The Virian Chronicler

THE CLOAK OF DARKNESS The black mystical cloak which endows the ability to fly.  It is not an object of evil, despite the name.  To make your cloak for the first time, one has to have faith and think of something positive and life-affirming, or a loved-one whose support upliftt.  Once the cloak has been made the first time, it is easy to summon it again.  It is not an actual garment, it is part of the person, extending along the base of the neck to the shoulders.  It grows when summoned and retracts when banished. Its name comes from the fact that most people can only use their cloaks to fly during the hours of darkness.  A few extremely powerful sorcerers can fly during daylight hours. Flying should not be confused with levitation.  Levitation is simply the ability to lift objects or people off the ground and hover them there for a short time.  It can only be done by sorcerers, whereas any citizen born within the Fenian Galaxy can ...

Hello and welcome to my blog, Author Interviews . My name is Fiona Mcvie. Let's get you introduced to everyone, shall we? Tell us your name. What is your age? Sarah: I’m Sarah Wallace but I use Xanxa Symanah as my author name. I’m 51 years old. Fiona: Where are you from? Sarah: I was born in the South East of England but I’ve moved around a lot since then. Fiona: A little about your self (ie, your education, family life, etc.). Sarah: I come from a small family. I only have one sibling, my younger brother. Both of us were lucky to have a very good education. We’ve both had good jobs but I had to give up work in 2007 to become a full-time carer for my disabled husband. I fit my writing in around caring for him. Fiona: Tell us your latest news. Sarah: I’m currently working on revising and editing “ Probyt’s Progress ”, the first in a new series of urban fantasy novels. I’m also involved in two collaboration projects. One is a murder mystery that I’m writi...

My characters aren't always perfectly behaved.  In fact, several of them end up in prison.  Here are the most famous prisons in my fictional universe: WOLFTOWN PRISON Located on Pale Island, far to the North of Viria, this is a maximum security installation where the most violent offenders are sent.  In " Malachi's Law ", Malachi Shanahan is serving a life sentence at Wolftown. In real life, I visited Alcatraz.  I found it fascinating and that visit provided the inspiration for Wolftown, with it being on an island. MYNARTH PENITENTIARY One of the most notorious Varathusian prisons, located on the outskirts of the city of Mynarth.  Again, it's a maximum security installation.  In " The Window Man ", Lyle Menehari pays a visit to Mynarth.  Also in " Chimera Obscura ", Andreas Castiglioni serves a five-year sentence there.  Grim brutalist architecture sets the mood.  Draconian punishments are frequently meted out by gu...

Welcome to Writer's Corner. Today we are privileged to chat with Sarah Xanxa Wallace. Amanda: Hi Sarah. Thank you so much for coming along to chat today. As the author of The Virian Chronicles, I’m fascinated to hear your process behind this vast and amazing fictional universe. Let’s talk about The Virian Chronicles. How did it all start? Was there a moment in your life where you couldn’t ignore the story any longer and had to get it down on the page? Sarah: I’d always made up stories, even before I learned to read and write. I used to recite them aloud or act them out with dolls and teddy bears, putting on different voices for the various characters. The Virian Chronicles started almost by accident. I’d had a go at writing sci-fi but decided that I wasn’t much good at the technical side of it. I’d always loved detective stories, so I set out to write my own, aiming for the old-school style of Dixon Hill and The Maltese Falcon. Somewhere along the way, tha...

VJELADIYAAN A symbiotic creature, also known as a crystal serpent. Very rare. It forms bonds with Menshan (human) hosts, endowing them with enhanced strength and agility. The host has to "let the serpent out", ie, allow it to take over, at intervals. With practice, the host can control when the serpent takes over. The shift isn't the same as a regular shapeshifting because of the shared consciousness and genetic material. The host actually becomes the serpent during the change, whereas in a regular shift, the host merely rearranges their pattern to resemble another person, creature or object. Sheraleen Conder in "Mind Games", Sean Donovan in "The Sunshine Acolyte" and Justeen Shanahan (later Halloran) in "Malachi's Law" all have these symbionts.