The Song of the Maid of Ice

Rimewinter is only a few days from its digital release. And the paperback is now officially live. And it’s a bit of a beast, clocking in at 453 pages, the longest thing I’ve ever written.

This second book in The Swordspeaker Saga has many new characters and new challenges for the heroes from the first book. And, just as in the first book, several songs and poems are woven into the tale.

Poetry in fiction, especially fantasy fiction is something I have always loved. It serves two main purposes.

Deep calls to deep

First, it gives depth to the world. Most people have a smattering of songs that are dear to them, some more than others. And whether it’s Christmas carols or that song you and your best friend belted out together on that road trip in high school, we often know the words and sing them when the mood strikes us.

The world of Kiln is not our world. It doesn’t have the same songs and poems. It has its own. And of course, the characters in that world would know and appreciate their own lyrical offerings just as much as we appreciate ours.

By including songs and poetry in the story, it invites the reader to dive deeper into the imaginative world of the story.

Stay awhile and listen

Secondly, poems slow the story down and force the reader to pause and reflect. A poem is a sign to a reader saying, “these words matter.” Pay attention. You don’t want to miss this.

Even light or silly songs help set a mood which regular prose cannot fully capture. They can offer a pivot in a scene that might otherwise be nervous and tense and now, suddenly everyone is breathing easier because the song has drawn them together.

Tiryn, who is the most musically inclined character in the Swordspeaker Saga, knows this better than anyone. In fact, in the upcoming book she offers the following words, “Music has the power to erase distance and time. It draws us out of ourselves and into something greater.”

The best books aren’t the ones you rush through just to get to the end. The best ones are the ones that make you want to savor every word and bask in their narrative glory as long as possible.

Rime of the ancient scrivener

One of the first poems I wrote for Rimewinter is meant to be a song. I even have a melody for it in my head.

This song fits the wintry theme of the book so perfectly and I love the archaic, antiquated forms of some of the words. You’ll note that “sometime” is not plural and that is by choice.

To me, this poem feels old and ancient and full of mystery. It’s a bit like something I might have read in my English Lit courses.

I can’t say too much about the poem’s role in the story, but suffice it to say that is rather important.

The Maid of Ice

The Maid of Ice sometime appears 
Her face a-glitter with diamond tears
To mourn the one that she has lost
Beneath the hoary frozen frost

There are no tracks upon the snow
That tell the tale of grief and woe
The bitter, grave, and awful price
Paid by the girl now made of ice

She drifts amidst the howling gales
Unleashing tearful cries and wails
Her wintry robes of blinding white
Are thick with sorrow’s chilling blight 

The Maid of Ice sometime appears 
Her face a-glitter with diamond tears
For should she ever cease to cry
Her heart would melt and she would die

So there you have it. I hope it puts a little shiver in you when you read it, and doubly so when you find it in the book. I can’t wait for you to discover it in the story itself.

The book releases on April 5th. You can still preorder a digital copy and save 40% off the regular price. Or, if you can’t wait, you could order a paperback copy right now.

The hardcover is taking a little longer and will hopefully release sometime in April or May at the very latest.

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share this wintry poem with you.