I’m glad you’re here. Sit down, take a load off, and have a look around. I promise you’ll find plenty of interesting things here. This webpage is a companion project for the YA fantasy series the Sundast Sagas: “Quiet Courage” and it’s upcoming sequel “Quiet Grace”.

Here on this website you’ll find everything you need to know about the people and places of Sundast to help you better understand the world its set in. By clicking the links above you can view some interactive maps, learn more about the cast of characters, the world itself, and so much more. Have a look around, take a few minutes out of your day and get lost in a fantasy world you’d always hoped existed.

Can’t justify the cash? You can still start Cienn’s adventure in the world of Sundast today!
READ QUIET COURAGE

A Letter From the Author:

Thank you for supporting the message behind Quiet Courage. While what awaits you is a pulse-pounding adventure story in a fantastical land at its heart Cienn’s journey was always something deeper than adventure. Since I was young I’ve always found escape between the pages of a good fantasy adventure. Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, The worlds of Tamora Pierce, all of them brought me so much excitement and solace as I struggled fitting in at school and in life.

But despite their splendor these stories never fully resonated with me. I never found someone like me. So I decided one day to make my own. What resulted was the world of Sundast and Cienn’s story in Quiet Courage. Cienn is an openly gay youth in a home that doesn’t quite know how to accept him. His struggle personifies the journey thousands of young gay men and women, including myself, experienced growing up. I won’t lie, being a gay youth in today’s society still isn’t easy. Many of us still struggle to find our place in the world.

We unfortunately live in a world only halfway to perfection. Many of us have seen the errors of the past and are striving to change for the better. But there is still the influence of those that came before us weighing heavily on the shoulders of today. We see that in the seemingly never-ending list of teen suicides, the continued hate crimes both at home and overseas, and the snail’s pace of change of social reform. And while we lock ourselves in this boisterous, overly dramatic argument about the rights of human beings some of those human beings get left on the wayside crying out for a lifeline.

Some lifelines do exist. And more are popping up all the time. But the fact of the matter is that the people who need these messages of acceptance and equality aren’t the 45-year-old moms who absolutely love Kurt on Glee, but are the boys and girls who cry themselves to sleep at night wishing they could just be normal. They need to know there is someone out there just like them who rises above the expectations society sets on them. They need to know that “normal” is what you make it and they need to know that it’s still okay to love whomever you choose.

I needed this story growing up, and I would hate to deny the next generation something I wish that I’d had. So again I thank you for helping me spread this message. And if I can bring solace to even one person I will have done my job. If you are one of those people who are confused and lonely, this is for you. May you find in reading it everything I did in writing it.

Best Wishes,

Patrick Harrison