What Is The Vitmar Chronicles?
The Vitmar Chronicles is a low fantasy novella series set in the world of Ilynika. It follows brothers Gabriel and Kaldor Vitmar as they try to live meaningful lives in a world that doesn’t need saving.
It’s true. Nobody saves the world in “The Vitmar Chronicles.”
Rather than write yet another epic where heroes band together to defeat evil, I wanted to tell stories that reflect people I also think are heroes:
Those who face the worst of life head-on.
Those who pursue their true selves without shame.
Those who love without limits.
These tales are for you.
The Origin of “The Vitmar Chronicles”
At the time, I saw The Vitmar Chronicles as a fresh start after my 13-story series of JRPG scripts. I was bored of fantasy stories where a mismatched group of unlikely heroes comes together to defeat some ultimate evil. I’d played the games (The Legend of Zelda and Final Fantasy were my gateways), but the dominant fantasy tropes just didn’t hold my attention. By then, I was mostly raiding that same little brother’s bookshelf for Steven Erikson and Neil Gaiman instead. (Sorry)
So instead of writing more epic save-the-world quests, I set out to write a story about people simply trying to live, with all of the mess that comes with that.
At some point in 2024, it hit me that The Vitmar Chronicles is actually far closer in spirit to slice of life novels like Anne of Green Gables than to fantasy series like The Wheel of Time. It doesn’t have a Big Bad Evil Guy. There’s no Dark One to destroy. It’s just about people… following them over 20 turns [years], through grief and love, trauma and family, identity and reinvention.
Life is the adventure. That’s the point.
The earliest versions of these characters were scribbled in sketchbooks gifted to me by enthusiastic coworkers.
I now have a scanner, so expect to see some of those ancient artifacts show up in better condition.
The Vitmar Chronicles was born in January 2008, after a lingering conversation I had with the brother of a guy I was dating in Calgary. We were both metalheads and fantasy nerds, and we had gotten into a deep discussion about what sort of troubles we would face if we were characters in a fantasy novel. That conversation stayed with me for weeks, maybe even months, until I sat down and decided I had to write it.
The World of Ilynika
The stories in The Vitmar Chronicles take place in the world of Ilynika… a name I’m pretty sure I adapted from “Ilyria” in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night (a.k.a. his best comedy).
Ilynika is made up of scattered islands like Isidor, Eayl, Nordvahl, Terysia, and the main continent, Andranei.
The islands far from Andranei are my version of a utopia: a place where people once fled after the War of Doors at the end of the Second Era. They left Andranei—a more traditional fantasy setting, with all the usual inequality, tyranny, and systemic failure—in pursuit of something better. (…Relatable, right?)
When the Third Era began, these settlers reimagined their society around the concept of harmony. Rather than abandon the idea of a monarchy, they reshaped it. The title of “king” became Patron of the Realm, a role focused on care and service, not control.
The Patron’s first priority is always to protect and support the people. Their children are expected to live and work among all walks of life before ever being considered for leadership, so they’ll understand the needs of the people from experience, not from theory. And even then, if a child feels unsuited for the role, they’re free to walk away from it entirely.
Laws and social standards are decided in democratic tribunals, with every proposal examined through both scientific and societal lenses. The question is always: how could this help and how could this harm?
That kind of thinking shapes everything. Discrimination, as we know it, doesn’t really exist outside of Andranei. Basic income is a given. Education includes a few years of general learning, followed by hands-on apprenticeship based on personal interest and skill. Art is celebrated. Life stories and shared wisdom are valued more than material wealth.
It’s not a perfect society, but it’s one I think I’d like to try out.
TVC Over the Years
For a long time, I planned to pitch The Vitmar Chronicles as a trilogy: two books made up of year-chapters, and a third full adventure novel starring the next generation of Vitmar kids. However, when I finally gave up on chasing traditional publishing, I realized it made more sense to release each chapter on its own.
They’re all technically standalone stories anyway. So now, each new release adds a piece to the puzzle, building toward that final novel, which plays out over a much shorter span of time.
Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning has been through 16 years of rewriting. The first fifteen pages alone? I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve reworked them… somewhere between twenty-five and infinity times.
I want to believe it’s been worth the wait.
I’ve learned how to “show, don’t tell.”
How to weave backstory in slowly rather than dump exposition.
How to let my characters tell their own stories.
My descriptive writing grew.
My emotional fluency deepened.
And most importantly, I figured out what this world was really about.
Ilynika used to be full of tropes.
There was a king, not a Patron.
Everyone hung out in taverns.
Kaldor was basically a mindless barbarian brute.
Gabriel was his less-masculine but equally artistic foil.
Rian used to be named Kalani (which, turns out, literally means “my fish” in Finnish… let’s just move quickly past that, yes?) and was a generic “listens to your problems” bartender rather than the proprietor of pleasures they are now.
Even the addictions were generic. While I once studied Fantasy Alcoholism 101, now I teach Unsettling Fantasy Addictions 405, where you get substances like the Bottomless Mirror: an addictive eyedrop that won’t show up for a few volumes yet.
At the end of 2023, I had a personal revelation:
I didn’t enjoy the process of chasing agents or trying to convince anyone that my work was worth their time. It felt like I was asking for permission to exist, when all I really wanted was to tell stories and keep my morals intact.
So… I stopped.
I gave up on traditional publishing and decided I’d rather keep the pie for myself than give slices away to a system I don’t trust.
…Yes, self-publishing comes with its own hurdles.
But at least they’re my hurdles?
My low-key goal was to start releasing the books in 2024, but I didn’t want to promise anything until I knew I could follow through, especially since what was once a trilogy now required fifteen book covers instead of three. But then I had a little manic streak, as one does, and decided to release the first volume on my birthday.
So… I did.
The Vitmar Chronicles, Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning ~ OUT NOW ~
The Vitmar Chronicles, Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning ~ OUT NOW ~
TVC Now!
Honestly? At this point I’m like a mom whose kid won’t move out. I’m ready to get this out there and then maybe do something even cooler afterward.
So far my origins are humble: digital volumes, faux-leather covers, and good storytelling. I’m lucky enough to have a talented friend, Kathy Criswell, designing the covers (check out her book Aphrodite Rising, coming in spring 2025—I edited it!).
Down the line, maybe I’ll run a crowdfunding campaign for a print collection… something with proper cover art, a world map, maybe even music if I think I can pull it off.
For now? Find Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning online and stay tuned for Volume II & III in 2025!
Even More Lore!
Want to know more?
I made a video where I talk about the series, where it came from, what matters most to me as a writer, and where things are headed.
You’ll also learn some of my quirks, my philosophies, and why I think this story is worth telling.