Jon Van Stry's Valley of Fire, Book 1

Some background on our first novel!

On pins and needles waiting on Raconteur Press’s first novel run? So are we! While we wait for the upcoming release, here’s a bit of background from the author, Jon Van Stry.

As some of you folks out there may know, I have a book coming out soon with Raconteur Press. Now, back when I was asked if I'd like to write a book for them, I immediately said yes. The question was, back when I agreed to it, what would I write about?

It didn't take long to figure out the answer to that, it was obvious: Another story in the Wolfhounds Universe. I knew that by the time this book came out, I'd be wrapping up the first Wolfhound series. I have plans for a follow on with the same basic cast, but I wanted to explore more parts of this universe I've created, and tell some of the other stories that are going on inside of it.

Hence, Valley of Fire.

Originally, when I started talking to the folks at Raconteur Press about it, I was thinking of just a single stand alone story. But as is often the case with me, I realized it really needed to be more than that. It became even more obvious as I started working on it. It needed to be a trilogy. There was a lot of story to tell.

Valley of fire takes place outside the Solarian Empire (for those of you who have been reading Wolfhounds), in one of the larger and more powerful kingdoms. It has three whole star systems! Yup, that's right! Three! Now yes, the Solarian Empire is much larger than that, but as has been mentioned in Wolfhounds, most all of the other planetary governments are single system kingdoms. Some of them were never part of the original Earth run government, back before the first emperor. Some of the others were but still remain independent to this day. But there are a few of these governments and kingdoms that are bigger than just a single planet system or two, and this is one of the old ones, with roots as deep as Solaria's.

As for the protagonist in our story, we have Eric. He and his sister are orphans, their parents were Solarian nobles who were murdered by the DPRS. They were lucky to escape with their lives, but it wasn't easy and a lot of people died. They were fortunate that they were eventually taken in by a man who, while he may be a bit of a criminal, has a code of ethics to which he adheres.

Now as the story begins, Eric has recently turned eighteen, and he's starting to look towards the future. He needs to strike out on his own and learn to be his own man. However his upbringing hasn't been an exactly law-abiding one being raised by one of the biggest fences on the planet. Also growing up on the 'wrong side' of town, you could say he's fallen in with a disreputable, as well as poor, crowd.

But still, he's smart, he's got certain skills that are rare, and after 12 years of working in a salvage yard, he's in great shape and knows how to take care of himself. But as in all things, if you start to do too well at things, there will always be those who wish to see you cut back down to size, if not just laid low.

Eric, however, is already learning not to take things lying down...

This story takes place approximately two years after book six of Wolfhounds (End Game - which will be coming around mid-April 2025). The DPRS is no longer a problem for Eric or his sister, but after so many years of hiding out, it's hard not to be anything but cautious.

Can’t wait to get in on the action? Check out Jon Van Stry’s Wolfhounds series!