The Vitmar Chronicles
The Vitmar Chronicles is a slice of life fantasy series that was born way back in 2007 and began publishing in 2023.
It follows two brothers, Gabriel and Kaldor Vitmar, across the better part of 20 turns (years), as they face trauma, find love, and experience the highs and lows of life.
The broad goal of the series is to explore the human condition, but in a fun fantasy setting. As big of a fantasy geek as I am, I often find fantasy stories to be lacking in emotional consequences… especially in male characters. While most stories tend to gloss over emotional repercussions due to time constraints, I wanted to be able to explore things like grief and recovery long-form, spanning years.
Beyond that, I’m completely oversaturated with stories about couples getting together, but I’ve yet to come across many stories that explore what it takes to stay together.
As a feminist, not only did I want to explore emotions, why we have them, and how to manage them, I also wanted to show off a world that’s kinder than our own, with healthy examples of masculinity, supportive communities and honest, open cultures that take care of one another
The Vitmar Chronicles Series
Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning
"Volume I: An Ending & A Beginning" starts with Gabriel Vitmar hoping to move his relationship forward with his partner, Amakela, but his younger brother Kaldor's intervention reveals more than Amakela’s bad attitude, leaving Gabriel in a shattered mental state.
After several passes (months), Gabriel finds himself ready to try to perform for a crowd once more. After a smooth trial run, Kaldor returns to his clan for a retrieval mission, only to find Aelwynn Cae Sinaro, of the Merchant Isles, hidden in the hold of the raider ship, with a crossbow pointed at his face.
Meanwhile, Gabriel's first solo trip to town after his trauma leads him to discover the hard way that his judgment is no longer what it was.
Genre: adventure, action
Topic: physical & emotional trauma, recovery
CW: violent physical trauma and subsequent PTSD
Volume II: Three Oracles, A Dance, & A Song
In "Volume II: Three Oracles, A Dance, & A Song," Kaldor Vitmar and Aelwynn Cae Sinaro embark on their Span of Joining, encountering three enigmatic oracles who give cryptic notes on the potential of their relationship.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Vitmar finds himself drawn to the deeply magical Amelie Nivekorpi, though her arrival threatens the uneasy inner peace he's fought so hard to regain. When Amelie’s magic weaves into Gabriel's music during a moment of shared creation, it leaves a mark neither of them can ignore. As Gabriel begins to move past his fears, Amelie’s own world unravels beneath her feet.
Genre: romance
Topic: recovery, communication, trust
CW: loss of control
Volume III: TBA
Volume III is currently under the working title “Isolations.” Now that our four main characters have been introduced, it’s time to separate them and see how they manage without one another’s company and support.
Genre: romance, adventure
Topic: recovery, isolation, endless pursuit
CW: loss of control
Then What?
The series won’t stop here! If Kaldor and Gabriel are approximately 18 and 22 at the start of the series, I expect them to be around the ages of 40 and 44 by the end. I have a lot to put these guys and their partners through, and then see how they handle it. I hope you’ll stick around and see what’s in store.
Tropes & Comps
I confess, the more general a trope is, the more likely I am to get bored of it and try to flip it and do something new or different. Much of my time spent writing The Vitmar Chronicles has been spent trying to craft healthy examples that people could follow, and alternatives to the way things are usually done.
That said, you can never avoid a trope or a similarity to other writers who’ve inspired you, so here are a list of tropes that I’ve used or flipped, and some comparable titles (or authors that I really admire).
Tropes & Subversions
long-form slice of life fantasy
non-epic, not-quite-cozy either
queer+ societies, poly casual lifestyles
low spice romance (implicit, not explicit)
high emotional stakes with long-lasting consequences, low political/global stakes
globally acknowledged magic system that can be accessed by those of a certain bloodline
magical power derived from a known multiverse
magic is akin to technology, society is otherwise medieval/pagan tech
varied community types with examples of equality and only one patriarchy
cultures and communities founded on open, honest communication, integrity, and self-awareness
fae cryptids, deities, some creative use of mythological entities (dryads, hamadryads, etc.)
elf-types and dragon-types replaced by Eldren and Kadrakkis (both extinct)
Comps & Idols
Can I comp a TTRPG Actual play series? Because I’m obsessed with Dimension 20, NADDPOD, and Worlds Beyond Number. I think those players are some of the best worldbuilders and storytellers of our generation and I can only hope to touch the emotional depth of the stories they’ve made.
I love the peaceful nature and simplistic yet evocative writing in the works of Travis Baldree and Joe Abercrombie. I don’t have the poetic prowess of Patrick Rothfuss (I wish), but I try to match the grandness of Abercrombie with the coziness of Baldree in my writing. If I can get a hint of Rothfuss in there here and there for the sake of evocation, I’m all for it.
When it comes to the slice of life nature of The Vitmar Chronicles, nothing else that I’ve ever read is more similar than the long saga of the life of Anne Shirley from Lucy Maude Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables (etc.). I read Anne’s story when I was quite young, and was interested in following her throughout her life. It wasn’t until more recently that I realized this is exactly how I wrote my series.
I adore the low stakes, cozy vibes of books by Sarah Beth Durst, the fae whimsy intensity of Catherynne M. Valente, and the simple, sweet magic of Tove Jansen.
A lot of the characters and even some situations are based on real life events or inspired by real life people. Some of these events are even loosely based on true stories.
Even More About
The Vitmar Chronicles (coming soon)
About the World of Ilynika
Feminism in Fantasy
Loves Stories Beyond HEA