Read the Chapters

Chapter 1: The Frozen River
Chapter 2: The Smith's Secret
Chapter 3: Over the Fellmark
Chapter 4: Durrowhold (coming soon!)

The World of Stoneward (places, peoples and words)

About the Book

A long time ago, the mountains and the rivers were one kingdom, ruled by High King Thalorn, who wore a crown made by the greatest smiths who ever lived. When he died, his two sons fought over it, and the crown was broken in half. One half went to the mountain folk and one half went to the River Kingdoms, and then both halves were lost, and the mountains and the rivers have been fighting ever since.

Three hundred years later, in the coldest winter anybody can remember, Kestrin, the son of a blacksmith in a little village on the border, cuts a hole in the frozen river to get water. Under the ice, something is shining. It's half of a crown.

Now the Grey Cloaks of the River Kingdoms are hunting him, his father has a secret he never told him, and Kestrin has to carry the crown across the Stoneward Mountains in the middle of winter, with only his best friend Pell, her sling, and a strange old wanderer who knows a lot more than he's saying.

The whole book is going to be about 20 chapters. I have 11 written in my binder and I'm typing them in one at a time. It's slower now that school started.

About Me

My name is Gavin and I'm 13 and in 8th grade. I live in Minnesota, so I know a lot about cold, which helps with this book because it takes place in winter.

I started writing The Stoneward Saga in 6th grade. I write it in pencil in a blue three-ring binder that I keep under my bed, and now it's almost full, so I'm going to need a second binder. The idea came from a dream I had about a river that was frozen solid and something gold was stuck in it. When I woke up I wrote it down, and that became Chapter 1.

My favorite books are the Dragonlance Chronicles by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. I have read The Hobbit four times, and I think "Riddles in the Dark" is the best chapter of any book ever written. In Dragonlance my favorite character is Tasslehoff, because he's funny and brave at the same time, and my second favorite is Raistlin, even though he's creepy. If you can tell that Grennick the Wanderer is a little bit inspired by Fizban, you're right, but he's also different, you'll see.

I want to be a writer when I grow up, or a game designer, or both. My little brother Cody keeps asking if he can be in the book. I told him maybe as a Thornwolf.

Characters

Updates

9/18/99 Chapter 3 is up! Sorry it took so long. School started and we have a LOT of homework in 8th grade.
8/21/99 Added the World of Stoneward page because people were asking what a brannock is.
8/7/99 Chapter 2 is up.
7/24/99 My page is finally up! Chapter 1 is here. Thank you to my dad for helping me figure out the HTML.

Please e-mail me and tell me what you think, especially if you like fantasy books too. If you find a spelling mistake, please tell me that too. My English teacher says every writer needs an editor.