When the Forest Speaks (The Storyteller's Gathering Book 1)

About the Novel

In the ancient forests of Kishar, young Avrim grapples with deep loneliness born from a mysterious force called Logos. This power grants him uncanny abilities yet isolates him from the world he longs to connect with. Each attempt to connect with the natural world of Kishar is thwarted by Logos. If Avrim cannot master this force for good, he will not only remain forever isolated, but Logos will consume all life, threatening even Kishar herself.

Author’s Statement

The seed for this idea came to me in high school, and the seed grew into a story idea in 2001. It combined a number of ideas, weaving together into a story so complex, I didn’t know how to write it.

So I went to school. I majored in Physics and English, then switched my major to Philosophy. I was trying to learn anything and everything that might make it possible to write this story. I wrote other stories, always as practice, and every time I returned to this one, I still wasn’t ready.

Several years back, I was asked to write a short story for another project, and it accidentally ballooned into a full novel. Before editing it, I started thinking ahead. Was I finally ready to write The Storyteller’s Gathering?

And…uh oh…I suddenly realized what I’d done. I had cannibalized the important ideas from The Storyteller’s Gathering and fed them into the novel I’d just written. If I published this, my aspirational novel would be repeating myself.

But the good news: I’d accidentally written much of the novel already.

And now, some years later, it’s finished. It’s edited. It’s being shopped around.

Publication Updates

When the Forest Speaks is expected to release in 2026. Follow me for updates on publication progress and sneak peeks.