Diverging (slightly) from Kevin's posts, I thought I'd jump in early in this process for a brief introduction. My name is Dan, and I'm the guy in the background. You know, this guy:

Yeah, that guy. He shows up. He does his job and gets stuff done. Ask and he will deliver (he seems pretty solid)! He's there for the big, important moments! He can swing a sword and kill orcs!*

But you don't see him much. Doesn't talk much. He probably doesn't have a name. (Seriously, we need some fanfic on that character, and I want to know who that actor is that he got TWO full face shots in a pivotal scene of a massive blockbuster! Did he just shuffle to the front of the crowd when they were shooting?)

I digress. I'm the admin guy and the support crew. I run the Web site, I handle the tools. I'm building the wiki. And I'm prepping myself for a not-so-hostile takeover of the Discord server. And the coordination of the alpha and beta reader groups. It's quite a bit. But I like to stay busy.

Kevin is clearly the ideas guy - well, I'm the systems guy. Take it, make it run, and let him focus on the important stuff - the stories!

And that's exactly the way I like it!**

This is not my first endeavor with * cough * Kevin, and we've found that we work extremely well together. I'm truly excited to see what he is creating, and what we can build with a little help from our friends! I was there at the beginning, just mindin' my eaves. Now I'm here for the adventure and you couldn't drag me away.

So maybe I'm being a little self-deprecating. Maybe I'm a little above "Anonymous Rohan Soldier #7" in the scale of things. I do have a name. And I do talk (frequently, and at length - just ask my students). More like Sundance to his Cassidy. Or Sancho to his Quixote. OR Alfred to his Batman (He's Batman!). Or...or...Samwise to his Frodo.

Yeah. That's the one. Always around, always ready. Let's head for Mordor.

Speaking of which, we need beta readers! (I mentioned it above - keep up!). Sign up here at the site or reach out - I'll get you an invite! Like I said - imminent takeover!

*For those of you who read this far: point of fact, I can swing a sword. Kevin taught me. And continues to teach me!

**If I keep at it, maybe someday I get to be THIS guy:

When I first started writing in this universe, I had a couple of goals. First, to write something that young Kevin would have loved reading. So my first story in this setting was for me. Young me. Weird me. Which is still me, so just young me. I had a blast and crafted a storyline that would inspire a series.

I also wanted stories that my kids would love. Thus, two characters you haven’t met yet came to life. I remember being a kid and wanting to enter the stories I was reading. The daydreams I had, that I could be a part of an epic fantasy adventure, pulled me along through many a story. I wanted that for my kiddos too.

So two stories were born of two goals, and both of those stories (and I have plans to publish them both in the future) fit beautifully together in the same setting. But what does that have to do with Gaea? Or her Runaways? Why is the logo a small fleet of ships leaving a blue-green planet?

I thought these were fantasy stories, fella! What’s with the sci-fi vibe?

Hush, you. We ain’t doing spoilers.

It’s not just a vibe. Gaea’s Runaways is more than just a catchy name for a storyline (and it’s wicked cool, isn’t it?). It’s a structural theme that connects several stories and a number of series within that setting. At first, it will seem a little strange. You’ll get a sense of it within the first book. But by the end of it all, hopefully it’ll have a punch that resonates throughout the story arc and deep within your rattlin’ readin’ bones.

So be patient. Trust the process. And may the Ancestors watch over you and all of Gaea’s Children.

Well hello there.

I have to say, it’s awesome that you’ve found your way back to the website. I’m hoping to keep these blog posts as regular as I can. Give you something to check in on. See the progress. Be a part of Team Kev. Fellow Word Nerd. A real pal.

But it’s entirely possible you are banging into these updates via social media. Also, very nice. Strong work. Thank you so much for following me on social media. Be sure to comment on those posts and get a discussion going. Share posts on your pages and with your friends. Really helps with my visibility.

And then there’s YOU. That powerhouse of awesomeness. You know what you did. You went to my website or clicked on that social media link and subscribed. You SUBSCRIBED. I’m so proud. Now you’ll get all of these blog posts sent to your email. No more hunting! Plus, my quarterly newsletter will land there too. And any and all publication updates, special events, appearances, and shenanigans. Boom. In your Inbox.

It’s the right thing to do. And it’s so good for both of us. For me, I get your direct contact information so I can let you know about all developments and book releases. For you, you get the peace of mind knowing you’ll be among the first to know about anything happening in my super-fun literary world.

And no risk to you at all. I’m just a regular chap. No slick marketing angle here. And I solemnly swear I won’t sell or give away your info. This is us. Just for book and book-related stuff.

So, if you haven’t done it yet, get thee to my page and click on that subscribe link. Get me your email address and encourage your amazing friends to do the same. You’ll be happy you did.

If you’ve found your way to this blog, you’ve probably heard a thing or two about my recently published stories with Cannon and Raconteur Press.

The success of my first publication with Cannon - ‘Mightier Than The Pen’, a novella that can be found in the 2024 High Caliber Awards anthology - led to a deal with Cannon to publish a full-length novel related to that award-winning novella. This novel - my first! - is currently in the writing stage with a working submission date of February 2025.

This first blog entry on my new website was surprisingly difficult to write. I felt the pressure to come out of the gate with something groundbreaking and knock the socks off of the blogosphere. Blogoverse? Bloggity Cinematic Universe?

Whatever. However you label the larger blogging community - spoiler alert - your socks are safe. After a fair amount of unnecessary angst, I decided it was more important to get the conversation started. My plan is to maintain a line of communication with friends, new fans and old, and curious browsers of the InterWebz so everyone can know what is in the works and what is coming up for publication.

I don’t want to commit to a blog entry schedule at this point. My goal is to post frequently enough to stay engaged with you all, while also avoiding a spam-storm of content that will lose relevance and interest.

So here we go! The beginning of something interesting. Please make sure you register for the email list. There will be a quarterly newsletter and updates as we get closer to publication time. And tell your friends!

Thank you for being here. I am excited to have you all along on the journey.

Now that we've cleared the atmosphere (roll with the analogy, please!), let's see how this works out!

This is our integration test for posting to the Book from our home, Gaea's Runaways. If you haven't already, head on over and sign up! There will be snacks! (and newsletters) (and secrets) (and offers) (but probably not snacks).

This is Gaea's Runaways, the home of the literary worlds of Kevin Harris - fantasy and science fiction author, explorer-extraordinaire of worlds real and imagined, and Withholder-of-Maps.

Subscribe today and join The Runaways!

Be informed of of story progress, upcoming events, and other news! Quarterly newsletters forthcoming!