FantasyFun Month is the brainchild of authors Jill Williamson and Patrick Carr, both with current fantasy series published by Bethany House.

Jill’s past fantasy includes the award-winning Blood Of Kings trilogy, and Patrick produced the equally well-received Staff And Sword trilogy.

Of late, Patrick has written the novella By Divine Right (free as an Amazon ebook) and the novel The Shock Of Night, both in The Darkwater Saga. Later this year book 2 of the series, The Shattered Vigil, will release.

The Saga begins with the free novella:

Willet Dura ekes out a living as an assistant reeve in the city of Bunard, the royal city, investigating minor and not-so-minor crimes in the poor quarter. Ever since a terrible battle, Willet’s been drawn to the dead, and has an uncanny ability not only to solve their crimes, but even to know when one has been committed.

When a gifted musician is found dead in the merchants’ quarter of the city, everyone assumes by the signs that the old man simply died of a stroke, but Willet’s intuition tells him better. When he learns that this is the second death within the last month of one of the gifted, those with a rare inherited ability, he begins to suspect that something more is afoot, and he soon finds himself chasing a mystery that could bring down the very kingdom of Collum.

Jill’s latest fantasy, available for pre-order, is due out in April under the title King’s Folly, though the three parts are already available as ebooks—Part 1, Darkness Reigns; Part 2, The Heir War; and Part 3, The End Of All Things. This is the first novel in the Kinsman Chronicles.

The gods are angry.

Volcanic eruptions, sinkholes, ground shakers–everything points to their unhappiness. At least that is what the king of Armania believes. His son Prince Wilek thinks his father’s superstitions are nonsense, though he remains the ever dutiful First Arm of Armania.

When a messenger arrives and claims that the town of Farway has been swallowed by the earth, the king sends Wilek to investigate. But what Wilek discovers is more cataclysmic than one lost city. Even as the ground shifts beneath his feet, Wilek sets out on a desperate journey to save his people and his world. But can he do it before the entire land crumbles?

To celebrate the fantasy genre, Jill and Patrick have put together a calendar of activities for fantasy fans to do and a hashtag that allows them to read what others participating have posted. The first week included things like favorite quote from a fantasy, favorite cover, favorite hero, and the like.

I didn’t get wind of FantasyFun until towards the end of the month, so didn’t jump in until the cover question. As I said in my Facebook post, I’m not big on covers—I don’t notice them very often and am not very picky, one way or the other. But the one I’ve settled on as my favorite caught my eye. I’m referring to Anne Elisabeth Stengl’s Dragonwitch, one of the Tales Of Goldstone Wood series.

For today, March 7, all participants are asked to name their favorite sidekick. My first thought is Samwise Gamgee from The Lord Of The Rings trilogy. He was faithful to his friend, brave, insightful and smart enough to know that he wasn’t called to be the hero—at least not the hero of the quest to destroy the One Ring (though he briefly gave in to the temptation to take on the role).

How about you? Who is your favorite sidekick?

And how about joining #FantasyFunMonth? You can post your answers on your own social media sites, but also on Spec Faith’s Facebook page. Of course, include the hashtag #FantasyFunMonth so other fans can find your answers more easily.

Here’s the schedule: