How I came up with titles for Catenarian Chronicles
Catenarian Chronicles is the kick-ass dark paranormal fantasy series with strong libertarian overtones. But how did I name each book?
Cursed Mage was the easiest of the bunch. When I first bought a premade cover that I was initially going to use for the book, cursed would appear somewhere in the title.
The eerie backdrop with snow falling amidst a midnight-blue, but cloudy sky, and cemetery gates gave the soon-to-be book that paranormal feel. Something I intended, since I wanted to write a series inspired by E.E. Holmes’ Gateway Trilogy, but with the possibility of a fourth book, if needed.
But how was Kaija Jokiharju a cursed character? For me, it was her situation. She loses her dad, moves in with a strange rich relative, has weird things happen to her, and then bam, she’s more than just a Mage.
She’s a rare Maalivahti
If you read my other series with Maalivahtis (Mages who can control spirit along with a traditional element) in them, not a single one of those characters are living a life I’d want to live.
Sion Zona (Elementals of Nordica) has the authorities after him for existing. Sabre Kjaergaard (Sentrys of Terrene) has another Maalivahti weaponizing her ability against her. Ditto for Mina Hirai (Chronicles of Rondure). Arttu Etienne (Cymraeg Tales) basically has a death warrant.
So yeah, Kaija’s cursed with this same ability. Hence, cursed transformed into a justifiable term.
Astray Mage didn’t come so easily
While I wanted to use the Gateway Trilogy as inspiration, I didn’t want to retell the story, even if Book II in Catenarian Chronicles took place in a castle supposedly located in the countryside. And I say ‘supposedly,’ because if you read Deceived Mage, my prequel to the series, or Cursed Mage, you’ll know what’s lurking under that nearby lake.
I also knew there was going to be tension unlike any other, and Kaija was going to get chaotic. There, that’s your hint for Astray Mage. Chaotic Kaija.
She’s a girl who naturally defies authority when it’s in the wrong, and she’s not the only one. But for someone who took up a ‘ringleader’ role following Cursed Mage’s events, Kaija wasn’t about to fall in line just because the powers that be told her so.
She’s going astray here, I thought to myself. Kaija’s the kind of girl who’ll buck authority in about two seconds, so after looking up a few synonyms, I finally landed on Astray Mage.
Rising Mage hints at heightened awareness
Rising Mage carries the secession theme at its strongest, and that’s all I’ll say about it. Well, that and heightened awareness from Kaija and Company. That said, it wasn’t hard to use the term rising in this one, even if I seriously considered a few other options.
One was Ascending Mage, but it sounded too much like Spirit Ascendancy, Book III in the Gateway Trilogy. That wasn’t what I was gunning for because again, E.E. Holmes’ trilogy was strictly inspiration, not a full-on retelling.
Further, I’m more than a genre fiction author, so I needed to take this series and infuse it with libertarian themes. That involved a heightened state of awareness not only with the spirit realm and such, but also with the libertarian philosophy in and of itself. Hence, secession.
Work your way through Catenarian Chronicles
Yeah, I wrote this article with vagueness attached, even if I dropped a hint bomb or two. So if you want the full scoop, and if you’re a libertarian sick of tokenism, DEI, and all the other B.S. that you see in modern-day literature and crave themes you’d actually agree with, then Cursed Mage will be right up your alley.
You’re getting dark paranormal fantasy here infused with libertarian themes that touch on foreign policy, mass surveillance, digital ID, dissent, and, later in the series, alternative systems. If you’re ready to take the dive into work with a plot so complex that it won’t insult your intelligence, check out Cursed Mage and get lost in the Catenarian Chronicles.
Oh, and if you find that book interesting, I got quite a few others in my little shared universe that’ll also pique your interest.
