"Hello!" from Struggling Author: Julian Traas

[Julian]

My name is Julian Traas. I’m of Dutch-American descent. I speak three languages—but if anyone had asked me if I wanted to learn them, they might have found the answer surprising. I’ve ridden the tram in Hong Kong, gazed down from atop the Eiffel Tower, walked under the shade of the mountainous windmills in the Netherlands, stood atop the Pyrenees with one foot in France and the other in Spain, and dipped my pale toes in the crystalline waters of the Caribbean and Mediterranean seas.
If you have no objection, I’d like to give you a glimpse into my world.

I started writing The Rebirth of Rhin when I was eleven years old, living in France. At that time, I just thought it would be cool if I wrote a book.
I rewrote the work about forty times. A few years passed. Then I got serious about it.

The Rebirth of Rhin is a story about Mankind’s predisposition toward violence. It’s the most commonly used tool in solving differences.
It also has to do with the craving for influence and power, very human conditions. How many rodents do you know who have designs for world domination? Besides Pinky and the Brain.
I think that Rhin, the principle character (the hero) of the tale, came from what I wanted to see in myself. When I was younger I wanted to be a daring, adventuring, sword-swinging savior. And since the real world presented few opportunities to do just that, I began creating a new world.

But then, I realized that, in order to make it truthful, every story (and every hero) needs darkness, conflict, against which to test his (or her) mettle. And over the years, The Rebirth of Rhin took on plenty of darkness.

The world of Iora—more specifically: a corner of it known as the Four Isles—has endured the strain of constant war for six centuries. And the remaining free governments are ready to break under the pressure.
Only, the Isles aren’t beset by ordinary civil war. The aggressor who has steadily tightened his grip on the realms is the maniacal God Jiaïro. He’s not quite immortal, but as long as he’s not put to the sword he won’t just keel over and die.
It’s a problem.

On Iora, Gods and demons walk the land and are quite visible. They’re real enough when they’re burning down your city or committing genocide against a nation of pacifists.

It’s a bleak portrait of a rapidly unraveling world. I was inspired by my days in a French public school. And four days of sun a year (at best) work strange changes over you.

Into this chaos is born, or rather reborn, Rhin. He’s a simple man, from a tiny village set in a clearing in the woods. A lovely place to spend your days—until it’s roasted by mercenaries from some distant and hellish land. As it turns out, someone wants Rhin buried and will spare no expense to see that happen.
Rhin’s journey begins when he is left alone—all he’d ever held dear has been taken from him. He aims to make those responsible pay and wanders the back roads of the woods until he reaches the open fields, far beyond anywhere he’d ever dared set foot before.
And the North Isle, Nénamburra, proves an inhospitable host.

I don’t know if I’m allowed to talk about my own stuff here—if any admin has a problem, I’ll remove the links from this thread.

But, if I’ve seized your attention, here’s where you can read the first chapter for free:

http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...ebirth_of_Rhin

And here’s the synopsis off the back cover:

The Rebirth of Rhin tells the story of a young man’s journey as he sets out into the world of Iora, after his parents die in a horrific fire. Rhin’s goal is vengeance at first, but he soon learns that his destiny is grander and nobler than retribution. He finds himself in the virtual center of a conflict spanning the ages between Gods and Demons.
During his travels he encounters many strange creatures, some more friendly than others, as he becomes immersed in a dark secret involving Iora’s creator, the tyrannical God, Jiaïro. Powers push at him from all sides and soon he finds himself on a quest to destroy the God Jiaïro and free the world from violence and oppression.
There are great battles and genocides, magic, spiritual weapons, militant Gods, disgraced angels and demons wreathed in green flame -- as Rhin embarks on a personal journey of self-discovery.

For a limited time, The Rebirth of Rhin is available on Kindle for only $0.99:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Rebirth-of...8034133&sr=8-2

Or, if you (like my grandmother) are a fan of black ink on white paper, there’s the paperback version, too:

http://www.amazon.com/Rebirth-Rhin-J...8102969&sr=1-1

I hope you give my work a try—because this is what I love doing, and I plan on continuing the pursuit for the rest of my life. And I sincerely hope that you enjoy it, if you do decide to peer into the world of Iora.

I don’t own an e-Book reading device yet—besides my dad’s old palm, which can’t really be counted anymore—but I plan on getting a Kindle 2 someday. First: job.

And if anyone has any comments, thoughts, critiques, questions, or anything else, you can either leave a comment on this thread or email me at: jrtfree@yahoo.com
I will respond as speedily as humanly doable.

Thanks,

Julian

[Curly]

Hi Julian and welcome to MobileRead.

Your work sound interesting. Try posting your writing in the Writers Corner as well.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=75

[Julian]

Thanks Curly! I think I'll take your advice