2 Things You Didn't Know About the Kingdom of Virdura

My latest book, Tales From Virdura, releases worldwide tomorrow. It's the second book in the Kingdom of Virdura series, four years after the release of my first book, A Petition to Magic.

Tales From Virdura is not really a sequel to A Petition to Magic, but it's set in the same world, and contains stories about many of the same characters. Here's the blurb:

Explore Virdura, a world full of fantasy, magic, and drama.
Find out what happens when a dashing young farmer's son swoops a neighbouring daughter off her feet.
Meet Queen Tricia and the Royal Wizard Solon. Or Queen Celeste, her daughter, as she continues to struggle to come to terms with her new role as queen after the death of her mother.
Or read about Tobin the Bounty Hunter as he takes down Jarvis, a merciless criminal who brutally slit a blacksmith's throat.
All these stories and more await you in Tales From Virdura, a collection of flash fiction stories that take you deep into the world and the lives of the characters who inhabit it.
If you enjoyed reading A Petition to Magic, this might just be your next read.
You'll find out more about old characters and meet new ones. You'll read prequels and origin stories, and you'll read original stories taking place in new locales within the Kingdom.
This book can be enjoyed as a companion to, or separate from, A Petition to Magic.

In honour of the release, here are two things about the Kingdom that you may not know.

The Kingdom of Virdura was originally going to be known as the Kingdom of Agrianova

That's right: in an early draft of A Petition to Magic, that's what I called it. Boy, am I glad my wife convinced me to change the name. Can you imagine how "Tales From Agrianova" would've sounded?

The Naming of Solon

For those of you who don't know, the name of the Royal Wizard and Queen's Advisor in A Petition to Magic, is Solon.

I've been asked where I came up with the name, because it turned out to be so apt.

Well, to be honest, it happened purely by accident. You see, one of the ways in which I come up with the names of my characters, is to use Behind the Name's Random Renamer. I just click "Generate" a few times, until I find a name that sticks.

That's what happened with Solon. I had no idea at the time that Solon was the name of a famous Athenian statesman, lawmaker, and poet, but the people who asked me where I'd come up with the name, sure did!

I now agree that Solon is a great name for the Royal Wizard, but just think: he could have just as easily been named Bob!