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.
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.
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).
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:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
P*tient Horde Mode: activate!
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!
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.
Patience mode initiated. all systems on standby…;)
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.
oh, and Dina’s cloak changed colors in One Fell Sweep. can other innkeepers do the same?
Thank you for sharing!
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!!
”
..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)
It’s like a graft on Gertrude Hunt 🙂
Thanks for putting this altogether Mod R! It felt like browsing the family portrait gallery! Such fun!
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 🙂
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.
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
* realised
Sigh. English is difficult.
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.
We need a Klaus novel!!!
I can’t be the only one who thinks so!
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.
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.
ah! I finally remembered who that image of Ilmenia reminds me of!
Jeri Ryan in “Picard” as a Ranger.
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?
“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.
Whaaat?! Klaus will probably remain “a mystery wrapped..” no plan to pick up on his arrival at the end of Sweep of the Heart? 🥺
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.
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?
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