by
Steve Lazarowitz
August 2000
ALARIC SWIFTHAND
It seems like a very long time ago that I wrote the first installment of The Adventures of Alaric Swifthand.
At the time, I was still married, lived in another place and worked at another job. I had yet to sell my first short story. I had yet to publish my first e-book.
If you've changed everything around you, you can almost think about your old self as a different person. I feel sometimes as if I've been reincarnated, but can still, vaguely remember my past life. I can remember a lot of what happened, but it doesn't seem to have happened to me.
That's how it is with much of my early writing. I've moved beyond most of it. I don't think about most of my older stuff that often. I'm always working on something new.
But Alaric is different. For one thing, The Adventures of Alaric Swifthand was the very first piece of my writing to be displayed publicly. For another, it was a fantasy serial that ran for over a year.
Alaric earned me my first fan letter and my first rave review. Curiously enough, that review was written by the Editor of The Wandering Troll, Jason Laseman. At the time, he had a page called Troll's Eye Reviews. He had some very kind things to say about Alaric. That friendship eventually led to my second fantasy serial, Reflections of a Recovering Servant which can still be read in its entirety right here.
The original Adventures ran for six issues, at which time I'd planned to put it to bed, but the fans wouldn't let me. The second book ran from part seven to part twenty-three and that was the proverbial that.
Until an e-publishing company asked if I would be interested in doing an Alaric E-book. At the time, I didn't just want to take the original serial and throw it on a disk. If Alaric were to appear electronically, he demanded a new adventure. Thus, The Adventures of Alaric Swifthand Book 3 was born.
Now, almost three years after the first episode debuted on Dragonsclaw, Alaric Swifthand is back; both original adventures and a brand new Alaric Novella in e-book format. Crossroads Publishing proudly presents "Alaric Swifthand".
Alaric is just one of those characters that refuses to die. Even now, the beginnings of a sequel are dancing through my mind. For those of you who are unfamiliar, Alaric is a fast paced swords and sorcery romp. There's enough mystery, action and humor to appease even the most demanding action fan. Yet Alaric is much more.
Alaric is a bit like all of us. In over our heads. A dollar late and a day short. Just an ordinary guy, dealing with extraordinary circumstances. He's the guy wanted for the murder of a noble's daughter and later a prince. The guy pursued by Graham the Giant and the guy that simply can't control that magic sword of his.
If there's a price to pay, Alaric has paid it, but he still never loses his love of life.
Together with an unforgettable cast of characters, Alaric Swifthand has to solve the biggest mystery of all; who's behind the insane conspiracy to do him in.
You can order Alaric Swifthand, or just read an excerpt at: http://www.crossroadspub.com/Alaric.htm
And now, I leave you with an excerpt from Jason Laseman's comments, as they originally appeared in the Troll's Eye Review.
"What I did get into on the page, was a continuing novel by Steve Lazarowitz. The Adventures of Alaric Swifthand. It's great. The story is exciting and very original. Very fast paced.
Steve is a talented writer. I won't say gifted, because I feel that's an insult. To say someone is gifted totally negates the years of sweat and soul they've poured into their work, honing their craft. So, he's talented already. He has a section of the 'zine called View from the Parapet" in which he discusses things of interest, such as the state of fantasy today. Most of them are insightful and very well written.
This is a fun page, visit it again and again."
Note: All back issues of View from the Parapet are archived on Steve's SF and Fantasy Home Page at http://www.sff.net/people/nagennif
Also, you can check out brand new audio versions of View from the Parapet at http://www.blindside.net/Vacancy and hear me read them in my own voice!
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