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Innkeeper Arts and Trees

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Hi everyone, Mod R here.

Hi! Quick question. is there a family tree or some kind of visual that helps with the innkeeper characters? FF

I’ve been looking for a pretext to collect together some of the gorgeous art by Doris Mantair from the books in one post, thank you for the question FF!

So far in the Innkeeper Chronicles, we got to meet 3 generations of the Demille family:

Gerard and Helen Demille, the Innkeeper parents who have disappeared without a trace- introduced themselves to us in the short Gerard Demille and Helen Meet.

Gerard is a human, Earth human. I’ve seen all the fan theories: he’s not an alien, you guys! Humans on Earth have magic, Dina tells us this several times, and if they are “in the know” (like Officer Marais, for example) they are welcome at inns. Gerard discovered his magic early on and traveled the Universe and its wonders. Sometimes in the late 1700s/early 1800s, whilst guest at an inn that was under attack, he sacrificed himself to save the innkeeper and her children. For his troubles, Gerard got trapped in the house until our modern day, inside a protective barrier- unable to feel or move his physical body (which did not age), but able to interact with the house through his magic.

Helen (eventually Demille) is also an Earth human. We know, in very broad strokes, that she becomes an innkeeper and saves Gerard from his centuries of entrapment, and they go on to have a family and a prosperous inn, Magnolia Green, in Georgia. Helen has two children, Klaus and Maud, from a previous marriage with a man named Charles- in Ilona’s own words “This dude isn’t that important. He and Helen split up. He has a new family. He isn’t interested in his children and they wrote him off.” No, Charles is not an alien of great and fantastical magic either. To put this to rest: there is no such thing as “genetic innkeeper powers“- there are just humans, in touch with magic (which we all have), who then forge a connection with inns or inn seeds.

According to Maud in Sweep of the Blade, Gerard is the only father they know and acknowledge.

Klaus, Maud and Dina Demille are Gerard and Helen’s children.

Dina and her Shi-Tzu-Chi dog, Beast. Beware of Beast. Art by Doris Mantair

Klaus, the eldest, is an Arbitrator : member of a small but powerful organization which specializes in the Universe’s dispute resolutions. They watch over many dimensions and realities, are extremely secretive and knowledgeable, and cannot return to their home planet for a term of 20 years after accepting the Arbitrator role.
Klaus’ sisters do not know that he is an Arbitrator for most of the series, believing him to be a galactic wanderer like their father. He is a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and will probably remain one.

Dina and Klaus’s Arbitrator recruit, George Camarine. Art by Doris Mantair

Maud married Melizard of House Ervan, one of the vampire guests at her parents’ inn. Her life with House Ervan was not easy, despite her becoming a paragon of vampire society in order to live up to their demands. After being exiled to Karhari and being widowed, Maud and her 5-year-old daughter Helen are rescued by Dina, Sean and Arland and returned to Earth. Maud and Helen are currently on the planet Daesyn, with Maud serving as Maven of House Krahr (a diplomat and negotiator hybrid role).

Maud on the cover of Sweep of the Blade, her POV novel. Art by Doris Mantair

She is engaged to be married to Arland, the Marshal of the House (military lead). Maud displays mysterious ad-hal-like powers because, and here’s the scoop:

Arland, Marshal of House Krahr and Maud’s fiance. Art by Doris Mantair

Mwahaha, did you really think I was going to tell you? You know me better by now. We’ll have to read to find out!

Ok, I have to do one more trick-free Arland, it’s just too good:

Dina is the youngest sibling, and she is born and raised in the Magnolia Green inn- a connection that becomes particularly heartbreaking at the end of Sweep of the Heart.

She struggles for most of her childhood with the desire for a normal life. Dina visits home after her first semester of college and finds that both her parents and their inn have disappeared. Together with Klaus, she searches the Universe for a couple of years, before returning to Earth and petitioning the Innkeeper Assembly for an inn.

Dina in front of Gertrude Hunt.

She awakens the dormant Gertrude Hunt, an inn located in the Avalon subdivision of Red Deer, Texas. Here, she hosts the more… let’s call them “interesting” guests and events the Galaxy has to offer and hopes to find a clue on her missing parents from one of them.

Guests like the wise philosophical space chickens. Art by Doris Mantair

She is joined by her partner Sean, an Alpha strain werewolf, an overly dramatic Quillonian chef, Orro, and her permanent guest, Caldenia ka ret Magren, a former intergallactic tyrant. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sean by Doris Mantair
Caldenia by Doris Mantair

Helen of the Ripper Cushions, is Maud’s young daughter.

She was named for her missing grandmother. She is half-vampire, and has already managed to connect with Gertrude Hunt, who obeys her requests. Because she lived part of her life on Karhari, Helen is more badass and mature than one would expect from children her age. She loves water and bacon and is very close to her mother.

Maud and Helen by Doris Mantair
Ilemina of House Krahr by Doris Mantair

A brief reminder here: although we might get to see House Ervan again, and they might just be served a big ol’ heaping scoop of just deserts, they have absolutely no claim on either Helen or Maud. When they exiled Melizard and his family, the Ervans struck them out of the family scrolls, and made any connection nonexistent. They fully snost and lost on this one, guys. Trust in Ilemina, Preceptor of House Krahr, Slaughterer of Ruhamin, Supreme Predator of the Holy Anocracy, Bleeder of Ert, Fierce Subjugator!

Hope you enjoyed all the pictures and recaps! In regards to the status of the Innkeeper series, House Andrews are continuing the policy of not putting a date on it until the manuscript is ready and a pre-order link can be shared. I can tell you, however, that the series is most definitely not over. We will find out the resolution to the series arc of the missing parents, especially after the big reveal at the end of Sweep of the Heart.

The details that House Andrews discussed with us (as usual, these are not set in stone or official, just their usual generous transparency, there may be changes to the plans) are that there will most likely be at least another full-length novel, with other novellas or short stories possible. It will most likely be from Maud’s POV, and will clarify all the questions regarding Maud and Arland not yet being married, what Klaus told her when he showed up at the end of Sweep of the Blade, what will be the reaction of House Krahr to the new inn branch on Daesyn etc.

However, since we already had an Innkeeper release in the past 9 months, the siren call of other projects has to be answered first.

Dina and Sean at Treaty Stay. Art by Doris Mantair.

P*tient Horde Mode: activate!

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Comments

    • indeed, *wiggle, wiggle, chirp* “book” I think there was a doodle I find I identify with too well. I have faith in the Andrews family that they will take care of themselves, then get books to us.

  2. P*tient Horde Mode? Surely you don’t think we are in any way p*tient! Fluffy, yes. P*atient, not so much. Only because we HAVE to be.

  4. “Dina and her Shi-Tzu-Chi dog, Baby. Beware of Baby. Art by Doris Mantair”
    Caption under Dina’s picture names the dog Baby. Did I miss something? I thought she called her Beast. I don’t recall ever seeing her referred to as Baby.

    • Omg, thank you, fixed it 🙂

      I always do this: the real-life inspiration for Beast is House Andrews’ dog Baby, and I’m used to talking about Baby. The character is ofc Beast!

  5. Thanks for the update.

    One question about Gerard. If Gerard was in touch with his magic and explored the Universe as you stated why is he so afraid of technology? For example going faster than 35 mph in a car. Gerard must have seen advanced technology during his explorations of he universe.

    • He distrusts modern Earth transport technology- mostly for having noticeable speed and being near other vehicles. I wouldn’t say it extends to all other technology, based on what we know of him. We don’t actually know what he saw centuries ago in the universe and how it compares 🙂
      We know several alien species who still use animals for transport when planetside- like the Hope Crushing Horde, for example.

  6. I think I have less difficulty with patience than most of the BDH because, besides House Andrews, there are at least four authors I collect whose books stand up to multiple re-readings.

  7. Thank you for the lovely gift of pictures! My favorite, of course, is SPACE CHICKENS! lol

  9. I am towards the end of my Kate Daniels chronological re-read. It might be time for an Inn Keeper re-read. Thanks for the lovely post Mod R!!

    • I recently finished my first read of the entire KD series, including its side stories and sequels. I had started IA with Innkeeper, reading Clean Sweep in ebook form. When I was done, I joined the mailing list and realized the book had been serialized. At that point, Sweep In Peace was being written, and I’ve followed the series ever since. I started accumulating the other IA series, but reading them wasn’t yet a priority.

      When Blood Heir came out, I discovered the richness of the KD universe, and the KD series became a very high priority to be read. Then I read the Wilmington books, and then went back to the beginning to read or re-read the whole thing, following the order on the website.

      One question: What’s the status of the Innkeeper graphic serial from Tapas?

  10. Thanks for the entertaining update and reminder to be patient:-)

    We need the reminder, because now that we understand more about how publishing works, we know why other series we waited for didn’t get to print. So frustrating!

    In a world where we can get things immediately with a few clicks it’s important to remember that sometimes (paraphrasing) “good books come to those who wait.”

  11. Thank you for the concise recap! And I would be happy if there were another novel(la) from Maud’s pov, I really like her as a character and would love to read more from her 😊

    • Heh, It really doesn’t fit well at all, does it? Keep the faith, books will come and they will be amazing. No pressure though. Gods I am rummy, going to get off the interwebs and get some sleep.

  13. Thank you ModR for the excellent recap, with pictures no less! I’m looking forward to the next Innkeeper, whenever it’s released. And definitely hoping to see House Ervan very publicly get what they deserve!

  16. That was fun! Thanks for gathering the art, too. I had never seen that first Arland. And I’d forgotten the artist’s name, so that’s a nice extra as well.

  17. What I would love is a family tree of Arland and Ilemina. Was she born to House Krahr? Because we are told she fought a war against her house when she wanted to marry Arland’s father. So was there a House Krahr civil war or was Arland’s dad from Krahr? It seems like she must be the one from Krahr because her brother also has a position there. Basically I just want to know all the things.

    • Ilemina is not House Krahr by birth 🙂 .

      She was born in another vampire House, a “war House”, in which she rose to the position of Marshal. She then met Arland’s father, Kord, and left with him. Soren, her brother, accompanied her. They ended up fighting against her birth house as they “tried to punish her for choosing happiness” Andrews, Ilona. Sweep of the Blade, The Innkeeper Chronicles volume 4, NYLA 2019 , Kindle edition page 184

      After Kord died, Ilemina, now Preceptor of House Krahr, remarried Otubar, her current lord consort. Neither of Ilemina’s children had an issue with it. As Arland once put it, “We understand each other perfectly well, Mother. He [Otubar] doesn’t care about anything except making sure you’re safe and happy.”

      • thank you for this information! I also wondered the same thing. will we find out more about Kord’s death?

        Was Arland’s aunt Alina, who was assassinated, sister to his mother or father?

      • Thanks for this. I didn’t realize Lord Soren was Lady Ilemina’s brother. I thought maybe he was Kord’s brother. Either way, he’s great!

  18. Patients? I have no patients, I retired, thank the deities Ilona and Gordon are younger than I am, I refuse to die until I get to read everything they will ever write! Even though my grandson has been saying ” You’re old Gramma, you are going to die soon.”🥺he has said that since he was 3, he’s now 12 and I am only 63 years decrepit, and I keep telling him that I can’t die until all my favorite series finish, but my must read authors are getting younger and younger so I will have to live a loooong time. I know 63 is young to retire for a nurse but I worked CCU for the first 2 years of covid, when protocols were changing every 5 minutes, I am pretty sure PTSD contributed strongly to my health plummetting, but I swear house Andrews is a good part of why I am still fighting. Thank you for all you do, love the recap, going to go reread now.😊

    • After two years of CCU during COVID (in your 50s?), you deserved to retire. Kudos for lasting that long!

    • I’m in healthcare IT, and covid was horrible. Doing fast track implementations on the fly, sick coworkers, the insanity. I’m planning an early semi retirement because after 30 years of this, and being on call 24 x 7, I’m totally burned ut.

      • I don’t blame you. I work in healthcare too. Only I’m in a quality reporting department. I work on anything federal reporting. I’m having to remind everyone that the reports I download now go back to the time of COVID. Plus answer questions about pay for performance stuff.

  19. hahehaua patient????? the closest I can get with HA and all their glorious works is restrained drooling.

  20. I just finished a re-listen of the Inn Keeper Chronicles. I love this series and have enjoyed both reading and listening to it. Thanks for the pictures = The First Scholar is priceless! Looking forward to re-reading the Magic series. I love re-reads as it is like having coffee with a friend. Keep up the excellent work.

  21. Mwahaha, did you really think I was going to tell you? You know me better by now. We’ll have to read to find out!

    I will wait patiently (as I grind my teeth and bounce up and down)

    Love the art.

  22. This is perfect timing since I just introduced my cousin’s daughter to the Innkeeper series. They came to visit for a long weekend and I handed her my kindle opened to Clean Sweep. She read 3 books in 4 days!! And went home and got her two besties reading it as well. I will spend my p*tience spreading the good work.

    Thank you for the fun recap with all the beautiful artwork, ModR!!

  23. Oh, I do love Doris Mantair’s art for the Innkeeper books!! Gorgeous!!

    Also, is it safe to say that George C *has* magic (magic user), while his brother Jack C *is* magic (shapeshifter)?

    • George and Jack are crossovers from the Edge universe- a different Earth, in a different reality. So the laws of magic and terminology applied to them are different than for the Innkeeper worldbuilding 🙂

      • “a different Earth, in a different reality” you mean the Broken and the Edge, right? Because the inn is in the Broken.

        • No, the inn is not in the Broken- we are on a different planet and a different corner of the Universe altogether :). Edge Earth is comprised of the Broken, the Edge and the Weird. It lives in a parallel reality to Innkeeper Earth (which is our Earth).

          “I can tell you that I know every world this inn has reached so far, and your coordinates are not among them. Furthermore, you are asking for a portal to a world that is very similar to ours. That world is another Earth that exists in its own tiny reality, splintered from the majority of the cosmos. It’s like reaching into a pocket on the universe’s coat. I don’t know the capabilities of every inn on Earth, but I can tell you that my father always told me that creating a door to an alternative dimension like that could not be done. It would collapse the inn.”

          Andrews, Ilona. Sweep In Peace, The Innkeeper Chronicles 2. NYLA Publishing, 2015. Kindle edition, page 130

          See? Another Earth 🙂

          George is forbidden by the Arbitrator code from returning to his home planet for 20 years- if Gertrude Hunt was on that planet, his official mission deployment would not be taking him exactly where he’s not supposed to go.

          Furthermore, the Broken has no magic. On Innkeeper Earth, almost everyone has magic- sometimes manifesting as nothing more than intuition, but it’s there. Dina can do magic outside the Inn, shifters can shift etc.

        • I shall learn P*tience.
          I shall learn P*tience.
          I shall learn P*tience.
          I shall learn P*tience.

          Thank you for the lovely prints Mod R.

          • With apologies to my Bene Gesserit sisters, the BDH litany of patience:

            “I must learn Patience.
            Waiting is not the mind-killer.
            Waiting is not the little-death that brings total obliteration.
            I will strengthen my patience.
            I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
            And when the waiting is done, I will devour the books in my path.
            When the patience has gone, there will be words.
            Only the Horde will remain.”

  26. Hey Mod, Human here who is aware of magic, please send address of NA West Coast Inn. I want to host a party.

  27. I manage my impatience by listening to audio versions of books – I’ve just finished the GA version of Sweep With Me. I also haunt this blog with the rest of the BDH, so that keeps me going!

  28. Question — doesn’t Dina also display mysterious ad-hal like powers outside of the inn? Like in Costco?

    • my understanding is; that’s still Innkeeper magic since she connects with the Costco warehouse. ad-hals don’t have an Inn to boost their magic, they just have what they have.

  30. When I saw that picture I felt like Ilemina was too slim and young looking.. and honestly I still do. But when I see Leona in her Solar Eclipse skin in League of Legends I immediately think of Ilemina, lol. She just struck me as being a very solid person based on Maud’s description of her. The art is certainly gorgeous, just seems too slender to really feel like Ilemina to me.

    Hoping for more inkeeper come the holiday season, though I understand there’s nothing set in stone. It’s just a nice thing to have during the end of the year. 🙂

  32. Wait wait wait… An Inn branch on Daesyn?? Since when?? Did I completely miss something in one of the books?

  33. I was just rereading Innkeeper, and had a question. So, Wing the Ku, hadn’t officially checked out of Mr. Rodriguez’s inn, which is why it would be a Innkeeper Assembly level problem if he was caught by human law enforcement. What would be the general check in check out policy do you think? Check in seems to be Innkeeper greeting the guest, accepting them into the inn and giving them a room. No drivers id check, credit card swipe & paperwork signed. Makes sense. But what if they step out into Baha Char for an errand and die. Or disappear. Is the innkeeper still on the hook? Is checkout then just guest acknowledging out loud they have no intention of coming back? Okay, and maybe in case of outside-Earth, it doesn’t matter so much. But what if a guest used a humanizer to visit Taj Mahal, and then got pick-pocketed off some weird alien tech? And they hadn’t vocalized intention to check out, is innkeeper on the hook? What happens if they did vocalize check out, who is going to alert and send out the ad-hals to get the alien tech back? Is there a chemical tag of some sort (like resin from the Inn “Tree”) that gets put on all alien substances that go through the inn and then Ad-hals can nose them out from the world? It is just this thing that is now itching at the back of my head. And hoping fellow BDH have ideas 🙂 I would check facebook fan forum for like a relevant thread, but I lost my FB password and the reference email id for me no longer exists. Sigh. I don’t want a new account.

    • I will add it to the list of questions for House Andrews, who can give an in-depth answer, but my first thought is that there seems to be a bit of confusion between guest safety and upholding the Earth Treaty 🙂
      Innkeepers are responsible towards their guest’s safety as long as they are on the Inn boundary. That’s it. When Caldenia goes to talk to the Draziri sitting just outside Gertrude Hunt’s yard, Dina reminds her not to step out. Once they leave the boundary, they are no longer under innkeeper’s reach, whether it’s a day trip or a short errand.
      As far as upholding the Earth Treaty and secrecy- *everybody* who is in the know is responsible of it. All the humans that know, all the aliens on Earth, whether they are inn guests or not, the Innkeepers, the Assembly etc. It’s a duty for everyone to live by Treaty rules and intervene when the Treaty is endangered. Officer Marais takes it particularly seriously!
      Should one of the guests of an inn be exposed by humans whilst they are out and about, I’m sure there would be at least an enquiry as to how prepared and informed they were before they stepped out of the inn and whether the Innkeeper did their appropriate due diligence before the guest was allowed to mingle with humans. Similarly, if an alien created trouble near an inn, even without being a guest (like we saw in Clean Sweep), the innkeeper would make it their problem, as the Treaty must be upheld.

  34. I’m having trouble activating my mode . . . I shall distract myself with OTHER Andrews’ works. 🙂

    When our Beloved Authors do circle back around to InnKeeper, I look forward to the just desserts. I know they shall be tasty. Sooooo tasty.

    Thanks for gathering all the pics in one place!

  37. Great recap of the Innkeeper series. I forget what great world building skills the authors possess. But on a sidelight ###needmoreHelen###

    Thanks for the new info: snost and lost, I am adding it to my repertoire.

  39. whoa wait. if Gerard is trapped in the house, which is an inn… why is it on the market? a realtor shows Helen the house. not someone from the Assembly. wouldn’t the Assembly keep Inns insular? I thought Dina got Gertrude Hunt because no Innkeeper was available for that house. they didn’t sell it on the market, they sold it to Dina, since we know she owns the land. I just realized this… o.O

    • We don’t know that the inn survived the attack 🙂. We know that Gerard survived in that suspended non-physical state, but whether that house is the house that goes on to become Magnolia Green, or is already Magnolia Green…remains to be seen.

      • are you stating that a regular house can turn into an Inn? interesting theory…

        the theory of the Inn being destroyed/torn down and a regular house built on the land is interesting as well. I don’t like that one so much though since I find it harder to swallow where Gerard was all those intervening years. I can believe a non-physical state in an Inn with a later return to that same Inn though.

        look at me XD crying about how magic should work in a universe I didn’t create. obviously authors know best 😉

        • We will see! The “seed” may have been dormant beyond what the Assembly could perceive, or maybe only parts of the house -like the basement where Gerard is – still belong to the initial inn, or maybe things like a dormant inn’s ruins have just been forgotten in all that time (centuries have passed after all!). There are so many possibilities, who knows?
          Only House Andrews!
          I do know that they consider Gerard and Helen Meet as an unfinished story, so maybe one day … 😉

  41. P*tient Horde Mode…
    Which I can only picture as a pack of fluffy energetic puppies, knowing that they only get treats if they sit and wait, but they are so very excited and their butts are so wiggly with anticipation that they don’t really touch the floor, but rather hover about 3 inches above it.

  44. I really enjoyed the visual recap. I learned a couple of facts that escaped my notice, even after several re-reads.

    Looking forward to more GA cast ensembles for the KD world. Yay to more InnKeeper!

  46. So, I have a really random Inn question. 🙊

    Can an Inn create anything their guests wish or only things that are actually in existence? Like, if someone wanted 10,000 different books by their favorite author to read or glow-in-the-dark rainbow polka dotted long tailed koi fish swimming inside sparkly, bubbling water? 😏 (I was really asking about the books, but felt compelled to add the fish. 🤭) 🤗

    • I’ll add it to the list of questions for House Andrews 🙂.

      My theory is that an Inn couldn’t create something out of the realm of the Innkeeper’s imagination or memory, even if it had infinite resources (we know it needs resources to make stuff!).
      So it couldn’t *make* new Shakespeare plays or more House Andrews books, those are non-fungible and unique to their creators. Even food can’t be created out of nothing or cooked by the Inn, let alone something as complex as an original manuscript.
      The inn also can’t make fish- or, I think, living creatures in general- as we know from Helen’s attempts to add them to her Gertrude Hunt room in One Fell Sweep 🐠

      • Thanks Mod R! 🤗

        I was guessing that was the answer, but it’s always nice to have confirmation and to not assume. You’re the best! 😊

  47. why is Helen’s son called Charlie and not Klaus in the story about Gerard and Helen meeting?

  49. You forgot Ilemina’s most important title – Grandmother.
    I really think that her interactions with Helen are what convinced Maud that she could trust House Krahr.

  51. I will forever have a soft spot for the space chickens <3 Their debates would probably drive me crazy IRL though 😂

  53. Lol Patient Horde Mode? Have you met us! 🙄. We will try but you know !!!! Thanks I really enjoyed the recap…so much so I just might need a series reread to tide me over …maybe get a reasonable facsimile of patience.

  54. O-M-G-o-s-h!!! a question I had was answered and made the topic of a blog post! and rt around my bdy! I am feeling all the feels. ALL THE FEELS¡!!!!!!!! thank you! this made my day.

  55. Thanks for the fantastic recap. Was really hoping you’d give us a hint on Maude’s ad-hal powers. 😜 Now I’m off in search of patient mode.

  56. I assume that Mod R writing that House Ervan might get “just deserts” was a typo but maybe it was deliberate because after what they did, House Ervan needs to POUND SAND!

  57. Mod R, whatever House Andrews is paying you it’s not enough! What a fabulous recap of the the Innkeeper situation so far and wow! Wonderful illustrations!! (Thankyou Doris)

    I love Innkeeper and look forward to it when it returns.

  58. I don’t think that BDH mode exists, ha ha.

    Great recap, thanks! Am especially excited to hear that at least one more Innkeeper novel is planned!

  60. I seem to recall that Maud has some vampire blood in her. I think, this was mentioned in one of the comments in a blog post some time ago. Or am I confusing her with someone else, I wonder.

  62. Question that I have been wondering: When Sean and Dina start seeing each other it is a big deal for Dina what the neighbors are thinking, because Sean and her are not married and she wants to keep a low profile. Then he moves in and in the last book they haven’t talked about marriage and it doesn’t seem to be a big deal at all – what changed for Dina?
    Please note – this is just curiosity, I don’t care at all whether couples are married or not – whatever constellations work for them it’s all good, I was just wondering what changed.

    • I’m having trouble remembering an occasion where Dina says she’s worried about not being married because of the neighbors- could you give me a quote maybe or point me towards it? 🙂 Thanks.

      • Mainly “One fell sweep” where Sean meet Dina at night and one of her neighbors is walking his dog and wishes them “happy jogging” and Dina is spitting fire and also in the walmart (or some other supermarket) where they buy the toys for the murkrats.

        • I just reread Sweep Of The Heart and in the first chapter the wood delivery man referred to Sean as “your husband”. Maybe Dina realizes that since Sean moved in and sold his house her neighbors think of them as a committed couple. Married or not. 😊

        • I reread those bits and it doesn’t seem to me at all like the emphasis is on Dina’s worries about the perceived morality of marriage. We all read things differently though our life experiences and filters, so this is simply my take 🙂

          In my reading, Dina just doesn’t want to be the center of subdivision gossip because it’s crucial to her business to stay low key and not attract attention- through any unusual/ exciting/ newsworthy events, not just specifically the midnight tryst. Even the neighbours talking about it doesn’t strike me as coming from a “they’re not married” stance but a busybody “guess who got together” nosiness. She thinks Sean is fooling around at the supermarket and they need to stay on task because important things are at stake. In my reading, none of it is a commentary on her beliefs or stance on relationships, living together, marriage (which she never mentions), legal unions etc, so nothing has changed between that and Sweep of the Heart.

          They committed to each other at the end of One Fell Sweep and that’s all that mattered for both of them, in my opinion 🙂 :

          ““I love you.”
          That was all I wanted to hear. I didn’t even know until now how much I wanted him to say these words to me. He’d said it before, when I was under, but it was different then. Now it was everything.
          “I’ll never leave you,” Sean said. “If you want to stay an innkeeper, I will be one with you. If you want to do something else, I will do that with you. Whatever comes next, I’ll be there, because I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.””

          Andrews, Ilona. One Fell Sweep, The Innkeeper Chronicles 3. NYLA 2016. Kindle edition, page 322

  66. Maud displays mysterious ad-hal-like powers because, and here’s the scoop:

    was so 😁

  71. I love the Innkeeper Series, and I wish they would make a series or a movie about it, as well. And I really hope there is more than one novel to come. Especially with the new door to Daesyn. Thank you, Authors, for your wonderful series and all the books that I re-read and re-read and well, you get the point.

  72. Innkeeper is my all time fave, as I love space opera. I wish it would continue for several years. But I understand how boredom can set in with writers and I always have loved the new series that have come along. So whatever you write, I will read. Write it and we will come!The pictures are gorgeous and I wish there were a way to incorporate them into the audios as an appendage as audios are my jam.

  74. Even nine months since last Innkeeper release is entirely too long! Just remember, we are called Book Devouring Horde for reason! XD

    BTW: I love the art of Doris Mantair too. I would keep her doing the Art for all the series House Andrews releases.

  78. Thanks Mod R for the recap and laughs.

    A patience Horde mode? Uh, are you speaking to the Horde? I didn’t think we had a patience mode. Oh well, the things we learn. 🤷‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤔

  79. Thank you for the recap and illustrations and allllll the information in one place. It is so superb. You are a superb moderator as I am sure House Andrews is aware.

    • The artwork is already contained in the books 🙂. Special editions from Subterranean Press have them in gorgeous colour print- they will have another Innkeeper Chronicles release soon! you

  81. Why, why must you trigger a reread now, when you have used the dreaded “P” word??? I morn for the books in my to be read pile when I get lured into a reread.

  83. “P*tient Horde Mode: activate!” this quote deserves fan art in some form of transformers esk BHD art

    thank you for the recap and art.

  84. This was great Mod R…very entertaining and informative! It will be hard, very hard, but I promise I will try my utmost best to be p*tient! 😁

  87. To clarify: the BDH cannot be patient. We can keep quiet about our impatience, that is about the best you can hope for! 🙂

  88. I love the “wise philosophical space chickens.”

    However, I was really hoping for a picture of Orro. Are you holding one back?

    Thanks.

  90. Maude was on a medical bed with Arland after the battle. Ilemena came into the medward and after telling Maude the results of the battle she said an arbiter is here, he said he was your brother Klaus. I don’t recall Klause speaking to Maude.

    • So you don’t think she wanted to see her brother and hear what he had to say? Just sent him away? Interesting 🙂

      • There most likely was a conversation, it was not in the book. The only thing we know was what George told Dina in the last book. Dina knows he is alive. Maude sent medical equipment but didn’t tell her about their brother,

  91. Dont take my BDH card but I can be patient (ducks/hides). Its one of my only talents. Ive been waiting years for books and had a few writers just disappear as well. I believe IA when they say its coming, and I’ll be ok if heaven forbid they say it might not happen.
    But I would really like to get to know Klaus. What has he been doing, what has the universe unveiled to him? Does anyone know how long he has been an arbiter? I’m assuming he has the same 20 yr ban from home that George has. Just wondering when he can go home again. And would the branch on Desyn count as part of earth?

  92. Thank you so much!
    This is such a great Gift!
    The art with Dina and Beast and Dina with George are new to me.😊
    Dina and Beast are so lovely.
    And i loved Maudes Story and I‘m very happy, that there is Hope, that it will be continued.
    Perhaps, one of the Novellas could be about Helen and Gerard?
    I really would like to know, how the Story goes on.
    When I read their Story, i thought, this can Not be the end…
    And they did not meet in Person?
    Or did i miss something?
    So i will hopefully wait, off course very patient.

  93. Thank you for this! I’m on Maui and just now getting back to reading the blog. After the week we’ve just had (and the months, if not years, of hardship we will be facing in the future), I need something warm and fuzzy. So this is the perfect nudge to re-read Innkeeper.

    • I’m so sorry for the calamity you all endured, Ronda. I hope you find escape and hope in books and loved ones, and that the reconstruction and recovery will come easy.

    • My condolences to you and everyone on the island of Maui. Just know the Horde is here for you.

  94. I love the Innkeeper artwork. Is there something similar for the Kate and Curran books? I just finished rereading all of them including Julie’s story and the first story about Hugh and Elara. Are you still planning another Iron Dogs book?

  95. Charles donated his sperm and moved on. I like that he is nothing special and not a source of his bio-children’s magic. He could have been somebody in their lives, chose not to, and so good riddance. I think we’ve all met people like that or had the misfortune to be descended from them. (They come in all genders too. My half sister was abandoned by her mom who later sent pics of the boys she chose to raise. SMH.)

    I’m so glad Gerard came into the children’s lives.

  96. Not patient! Like the awful Kitty Mouse (Little Men, Louisa May Alcott), we are out here growling impatiently, “More, more!” Fortunately, our authors are wise and understand the virtue of not releasing a book until it is ready. And each one is all the better for the wait.

    Love the collected artwork. Maybe this should be a book at some point?

  97. Wow, it seems like it’s been forever ( years and years) since the last innkeeper book. I’m trying to bring to mine what was in the last book.
    Dang!!

    Time flies by…….

  98. Hi…House ANDREWS…thanks for this update. I have been very anxious for the next release of the Innkeeper Chronicles…I am 74 and really hoping I make it to the next release…not that I’m sick or anything…just thinking since I love this series…and I’m sitting on the edge of my seat and not getting any younger. I’m not trying to hurry you or anything…and Lord knows that I can hardly wait for news on Kate and Julie….sigh…you are great…just so you know.

  100. Thank you!
    I love this series and am usually very patient as I know there are lots of stories to be told, unfortunately, reading the family history and the story of Gerard and Helen has made me avaricious for more (please). My solution: rereading all of the books.

  101. Oh Mod-R you are so good to us!
    I was particularly enthusiastic that the next Inn Keeper *might* be from Maud’s POV! Woop!

  102. Thank you, that was most helpful! I snoozed on Sweep of the Heart, reading it in serial mode, and didn’t finish before it was taken down. So of course I bought the ebook, which promptly got lost in the deluge of the thousands of others I also buy – so now I get to figure out which e-reader I put it on and move it to my next to be read. Also, it’s adorable that you think the BDH has a patient mode.

  104. I know Maud displayed ad-hal powers of stopping time, but are there any other powers? I thought Dina was ad-hal like with her creepy voice and judgment cloak in Sweep in Peace.

  105. oh, and Dina’s cloak changed colors in One Fell Sweep. can other innkeepers do the same?

  107. I’m so excited (for this and other projects). I did just get my partner to agree to listen to the graphic audio as we drove cross country. And I’m so very thrilled that he is enjoying it. We haven’t gotten to the Maud book yet, and I think that will be the biggest draw for him. Hearing we get to potentially get more Maud POV especially with the new branching of the inn in Vampire world is really exciting!!

  108. ”
    ..at least another full-length novel, with other novellas or short stories possible”

    Only possible? That’s a must.

    A branch of Inn on Daysen- maybe Helen can now prove inn magic to the kid she fought with to learn about ripper cushions.

    Though I am a bit confused. It’s a separate Inn growing independently on Daysen with a door in to Dina’s or it would just be an extension and will become a part of Dina’s inn only. ( like a graft in plants)

  109. Thanks for putting this altogether Mod R! It felt like browsing the family portrait gallery! Such fun!

  110. Was there going to be a release of a like collectible version of the innkeeper series? It’s my favorite Ilona series and I’d love to have hard copy of it!

    • Yes, a Subterranean Press collector edition is coming out soon- it will be announced as soon as we have a date 🙂

  111. So love the Innkeeper series, from the ripper cushions through Orro and on and on. Be lovely to know what happened to the parents. More stories will be icing.

  112. I was just re-reading Innkeeper. How did you know? 🙂

    I love how I always discover something new, no matter how insignificant.
    In One Fell Sweep Dina goes to visit Nuan Cee, but finds Cookie instead.
    “Uncle is away on business”

    Normaly I re-read the books in order, but for some reason I wanted to read Sweep of the Blade before One Fell Sweep. I just love Maud’s POV.

    Because having just read about the wedding, I released “the business” Nuan Cee left for during OFS, must have been his stay on Daesyn for the wedding.

    Just a small thing, but it made me happy.
    Yay, something new, even at the 5th (or was it 6th?) re-read

  113. Always nice to see the Innkeeper art in one post though if I remember correctly, I don’t think this is all of it (not all the book covers are included for example). Just all the art made for Innkeeper by this one specific artist?

    BDH and patience go together about just as well as oil and water lol.

  115. It is so hard to be patient. I love this series. Orro is my favorite character in this series. This one could go on forever and I would be in heaven.

  116. Wow! That was so good! I’m so glad there will be a few more. Ms. Mantairs art is amazing. I especially loved her rendition of Caldenia. This is my favorite of their series and I’ve been reading along on Tapas as well. That is very well done.

  117. ah! I finally remembered who that image of Ilmenia reminds me of!

    Jeri Ryan in “Picard” as a Ranger.

  118. While admiring the Oro masterpiece and rereading Sweep of the Heart, i am getting a bit curious how much hilarious (or epic/disturbing) Fan art did you get from BDH and is there a possibility of displaying some of it in the blog, maybe in some form like the spouse selection games?

  119. “I can tell you, however, that the series is most definitely not over”

    Thank you.

    I’ve just finished Sweep Of The Heart and was distraught to find it was the last published book. You have relieved my mind. Now all I need is to cultivate patience.

  120. Whaaat?! Klaus will probably remain “a mystery wrapped..” no plan to pick up on his arrival at the end of Sweep of the Heart? 🥺

  121. People think she means “patient”, where it’s clearly written in the the western character phonetic representation of a little known language used by the arena fighters of a particular amphibious race on baka char, where the * represents a sound sort of like a 6 inch wide spitball impacting onto a thin oak plywood panel suspended by either end over a large echo-y expanse, the p indicating extra fricatives should be applied, the ti is pronounced with a deep bullfrog like echo and sounds like the ti in titan end the ent is more like ‘eent’ but ends on a high note because it started with a psplat.

    So sort of “psplat-tieent?” The word itself means “devourer of civilizations” and refers to an outbreak of a locust like insect their home planet had – except 4 feet long and with jaws hard as steel, which, before they were eradicated, ate most of their cities.

    So I think Mod R is asking us to descend as a ravening horde, but I suppose I could be mistaken.

  122. I’m not sure how to contact y’all about something you might be interested in watching, so I’m putting it as a comment.

    I just saw the movie Nimona on Netflix and the tech with knights reminded me strongly of the Holy Anocracy. Which bits from the movie would you say match the Holy Anocracy?

  123. I first came across your books when I lost one of my babies in a miscarriage. My whole world seemed to have imploded and I was really lost in the grief and trauma of all that went on.
    I escaped into books.
    The Innkeeper series really helped me when I was feeling low. I loved the idea of a house that could defy physics, change colours at will and all the different creatures and characters.
    I can’t wait to see what happens next with the Innkeeper series, and while I do love your other series as well, this one is my fav.
    Thank you