him.”
“You or I might think that at least one would show courage and put up a fight. But neither you nor I have suffered as they, and even we have born witness in silence to lesser ills under less dire threat. Yet, in the face of evil, to sit silent is an even greater evil. Complacency is ever the enabler of darkest deeds;”
“A song she heardOf cold that gathersLike winter's tongueAmong the shadowsIt rose like blacknessIn the skyThat on volcano'sVomit riseA Stone of ruinFrom burn to chillLike black moonriseHer voice fell still...”
“Rise, Luthiel, in the name of love you came and in the name of love I crown you!”
“Someone smashed a flutterfler and without even thinking she touched her Stone and used Wyrd to piece its broken body back together. She filled its empty vessels with dreams and it became the stuff it used for blood. It brushed her cheek with its wings, then flew off -- dancing in the hot air.”
“I can hear your whisper and distant mutter. I can smell your damp on the breeze and in the sky I see the halo of your violence. Storm I know you are coming.”
“Courage is not the absence of fear or despair; it is the capacity to continue on despite them, no matter how great or overwhelming they become.”
“We must be careful what we imagine, fear, or hope for. The echoes of our thought live on in eternity.”
“A genius is someone who takes a complex thing and makes it look simple. An academic does the opposite.”
“Wars are won in the will.”
“Mithorden: 'We become what we do, Zalos.”
“Zalos: 'The world is full of massive things in motion. Little creatures get hurt.”
“If I could make a dream real, I would not kill anything unless it could never be changed at heart.”
“To be me is to be different...”
“Dominance. Control. These things the unjust seek most of all. And so it is the duty of the just to defy dominance and to challenge control.”
“I'd say we're all just ghosts on a wire seeking the prick of an electric thought.”
“I would rather live than die. I would rather die than survive as a monster.”
“As an opener, I'd like to state that elves are certainly NOT cliché. It doesn't matter if they all have pointy ears, or they all live a long time, or even if they all like forests. It doesn't matter if they're short or tall or both. It doesn't matter if they're related to forest spirits or even angels. Regardless of how many elves are like one another or how many elves appear in how many books, elves are NOT cliché.Why?Well, for one, an elf is a creature. How can a creature be a cliché? Is a human cliché? They certainly do appear in a lot of books! How about dragons? Now there's a popular subject! Are dragons cliché as well? Well what about vampires too? Or werewolves? Or bats? Or rabbits? Or mice? Or owls? Or crows? Cats??”
“Othalas: Words. What are they but shadows on a page or howling on the wind? They are as ever-changing as the mists below us and it is just as easy to lose sense of yourself among them. I am older than most sorcerers so what I know may, indeed, be close to the truth. Magic, wyrd, words, dreams, they all come from the spirit. Within them lie both power and peril. For to misuse any is to warp your sense of self. To lie in words, or in magic, or in dreams -- that is how you become lost. The lights you see, they were lost long before they came to the Vale. ”
“Othalas: Chosen don't choose themselves!”
“Mithorden: 'He was brilliant, yes, but ready to laugh at himself when he made mistakes. You may not believe it, but he made mistakes often.'Luthiel: 'Why?' She choked around her tears.Mithorden: 'Because he tried to do great things. Anyone can succeed at easy things. But the things Valkire tried were very difficult. He wanted to make things better for people of all races -- for he saw the good in them.”
“Leowin: Don't worry Luthiel. 'Truth's existence never depended upon belief.”
“Luthiel: I cannot change what will happen. I can only change how I act in the face of it.”
“Vanye: You're asking me to kill you.Luthiel: I'm asking you to save her. ”
“Is there magic in this world? Certainly! But it is not the kind of magic written about in fantasy stories. It is the kind of magic that comes from ideas and the hard work it often takes to make them real. ”
“Writers shouldn't fear criticism. Instead, they should fear silence. Criticism is healthy. It gets people thinking about your work and, even better, it gets them talking and arguing. But as for silence -- it is the greatest killer of writers. So if you hate a book and want to hurt it -- don't talk about it. And if you hate my books -- please, for God's sake, shout it from the hills! ”
“It has been often said that writing is 99 percent perspiration and 1 percent inspiration. In my experience, this is true. But, in my opinion, it is useless without that 1 percent. It's like an engine without fuel -- can't get anywhere without it. Or like a lighthouse without a light on top -- doesn't guide anyone in to home or safe harbor.”
“It is the very design of life to support life. ”
“In my experience, nothing worthwhile has ever really been all that easy. But it certainly has been worthwhile regardless how difficult it seemed. ”
“It is the curse of the powerful to be blind to their own faults.”
“If Christ taught us anything it is this -- not to let our fear of death keep us from doing the good thing.”
“Mithorden:I would rather live than die. I would rather die than survive as a monster.”
“To all those women -- strong enough to be heroes; fair enough to be ladies. This song is for you.”