Tuttle creates new tales successfully interwoven into the framework of the old and moves his series forward. "Knights of Alcea" vibrates with excitement in this keenly focused account. His books are for all ages, from teenagers to the elderly, and are also very moralistic.
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The story takes place in the old land, about three years after the "Amethyst of the Gods" ended. Everything turned out well in that book, but the land is very impoverished because of all the wars that went on. Even though there is peace reigning, people are hungry and without work.
A dozen or so individuals in the "Sword of Heavens" were responsible for putting the king to power but have since disbanded, going back to their old ways when trouble strikes again. But this time, they don't know where the trouble is coming from because all the lands have been combined into one continent: Alcea. The people don't realize there is another continent out there intent on destroying Alcea.
A senseless death in a small town in the Cordonial Province of Alcea occurs. Two people who remained at home witness the carnage. The reader is then carried to the Imperial Palace of Lanoir where another strange death will set the scene to upset the people even more. Spiders are known to have sources of information not available to others. Somehow a new religion is also developing in the land.
One by one, the heroic people go back into service, not because they're called in but because they are driven to. They see something going wrong and they feel compelled to act. Midway through the opening of the book, the Knights of Alcea have been resurrected, thus the name of the new book.
"Final Voyage of the Remora," Book 2 of the Demonstone Chronicles, has also just been released.
In this book, Five Knights of Alcea and others sail on a stolen enemy ship through uncharted waters. The Alceans find a vast continent that is preparing for global war. The Knights discover strange new magics and an empire that seeks to plunge the world into misery and despair.
Genesis of the work
Tuttle has such a creative mind that most of the time, even he doesn't know where the ideas come from.
"I know from this particular book, the idea came from building a map of the land we'll be exploring," the author said. "It was a very rich process - building a land, cities, naming the land. Every day I would add something to the map and an idea would spring forth for the series, not just the book."
He continued, "It's a very creative process, and I can't explain it much further. In order for me to write, I have to become part of the story. Once I start writing, I'm very much into it, from the time I get up in the morning until I go to sleep at night."
Tuttle, who has been actively writing for the past 10 years, said that he tries to write about 4,000 words per day.
With four computer monitors each having some part of the story on it and one having an Excel spreadsheet, he continues his exciting work. The spreadsheet helps keep track of the countries, rulers, names of people and who is alive or dead, among other categories.
As soon as he finishes a chapter, he sends it to his five proofreaders, two of whom are his daughters. They read for content, verify facts and figures, and give Tuttle valuable feedback as to whether the story is exciting for them or not. He admits to using cliffhangers at the end of each chapter.
Already writing the second book of this series, he expects it to take about six months to complete.
"I have a book out that I haven't published yet. It's been sitting with Baen Books, a publishing company for the past year," said Tuttle. "Their process is agonizingly long, but they're the type of publisher I'd like to be with."
By visiting his Web site - www.rstuttle.com - you can read synopsis of each book and see maps of the continents and countries he has created.
"Life can be a fantasy," he added. "But hard work is the reality that creates it."
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