I’m currently making final revisions to my debut novel, Paraliths, a coming-of-age adventure about two brothers who reunite and set out to unravel a family mystery.
The story takes place on Traum, a planet similar to 19th century Earth. It follows the life of Iyo, an empty, 17-year-old boy who wants to learn more about his absent father. But not until when his estranged older brother, Ves, returns home after missing for ten years, does he finally learn of his father’s truth.
Ves leads Iyo through the woods to a strange boulder, the very thing that caused their father’s obsession. When he touches it, Iyo suddenly finds himself vomiting next to another paralith just like it thousands of miles away in a land of dwarves.
Disoriented, scared, and still wearing his pajamas, Iyo learns there are a total of eight paraliths and they’re all interconnected in a sequence. He can’t go back home—the paraliths only teleport one-way—so he has no choice but to help his brother on his lifelong quest to find them. Ves doesn’t know where the remaining paraliths will take them, but Iyo doesn’t care, for behind his mixed regret of leaving home and his fear of the unknown, he feels more connected to his family than ever before and becomes committed to unraveling the mystery.
I wrote Paraliths to be an accessible fantasy story, trying to balance realism with the fantastical. It symbolizes life’s many obstacles and shows how facing them will make you stronger.
Paraliths is the first book in a duology. I’m about 20,000 words into the sequel.
Mike Sieminski 