Epic Fantasy with Magic

All he wanted was to prove himself a man.

All she wanted was to learn to use her new-found magic.

Neither of them knew the price of their desires.

A rope bound his feet together, and another held his arms at his sides. Each of his fellow captives was secured in the same way. His arms itched where the hemp fibers dug into them. He wiggled trying to reposition, to somehow scratch it.

The slave beside him gave a warning shake of his head. Slave. He’d been taken captive—by a jiddee’adar slaver. Weren’t the jiddee’adar supposed to be Jeeah’s protectors—advisors to kings or chieftains, using their abilities to serve? He shook his head. He’d seen how Olechario used his power.

Fantasy that Questions Your Core Beliefs

What if being who you were meant to be, meant you’d be trafficked, sent half-way around the world, and sold into slavery? Would you be able to see meaning from the despair? Or would you be like Paskal?

As the young girl came to a stop, her eyes widened, and she walked toward Paskal, her hand extended. “You’re a slave?” She reached for his hand and pulled him down to her, then traced the mark on his arm.

He wanted to hide, to have the ground open up and swallow him. Instead of the hatred and disdain that he’d grown accustomed to, though, she placed both hands on his cheeks and turned him to her.

“Jeeah loves you.”

The words struck him harder than the physical blow he’d expected. What did she mean? Of course, he knew about Jeeah, but since he’d woken in Olechario’s care, his faith that the god was good had dwindled. How could Jeeah allow him to be treated like he had?

Like a good slave, he didn’t reply. There was nothing he could say anyway.

Fantasy that Brings Hope from Loss

Paskal only wants to prove himself a man, but when he’s captured by an evil mage and sold down the Inferno Trail, he loses more than he ever thought possible. And yet, through the fire and pain he finds hope.

What would you do if faced with immeasurable loss?

Cover for Paskal’s Hope

Where to Get Paskal’s Hope

Instead of a pre-order on Amazon or other outlets, Paskal’s Hope is being released as a Kickstarter project. It’s currently in pre-launch which means you follow it to get notifications of when it goes live. The more people who follow it, the more Kickstarter promotes it.

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding option that allows you–the reader–to get early access to special edition books. Paskal’s Hope will have four different chapter headers that will correspond to his place in the story. The hardcover outside will match Kristjan’s Rise so the duology will look great on your bookshelf.

If you haven’t already purchased Kristjan’s Rise, you’ll have the opportunity in the Kickstarter to get both books.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

Thanks for asking, Kandi! Most importantly, I am a husband, a father, and a follower of Jesus. I currently have four thriving kids with another little one arriving this June! My wife, Erin, and I decided we wanted a basketball team, and the Lord has certainly granted that wish. As you can imagine, our days homeschooling and parenting our crew are full of adventure.

Prior to becoming a self-published author, my professional journey took me down several different avenues. My father was an NFL coach, and I was blessed to play D-1 football at Texas A&M University. After my athletic career ended, I went back to school to become an RN. That was a humbling season of obedience to the Lord, leading me down a path that wasn’t my initial passion but taught me so much.

Later, after earning my Master’s in Information Technology in 2017, I transitioned from bedside nursing to the corporate world. Looking back, I realize that the seeds for my author journey were actually planted in middle school. I remember spending hours on my parents’ old PC, using software to dream up worlds, people groups, and creations simply for the joy of it. Little did I know that God was using those moments to prepare me for authorship today.

Kandi: Wait a minute… You can’t just drop that your dad was a NFL coach and leave it at that! Okay, maybe you can, but are you free to tell us what team he coached for? I learned football in junior high when we went to church an hour away from home and the church people took turns having us over for dinner. The one family had a son who loved football, so I learned the game while becoming a Seahawks fan. That was in the time of John Elway and Joe Montana.

Andrew: I’m happy to share more details, and I loved your story about becoming a Seahawks fan. Interestingly, I lived in Seattle for five years while my dad coached there.

He served as a VP of Wellness and a Strength and Conditioning coach for over 30 years. His career included time with Tampa Bay, Green Bay (where he won a Super Bowl), the Seattle Seahawks, the Cleveland Browns, the San Diego Chargers, and the Carolina Panthers, as well as several college teams. We certainly did a lot of moving!

Kandi: Oh wow! Yeah! That’s so amazing about your dad’s career. I understand moving around; we moved from home to home in Tacoma while we were there, and went from Iowa to Washington to Oregon.

Why do you write stories for kids?

Before I began writing, I did quite a bit of narration work for other authors. During the COVID lockdown, I started making up a series of stories to act out for my kids. I did this for years, unaware that my wife was often behind the door recording them—she was sneaky!

During a season where we were crafting our family’s vision and mission statements, I felt a tug on my heart to build a business that I could eventually invite my children into—something focused on empowering the next generation. When I mentioned this to my wife, she calmly asked if I had ever considered authoring those stories I told the kids. At the time, I didn’t think I was cut out for it or had the time to devote to such sacred work.

However, that very night, my daughter walked out of her room and said, “Daddy, I think you need to tell other kids these stories. I think they need to know the lessons you have put in them.”

That moment moved my heart in the best of ways. I spent time praying on it and felt the Lord clearly say to move forward. My hope is to create a legacy for the next generation through these stories.

Kandi: Your path to publishing sounds much like S. D. Smith who writes the Green Ember series. It was stories he told his children that led to his publishing the series. While at Realm Makers this last year, I got to meet him and see his kids helping in the Green Ember Live show. It was a testament to his stories and his heart to see so many homeschool families there with their kids singing the songs from the stories.

Andrew: It’s wonderful that you met S.D. Smith. His journey is a HUGE source of inspiration for me when I first started researching this path; I was shocked by how much our stories overlapped. My kids absolutely love the Green Ember series, and I’m so thankful the Lord has blessed his work and established him.

• Settlers of Catan
• Ticket to Ride
• Arkham Horror: the card game
• Magic the Gathering
• Thanos Rising

You may wonder how in the world all of these games could be similar. Well, leave it to a gaming mom to figure out how to make one game that incorporates elements from all five of these games.

Gather Resources

Just like in Settlers of Catan, gather resources to build homes. You’ll need 10 homes for the 4-player game.

Draw from choices

Just like in Ticket to Ride, choose two cards from either face up or face down. Use your cards to build your homes.

Play Unique Characters

You may choose:

• Jorvar who gets to go first, swaps an event card with someone else, or in the last week chooses one player who doesn’t have to draw an event card.
• Arnor who can use 1 lichen and 1 water in exchange for 1 malachite, and can disregard one cave-in per round.
• Bergmund who can roll a dice and get ice rat, snow fox, lizard, or shkatad, and can draw one additional ice rat.
• Iuun who can clear the face up resources into the discard pile, drawing one from those instead of drawing her two resources. She can also choose to place her cards that are discarded from a calamity either in the discard pile or face down on the draw pile.

Just like in Arkham Horror: the card game you choose which player at the outset of the game, and then role-play or not as you see fit.

Lore Quotes

Just like in Magic the Gathering, each card has a quote from Kristjan’s Rise, the story that connects to the game premise.

Event Cards

Each round, draw event cards that make the game progressively harder like in Thanos Rising. And as the game progresses, you’ll shuffle in even more catastrophe events.

Drawing from elements my family loves to play, I created a game based off the origin story for Kristjan’s Rise. You’re trying to get the scientists through the first month after The Impact. 

Race against the clock, help each other, and have fun.

Kickstarter Details

The game is live on Kickstarter. The funds go to commission the rest of the art needed for the 4 more resource cards, the 6 more character cards, and the rest of the event cards.

Besides the game, you can get the t-shirt, a custom playmat, and a custom snow fox plushie!

But remember, the Kickstarter is only live until February 19, 2026! Unlike the books that’ve been on Kickstarter, this one needs the extra help to get the art. It won’t be available until maybe much later. Can we get it to fund?

How do we deal with that?

1. Know who you are:

If you know who you are, then you’ll know if you never feel drudgery. Or maybe you’re one who feels the dragging your feet to do something. This is the first step.

2. Know how you cope:

Once you know who you are, then know how you cope best. Are you someone who loves lists? Do you add things you’ve done that weren’t on the list just to be able to check it off? (Yes, I’ve done that!) Are you one who needs music? Are you motivated by incentives? (One year, my husband offered to purchase a whole new wardrobe if I could reach my weight goal. I worked for it, and got it!) 

3. Do what fits you best:

If you know how you work best, but don’t do it, then you’ll either fail or only accomplish it with dragging feet. So, do what works for you! Make your lists and check them off. (I’ve created a Trello board to track my goals for the year.) Turn your music up and get work done! Set up realistic incentives. Do what you need to adjust to the new normal. 

For me, last year, I reorganized my kitchen. I used Christmas money to purchase a hutch, a new drying rack, a knife block, a utensil organizer, and several lid and cutting board organizers. Once it was done, I realized that I had a kitchen that I could navigate in my new normal of a pinched nerve. 

I’d love to hear what your new beginning is and how you’re going to adjust to the new normal. Do you need accountability? I’m glad to check in with you. I even have a spot for authors to help with that. 

Whatever it is, may your new beginning be shrouded in blessings.

It had been the most stressful celebration he’d ever pulled off, and it was time for the final announcement. The guests had all arrived, they’d all eaten their fill, and now were milling about awaiting the moment.

Somewhere across that field of people stood his best friend—the one he’d just stormed away from. And here he was at a celebration of friends! And not just any friends. No, this was for the best friend of all.

Taking another deep breath, he reached out mentally. Raya, he called.

I’m here. Ben’hyamene’s voice was as strained as his own.

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t… Kyn tried to force his thoughts into a coherent stream, but they milled about, and he was supposed to climb the platform in mere moments and address the crowd.

No, Raya, Ben’hyamene said. Although I have a dragon’s conscience, that doesn’t mean I’m always easy to get along with. I’m the one who knew you were stressed, and I yelled at you. I’m sorry.

It was as if Ben’hyamene clapped him on the back, and some of the burden of the moment lifted from Kyn’s shoulders.

Thank you, he thought to his friend. Can you do your part?

Of course, Raya. The familiar warmth of their friendship flooded Ben’hyamene’s words. Why don’t you start this celebration?

With a nod, Kyn climbed the stairs to where the five top friends of all time and the friend of all friends sat waiting for him. He could do this, even if they didn’t have fire dancers. It just wouldn’t be the same.

As he reached the top, the crowd came into view. He swallowed. It was always hard to stand in front of the youngling challenge, but this was many more than any challenge they’d held.

Taking another deep breath, he mentally nodded to Ben’hyamene. An ethereal, enormous scarlet dragon swooped across the field toward him. When it reached the stage, it exploded into red sparks.

Their guest of honor, Samwise, applauded and said, “Mr. Bilbo wouldn’t have liked that, but Merry and Pippin would’ve.”

Kyn raised his voice to be heard. “Peoples of the worlds, tonight we celebrate friendship. I present to you, the most honored friend of all, Samwise Gamgee.”

The stocky young man shook his head and strode to take Kyn’s place. Kyn sat down in the chair provided for him, satisfied he’d done his part.

“I’m not sure about most honored bit,” Samwise said. “But tonight, I’ll be awarding a silmaril. Those who’ve made it to this platform have proven their friendship by gaining the attention of our voters.” He looked to the sky, as if seeing the unknown people who’d decided the fate of those on stage.

“In fourth place, we have Gurgi of the Chronicles of Prydain.”

A man whose long arms were covered in fur and leaves stood and waved.

“In third place,” Samwise went on. “We have…” He looked down at the paper in his hand. “Sorry. Jo Shanks from The Green Ember.”

A rabbit hopped forward and raised a bow and shouted, “Till the green ember rises!”

There was a small group that called back, “Or the end of the world!”

Samwise waited for quiet, then continued. “Tellie of Moonscript and Pet of The City Between.” He gestured for them to come forward.

A young girl that didn’t appear to look like she could hold her own in any fray stepped forward, but as she did Kyn could sense her courage and determination. The other girl was only a few winters older. The two walked to the front of the stage, and Samwise grinned at them.

“Second place is a tie between these solid friends who stepped up in hard times and showed their true selves.” Samwise nodded to them, and they sat back down. “Now for the winner of the 2025 Silmaril Award.”

A balding man pulled a pipe from his mouth and glanced about. Seeing all eyes on him, he straightened his coat and vest around his wide girth as he stood. “Ah-ho!” He took off his round spectacles and cleaned them with a handkerchief. “As the great Shank Po wrote—”

But his words were drowned in the cheering. Samwise raised his hands for silence, but it was the sun glinting off the green gem he held aloft that brought a collective gasp from everyone.

Samwise nodded. “I present the 2025 Silmaril Award for best friend to Oskar N. Reteep from The Wingfeather Saga.”

A bright light of reds, greens, and blues lit up the sky. Kyn’s head shot up. Fire? But from where? Then he saw them. The dragons of all riders who’d assembled flew across the company raining sparkling dragon courage upon the guests.

Then there was a beat of drums, low at first, but then building, and down the aisle came a man spinning a staff of fire. The crowd parted, and as if on cue, he spewed fire from his lips like a dragon.

Kyn didn’t know how he’d misplaced the fire dancers, but someone had found them, and for that he was grateful. He could relax now. The award had been presented and everyone would eventually head back to their own worlds. All that was left was to enjoy the time with his friend.

Other Ceremonies

Most Nefarious Villain — H. L. Burke
Most Epic Hero — Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
Most Epic Heroine — Marie Shen
Most Silver Tongue — D. J. Edwardson
Most Mischivous Imp — Sarah Taleweaver
Most Faithful Friend — You are hear
Most Magnificent Dragon — J. L. Mbewe
Most Devoted Couple — C. O. Bonham
Wisest Counselor — Grace Tabor

“Raya, how are you?” Ben’hyamene called out as he approached, a broad smile on his tan face. “Ardyn wanted to let you know the first guests have arrived.”

Kyn took a deep breath. This was always when he felt the weight of his position as coordinator. Would those invited find the place to their liking.

“Well, let’s greet them. Do you know who they are?”

Ben’hyamene shook his head. “Some of them look like they belong, but others…” After a short pause, he said, “I just hope they all get along.”

Wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers, Kyn followed his best-friend down the grassy lane toward the mountains, but instead of following the path to the end of the encampment like they would for the youngling challenge, they turned toward the ocean.

“Where are we going?” Kyn asked.

“Ardyn said, they just appeared out of nowhere on the sand.”

Kyn tried to grapple with that thought. Out of nowhere? Then again, the letter he’d received had been out of thin air.

When they came to the beach, he saw a mismatched group of people mingling about. There was a tall woman who looked as if she belonged with the El’Shad’n except her clothes were… How could he describe them? They clung to her form almost like a tunic and trousers, but snug–very snug. She seemed to be gazing about taking in the scene. Beside her, a woman in light trousers and a bright yellow coat held a man’s arm. He adjusted a strange dark blue hat on his head and pulled down a thick dark blue vest. He had several things attached to his belt, and the way he he glanced about said he was in control.

“Welcome,” Kyn said, stepping forward. “Welcome to the 2025 Silmaril Awards.”

“Silmaril Awards?” The tall woman asked as she turned from admiring the ocean view. “As in Tolkein?”

Kyn glanced to Ben’hyamene who mentally said, I don’t know.

With a deep breath, Kyn started to speak, but the man with the hat replied instead, “That was what Tiger Lilly’s note said. We were runners up for the friend award.”

The tall woman beamed. “Friend, huh?”

A short, dark young man pushed through the group, or rather, the group gave him space. On second inspection, he wasn’t dark skinned like Ben’hyamene but was moreso dirty! His hair stood on end. “Runners up?” He looked about. “Where’s the fightin’ then? I’ll prove it to ya, thet I’m the best one.” He put up his fists, grinning and displaying a missing tooth.

“Uh, we’re not here for a challenge,” Kyn said, trying to take control of the group. “We still have several days before everyone shows up and the awards are given. Please, accept our hospitality.”

The tall woman nodded. “Thank you, but if I’m to be here for any length of time, I’ll need more clothes. Do you have a shopping center nearby? Maybe a town?”

Releasing a breath he didn’t even know he was holding, Kyn said, “Ben’hyamene here can show you to merchants row. I don’t know how many will have clothes, but any shopping will be done there.”

“I appreciate it,” she said, striding forward. “Ben’hyamene, nice to meet you. I’m Tanvi.”

“Uncle Kyn,” Ardyn said, joining them. “I have the housing arrangements lined out. Want me to show them around?”

“We’d appreciate that.” The man adjusted his blue cap again. “Be careful of the ground, Tiger Lilly.” He pointed to an uneven spot.

Tiger Lilly walked daintily in shoes that Kyn tried not to shake his head at. They had pointy heels and her toes poked out through them.

He started to suggest she visit merchants row, when the remaining person joined him. “I thought this was gonna show who the best friend is,” the lad said, looking a little lost, his bluster gone. “I don’t even see Pantherbane here.”

Kyn placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder. “I’m sure all who’re supposed to be here will arrive soon. Maybe he was called to one of the other celebrations.”

That brightened the lad’s demeanor. “Celebrations? Is there gonna be wrestlin’? I’m one a the best in the Feechie Fen.”

“You come from a fen?” Kyn asked. “I have many friends who live in a fen called the Carr. They’ll be arriving with their dragons later this week.”

“Do they fight?”

Kyn laughed. “You seem to like to fight. Maybe I’ll have to invite you back for the youngling challenge. You could help some of the dragon rider younglings learn a thing or two.”

The young man spat on his hand and held it out to Kyn. “Name’s Dobro Turtlebane. I’d like that.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance, Dobro.”

“Yer supposed to shake it.” Dobro thrust his hand closer to Kyn.

Trying not to grimace, Kyn placed his hand in Dobro’s. The young man squeezed until Kyn was certain his bones would break.

“Well, yer one tough one fer a civilizer,” Dobro said with his crooked smile. “I bet you’d make a good Feechiefolk.”

Right then there was the sound of wind and a clap, almost like thunder. Dobro dove for the ground, but Kyn turned to face it. Flying through the air was…

Kyn blinked trying to believe what his eyes were telling him. The head was like a dog, but it was long, and was that someone on the creature’s back? With a beating of wings, that sent Dobro running and crying, Wylen landed beside Kyn.

Get on. It will be best to meet them in the air.

Without a backward glance, Kyn mounted. He needed to direct his newest guests to their place. But no one had told him he’d have a dog the size of an ancient dragon! At least he had a large plain for everyone.

As he picked up the missive, his hand tingled, and the gold radiated outward. He shuddered, and began reading.

To the Frithwyn of Three Spans Canyons,

I am writing to request your help in an epic portion of friendship and peace across mulitiple universes. Friends from many different lands will gather to learn who has been voted as the best friend of all. As a friend of peace and the organizer of the youngling challenge for dragon riders, I am asking you to host the award ceremony.

“Kyn.” Serena poked her head in the door, then came to him. “Is everything alright?”

He nodded, trying to understand the import of the words.

Serena wrapped her arms around him, her blond hair sliding along his shoulder as she peered at the letter. “What is it?”

Without waiting for a reply, she read aloud, “I know you have the space to host this year’s ceremony. The question is will you?”

With a squeal, Serena spun around. “Well, I’ll go get the supplies for a trip to the El’Shad’n. You’ll need Benhyamene. After all it said friends, and he’s more like a brother to you. And the El’Shad’n know how to put on a party.”

“Yes,” Kyn said. “But we don’t know when this is to be held.”

That steadied his wife for a bit. “Well, read it and find out.”

Kyn skimmed the letter, then nodded. “We have a moon to get everything ready before our guests will show up.”

“Good! Then come have breakfast, and we’ll leave as soon as we’ve cleaned up.” Serena waltzed out of the room, a spring in her step.

If only Kyn had the same confidence as his wife. As he went to set the missive down, a section at the end glowed.

Knowing you need more time at your disposal to prepare, I’ve worked a bit of magic. You won’t feel it, but your days will be sped up so that all preparations will be finished when the nominees and the dignataries arrive on Tuesday, Sept 23.

Despite your own misgivings, I know that you have resources that will enable you to pull off a party worthy of Bilbo’s eleventy-first birthday.

With a backward glance at the item that had turned his day upside down, Kyn strode toward his breakfast and a new adventure. Already, the excitement of seeing his best friend was building. And yet, he wondered about the five special people chosen for the Most Faithful Friend Award.

Top 5 nominees

There were a total of 88 nominations with several ties. First place had a tie so they are listed in the order they were nominated. The fouth/fifth place was a tie and was settled by judges.

Thanks for all your wonderful memories by mentioning favorite characters and giving me new books to want to read.

1. Oskar Reteep (Wingfeather Chronicles)

Oskar owns Books & Crannies and helps the Igiby family. In his own words, he’s an “appreciator of the neat, the strange and/or the yummy.”

2. Tellie (Moonscript)

Tellie was orphaned at 14 years old and washes dishes at her guardian’s inn. When she finds a necklace, she goes in search of the next elf king.

In so doing she meets Errance when she’s captured by the Darkness (villain of the story) and thrown in the dungeon cell near his. Rather than being terrified by the scarred and sharp-edged prince, she sticks by him faithfully, helping him to escape the prison in both body and heart and return to the land and faith of his youth. Even when he snaps at her and her companions or tries to run off on his own, she refuses to leave him or be left behind.

In other words, she looks at this angsty, traumatized elf-man and says “He needs a hug. And a friend. And a little sister. I can fix that!”

3. Jo Shanks (Green Ember)

Jo Shanks is an archer who despite being orphaned and paying back his father’s debts, worked his way to a defender position in the Bracers to protect Heather and Picket Longtreader

4. Pet (The City Between)

Pet is a girl living in her dead parents’ home. When a dead man shows up on her doorstep, she ends up with three fae visitors to investigate his death. She loves to irritate JinYeoung, one of the fae who only speaks in Korean.

5. Gurgi (The Chronicles of Prydain)

Gurgi is a cross between man and beast with long arms covered with fur and leaves. He speaks in rhymed pairs and redundant phrases, but he’s loyal and caring especially to Taran the hero of the story.

Voting

Other Category Nominees

• Most Epic Hero – Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
• Most Epic Heroine – Merie Shen
• Most Faithful Friend – You’re Here
• Most Nefarious Villain – H. L. Burke
• Wisest Counselor – Grace Tabor
• Silver Tongue – D. J. Edwardson
• Most Magnificent Dragon – J. L. Mbewe
• Most Mischievous Imp – Sarah Taleweaver
• Most Devoted Couple – C. O. Bonham

How it works

First off, since this is my first time hosting, I thought I’d share how it works. But with that, since it’s the 10th anniversary, there are some special things as well. You can read all about it on the official website.

But in general there are two contests this year:

• A puzzle
• Voting

The Puzzle:

Follow all the nominating blogs, and collect the pieces of a J. R. R. Tolkein poem. Piece them all together for ten entries in the contest.

Note there are five (5) winners!

The Voting:

When you nominate a character via a comment on a blog (and submit your email), you’ll be entered to win the voting prize.

But wait…

There’s more!

Two names will be drawn from those who nominate, and all the blog hosts will be split into two teams for a LoTR trivia contest. It’ll be online Sept 26th.

Again, note there will be five (5) winners!

Silmaril Award Information

The most faithful friend award is for those side characters that everyone loves! They may be crotchety or beautiful, a gardener or a soldier, witty or quiet. Whatever they are, they are loyal to the bitter end.

But first…

The Guidelines

From the official website, I quote:

The Silmaril Awards are all about celebrating fantasy fiction. But whereas most awards go to authors or books, these awards go to the characters themselves! Sound like fun? Read on.

Started in 2016, these awards are a four week online celebration of all that’s best in fantasy literature. There are several awards in various categories given every year. The characters who receive them have to be from books generally considered to be in the fantasy genre. And a given character cannot receive an award more than once. These are lifetime awards.

Also, as Tolkien is, for us, the gold standard of fantasy, his characters are not eligible to be nominated. That’s because they’ll be the ones presenting the awards in this cross-dimensional online ceremony. 

Nominations are submitted on the websites of each of the presenters for that year. Anyone can submit a nomination and you can second (and third and fourth, etc.) any number of nominations besides your own.

After the nomination period (lasting one week), the five characters receiving the most nominations will make it onto the ballot and you’ll have one week to vote. After the votes are tallied, the winners will be announced, one per day, over the final two weeks of the awards.

The awards the winners will receive are silmarils, the otherworldly gems featured in Tolkien’s book, The Silmarillion. Though there were a limited number of these gems in his world, in ours we have found a great many more!

The dates for this year’s awards are:

Nominations week — Sept 2-6

Voting week — Sept 9-13

Awards ceremonies — Sept 16-27

The Rules

1. You cannot nominate characters from Tolkien’s works. The creators of these awards saw that Tolkien’s characters are the gold standard by which we measure these categories, and they’re the official presenters of the awards. In other words: they’re doubly ineligible.

2. These awards are for fantasy characters only; no science fiction characters are eligible. That said, we will consider characters from some sciencey books if there’s enough magic-y/fantastical stuff that it can be deemed science fantasy of some stripe. The primary example is characters from Marissa Meyer’s Lunar Chronicles, which we’ve decided does involve enough magic that it’s basically science fantasy.

3. When you nominate your character, please mention which book they are from. Much as we all wish we had infinite reading time, most of us are mere mortals who can only devote so much time to devouring the entire contents of any library we can access. (And those of us who aren’t mere mortals are still pretty busy.)

4. You may nominate as many characters as you wish and “second” as many characters as you want, but you cannot second your own nominations. The top five MOST seconded characters will go on to the final voting round. (Also, as a request . . . please don’t say “I second all characters from [insert book/series here].” That makes it more difficult for the hosts, who now have to make sure they don’t miss any characters from that media. Instead, we encourage you to consider which character from that book or series best fits the category and throw your support behind that one.)

5. If you are an author, please refrain from nominating your own characters. You are welcome to encourage your fans to nominate them, however, and you are more than welcome to nominate others’ characters.

6. Characters who have won in a particular category in a previous year are ineligible to be nominated for the same award again. The Silmarils are Lifetime Awards. For a list of the previous winners in each category, please check out our Hall of Fame. Note: as of 2023, characters from The Chronicles of Narnia have been recognized with Lifetime Silmarils by the Silmaril Awards Council and therefore cannot be nominated again.

7. Please remember that these are Fantasy BOOK Awards. Therefore, a movie character is only eligible for nomination if they were in a book first!

8. Most importantly, have fun! We are celebrating our favorite characters and being a little silly in the process. And even if your personal favorite character doesn’t win or doesn’t reach voting, someone else’s did . . . and there’s always next year.

Past Silmaril Awards for Most Faithful Friend

Since you can’t nominate those who’ve already won, it’d be helpful to know who’s already won. The listing is impressive, but I know there are more out there. (Wayne Thomas Batson, H. L. Burke, Sharon Rose, and Annie Douglass Lima have wonderful characters.)

• 2024 Nugget from Wingfeather Saga
• 2023 Neville Longbottom from The Harry Potter Series
• 2022 Rose Red from The Tales of the Goldstone Wood
• 2021 Jewel from The Chronicles of Narnia
• 2020 Puddleglum from The Chronicles of Narnia
• 2019 Iko from The Lunar Chronicles
• 2018 Little John from The Adventures of Robin Hood
• 2017 Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride
• 2016 Reepicheep from The Chronicles of Narnia

Do you see why The Chronicles of Narnia was recognized with a lifetime silmaril? I have many faithful friends, I’d love to nominate, but I can’t since I’m hosting it. I look forward to your nominations.

Oh… But first…

Most Faithful Friend Puzzle Excerpt

2025 Silmaril Award Nominations

Let the nominating begin! Cast your nominations in the comments below. Be sure to go nominate for the other categories as well.

• Epic Heroes: Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
• Most Epic Heroine: Merie Shen
• Most Faithful Friend: Kandi J Wyatt (You’re here!)
• Most Nefarious Villain: H. L. Burke
• Wisest Counselor: Grace Tabor
• Silver-Tongue: D. J. Edwardson
• Most Magnificent Dragon: J. L. Mbewe
• Most Mischievous Imp: Sarah Taleweaver
• Most Devoted Couple: C. O. Bonham

But…

Once we’re aware, we then have an option of how to handle it. Last week we talked about remembering the times we’ve made it through. Did it help you? I hope so.

One way to help you remember is journalling. You can write down the events that happen and then go back and read them. But there’s another form of journalling as well.

This is what a chat group called writing for yourself. It’s the writing to understand where you’re at right now. What you’re thinking about a topic, or how you’re feeling. 

This type of journalling can help the mind games by giving you a glimpse into your thoughts. You can see if you’re not thinking right. You can understand what’s going on.

This week, when you find yourself uptight, frustrated, or just plain out of sorts, sit down with some paper or your note app or even a word processor and journal what’s going on.

I’m reminded of how the Rittider put on their armor as they go about their day. Or how Carryl made sure the dragons and riders had armor to fight against the turquoise dragon rider.

Unfortunately, our armor isn’t as cool looking as a leather breastplate. It’s moreso a way of life, a decision each morning as we wake up to gird up our mind to be ready for the attacks that will come that day.

How can we do that? Our first step is remembering.

This week, I was given some shocking news. The position I thought I was going to move into was given to someone else. My current teaching position is up in the air as I wait on insurance to decide on long-term disability. I began to panic. For the past three years, my income has sustained the household. 

At the same time, I knew I’d heard the invitation to come risk with God and pivot in my work focus. But how was that possible?

As I tried to grapple with all of this, I reminded myself that God has always provided. Always! But it took a conscious effort to remind myself.

Mairead goes through this as well in Divided. As she’s taking the crown, she must swear in her cannonsea, or captain of the royal guard.

“Kyeth, Rittider of Muintir, do you pledge your life to Mairead, Queen of Muintir?”

“Aye.” Kyeth blinked back tears, the emotion almost undoing Mairead’s resolve not to cry. “My blade belongs to my queen. My will is hers to command, and my life will be spent in exchange for hers. This I vow with Jeeah as my witness.” He paused before his voice rang out clear and strong: “Chay la Jeeah.”

Mairead fought for control. How could she do this? Lugh squeezed her shoulder, and she remembered Jeeah. Taking a deep breath, she stated the words she’d memorized at the jiddee’adar’s prompting. 

Our daily battles might not be as big as facing an evil mage, but our enemy is just as determined. The mind games are real. Will you remember how you’ve come through hard times in the past? Remember that you did get through them. That bad times pass, even if it feels like they won’t.

What memory do you need to recall? I’d love to hear how you got through a bad time–if you feel comfortable sharing.