Kauai, HI –The author of the KIRINS trilogy returns with a fourth novel to continue the epic tale of tiny, magical beings who live throughout Earth today. Introducing: KIRINS: The Seer of Serone. (Beaver’s Pond Press, January 18, 2022).
Author James Priest created a race of tiny magical beings called kirins that live on Earth today. Due to ancient frictions, kirins have magically concealed themselves from humans for millennia.
In the fourth installment of this action-packed fantasy series, a disgruntled kirin high magician interrupts the global invisibility spell and kirins everywhere are momentarily visible to humans. Exploiting this breach, a vicious Alaskan fishing boat captain, Jeremy Bailey, captures a kirin named Till and, under threat of torture, exploits Till’s magical abilities for Bailey’s benefit.
A kirin party fights back to deliver Bailey to The Seer of Serone, an esteemed kirin wizard who brings the infamous human to trial. Peering into Bailey’s mind, The Seer will show mercy only if Bailey is a truly changed man.
This lovingly crafted story in the classic fantasy tradition explores the power of empathy, friendship, and forgiveness to heal the rifts that divide.
“KIRINS: The Seer of Serone”
James Priest | January 18, 2022 | Beaver’s Pond Press | Fantasy
Paperback | 978-1-59298-724-5 | $16.95
Ebook | B07CW1XX8Y | $6.99
“This is a very detailed and well imagined world.”
– Netgalley user
“…a whimsical fantasy novel about the power of friendship and tradition.”
– Foreword reviews
James D. Priest, M.D., majored in English at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. He studied English in the masters program and received a Doctor of Medicine degree at the University of Minnesota. He spent three years in Japan as a physician in the Army of the United States caring for casualties from Vietnam, and four years in orthopedic residency at Stanford University. He practiced orthopedics in Minneapolis for twenty-one years. He has authored or co-authored approximately thirty medical articles, and received the Minnesota Medicine Outstanding Writing Award.
Follow James on social media:
Goodreads: James Priest | Twitter: @KIRINS_Author | Website: KirinBooks
In an interview, James can discuss:
- Why he chose to explore empathy and forgiveness in his novels
- Balancing practicing medicine full-time while writing his series
- What inspired him to build an elaborate fantasy world set in modern-day Earth
- Why he explores the challenges of reuniting kirins and humans, who had been co-existing but living entirely separately for millenia
- His inspiration for the unique cast of characters, both kirin and human
- How he has persisted in continuing the series over the span of 40 years
An Interview with James Priest
1. How did you first find inspiration for “KIRINS: The Seer Of Serone”?
The Seer of Serone is the sequel to my KIRINS trilogy but I wrote it to be enjoyed as a standalone adventure, too. I made the characters and their world small because as a child I loved and collected miniatures, and I have always loved fantasy and science fiction. I set out to write a fantasy in the classic tradition: epic storyline, an immersive, all-new world, great characters, powerful and mysterious magic, action, plot twists, an immediate threat, romance, and heroism. And the books are suitable for readers 10 to 110. No vampires, zombies, gore, drugs, or post-apocalyptic landscapes. No obscenities or erotica. No superheroes, just heroes.
2. Why did you decide to have this fantasy series take place on modern day Earth?
Most fantasies are set in a mythical world or in the past or future. I wanted to challenge myself to write a fantasy set in today’s world.
3. When writing a series with a unique, fictional civilization, how did you create the backstory and details for this world?
To set the series in today’s world, I had to create a backstory that would explain how a rich, unrevealed fantasy world could exist all around us on present-day earth. My writing nook overlooked a serene lake and woodland. I visualized a fantasy civilization that might populate that landscape, living joyfully just beyond the reach of human senses. I imagined that those creatures—kirins—were once friendly with humans. But humans, being human, came to treat kirins cruelly. Kirins dissociated and intentionally concealed themselves from humans using magic that both races once shared but humans have long forgotten. Still, there has been a persistent longing within many kirins to reunite with their old allies, human beings, while ancient memories of kirins persist in every human culture through myths about magical little people—faeries, leprechauns, menehune, and the like.
4. What inspired you to stay committed to creating this series over the span of many years?
I love writing and creating, and when you love doing something you never want to stop. But most importantly, I wanted to see my stories come to a satisfying ending.
5. You were working full time when you began this series and describe writing as “a second career”. How did you balance these careers?
I was practicing medicine full-time when I wrote the original trilogy, and it took four years to complete. I wrote early in the morning, at night, on weekends, and on holidays. I was never happier than during those four years when I was writing, having a busy, fulfilling medical practice, and spending time with my family. Someone once asked my wife how many hours a week I wrote. Her answer surprised even me: forty, she said. I never kept track of the time because it never felt like work.
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