Pre-Published

Listening to: The Wizard and I from Wicked :)

I rather enjoy writing. A lot. I've been writing a book for quite sometime now (two years) and I'm really excited to see it finished. It's a fantasy about a fisherman named Uritus who is thrust into manhood and heroism. He sets out on a quest with his teacher, some of his friends and an Elf princess to find the treasure of a thousand worlds and experiences many trials along the way. Here's the cover I designed for the book:

Brani e Gratuito is my pen name by the way. It's Italian for "Loved and Free." And yes that is a picture of Aaron Tveit. He looks so much like I envisioned the character to look in this picture I just had to use it.

But anyway, the hero has to grow up through a lot of pain. He loses everyone he loves by the time he's fourteen. The main portion of the book takes place when he's in his seventeenth and eighteenth years though. He's had to turn to God to get through everything he has over the years and is, in my opinion, perfect. I didn't mean to make him that way. He just took on a life of his own. I guess I created him to be like the kind of guy I want to get married to someday. He's the only one of the characters in the book who isn't based after someone I know. No one is good enough to be him, I guess.

The female lead, the Elf princess, is named Adiadni. I based her mostly after myself. She's betrothed to her father's friend's son, Basil whom she dislikes and she automatically takes a liking to Uritus (there's the romantic theme).

One of the two main antagonists in the book is Uritus's older brother, the Sorcerer's apprentice, Erclidus. He has turned from God and turned to sorcery which turns him evil.

There are many other characters in the book. Uriah is the Wizard and Uritus's teacher. Alidistris is Uriah's sister and Uritus's companion. Velup is the Sorcerer and Uriah's brother. I guess you could say the main conflict is about two very dysfunctional families. It can get complicated.

But I love how it's coming along! Below is the prologue from the book just as a teaser. Hope you like it :)

When you think of a hero, what first comes to mind? A warrior bravely fighting to defend his country? A mother who is willing to give up her life for her child? A king who sacrifices something he wants for the sake of his people? Yes all of those mentioned can be considered heroes I suppose. What defines a hero? The dictionary defines a hero as: a man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. So, you don’t have to be powerful to be a hero.

      
When you hear the word fisherman what comes to mind? Why, a man who catches and sells fish for a living, of course. But could a fisherman be a hero? The answer to this question is yes. A fisherman could in fact become a hero. This reminds me of a story: the incredible epic tale of Uritus and the Sword of Fire. What’s that? You can’t possibly tell me you’ve never heard of Uritus. Alright then, if you have never heard the story the only way to solve this problem is to tell it to you myself. Your great grandfather was there during the Great War. He has told me the story on many an occasion, and I will do my best to tell it to you in the same way he told me.

What is it about? A young fisherman named Uritus who grew up to do great things. It’s filled with adventure; Goblins, monsters, Trolls, and other unimaginable creatures; tragedy; suspense; romance; and never ending excitement. It is also a rather long tale, so sit back, relax and enjoy it. I promise you’ll find no other tale quite like this one. Now where to begin? Well I think just like all stories, the best place to begin is at the beginning, so I shall start there.

Once on this very same day and time, many years ago, a child was born. But this was no ordinary child. He did not know it at the time, but some time in his youth, his great courage would cause him to save a nation. He would grow to be the most amazing man in the land, in every way. Every man who met him longed to be like him and every woman who met him longed to be his, but he cared not for them. He just cared for his God. This child was Uritus.