It was a blazing hot summer day in July back in 2016 and I found myself in Adams, Tennessee in a place I never thought I’d be.  Sweat bees swarmed around us nipping at our skin as the smoke of coal and diesel fumes filled the air.  There was something else in the air.  Small pieces of wheat floating in the air and coming from a device that me, coming from the north, had never seen before.  It was an odd contraption filled with pulleys and belts and large pieces of metal jutting out of it.

It was a thresher at the Adams County Thresherman show.  And it was all it took for the idea of Battle Engines sparked my mind.  It isn’t often that there is a singular moment that inspires me.  It is often a amalgamation of ideas that lead to a story.  Not this time.

This beast stood out in front of me in all of its rusty and noisy beauty.  I didn’t take a picture of it but we were also surrounded by dozens of small engines pumping in their perfect rhythm.  The fumes, the noise, and the raw power of all of it inspired me.  It was an extremely happy moment for me as I had a single moment in time that I came up with this amazing tale that I’m telling.

The thresher was powered by a steam engine, pictured below, which was also a magnificent piece of machinery to behold.  In my final idea I merged the two machines together and created the Thresher that Groo traveled around the world with.  But these two items will forever be burned in my mind and I am eternally grateful that my father-in-law introduced me to this world.

Thanks Bill!  William Franklin is the president of the Gwynn Nation and is my way of honoring my in-law as it is his first and middle name.

I am back to work on Eryn’s Tale so I wrap that up and then get hard at work on book 2 of Battle Engines which is just about outlined.

I hope everyone had a great summer!

-c