Queen of the Orcs Trilogy

My agent believes that writers’ proposals should describe their books in one sentence.  This is the one that launched Queen of the Orcs:  “A young woman, enslaved to serve the king’s orc army, discovers the orcs’ nobility and leads them in revolt.”  The story evolved during its creation into a struggle more epic than a simple revolt, but the original concept still remains at its core.

 

I had two goals when I wrote this trilogy.  First, I wanted its central character to be a woman who is resourceful and compassionate and who strives to solve her problems without resorting to violence.  I use the word “strives” because she lives in a world that often forces her to fight.  When her back’s against the wall, she doesn’t shrink from defending herself and those close to her.

 

My second goal was to portray orcs as sympathetic characters.  This idea runs counter to most fantasy writing.  Usually orcs are the epitome of evil—a bloodthirsty race with no redeeming qualities.  To explain why they are viewed this way, I imagined their position as similar to that of Native Americans in the nineteenth century.  My orcs are a defeated race.  As such, their conquerors malign them.  The orcs buy a measure of peace through fighting in human armies.  There, they are feared and exploited.