Arnoth of Valenwood was introduced in The Midnight Moon, Dane's black haired nemesis. (For reasons that elude me, there's one passage via the editting process which says Arnoth has golden hair. Not so, not so! It's long and black and perfect.)

I had intended to resolve Arnoth's broken heart by the end of Dane's book, but he was just too good a hero to let pass by. I considered having him meet up with the woman who blissfully rejects Dane in MM, but she wasn't neat enough. Then I assumed he'd end up with the leader of the warriors on Valenwood, but she wasn't interesting enough. As Dane observed, not crazy enough by half.

Arnoth obviously has a lot of 'unresolved issues' to do with the race that destroyed his people. The phrase 'Ellowan don't touch Tseir,' meant more to him than anyone. (Incidentally, as another oddity of the editting process, my plural versions of Ellowan & Tseir were... Ellowan & Tseir, not Ellowans & Tseirs - I have become rather nit-picky here. Sigh.) Anyway, he had to face that conflict and hatred within him, & in The White Sun, he does. When he finds himself falling in love with a bungling Tseir commander, it's the worst fate imaginable.

He's not alone on his journey to the Tseir homeworld. Taken captive as a dangerous rebel leader, Arnoth has a lingbat to guide him, as all heroes should. But the friend he doesn't think he wants is the Tseir commander, Sierra, who is desperately trying to follow her own commanders' long lists of rules and regulations.

Both lingbats make considerable dents in Arnoth's book. In the epilogue, Carob has his own point of view scene, & the fate of the universe seems destined to lingbat hands/wings/paws. Since Arnoth was so instrumental in Dane's life - and often wildly irritating, Dane shows up to repay the favor, & the whole thing pleased me immensely.

I haven't written many dark heroes, men with a dark past & a dark spot inside them, but Arnoth just sort of appeared. But he redeems himself by being funny when he torments Dane in Dane's book, so I figured there was hope yet. There was just something about him - I knew he was the sort to break hearts, in a huge way. Dane wouldn't break hearts because he's not serious enough. He wouldn't take that much from a woman unless he meant it, & if he meant it, he'd never hurt her - which he proves in his book. But Arnoth - Arnoth is terrified of falling in love, so I suspected there would be tears in the poor woman who captures his heart, and finds herself in love with him. So a woman who had considered the whole concept of love unnecessary & in the way of her own quest to prove herself - Sierra REALLY wasn't ready for this. And worse still, rather than seeing the much-loved daughter of the most important man in the galaxy, Arnoth immediately sees all her weaknesses & foibles, he sees her occasional bouts with clumsiness, and has the ill manner to point them out.

It still makes me cry. I'm not really sure why. But I decided that's what's good about a dark hero - they get you on this hideous emotional level, whereas the light heroes get hurt themselves. A fascinating romance paradox is born...

My first review:

"THE WHITE SUN is a great futuristic romance that has appeal to fans of both genres. The story line is action-packed yet humorous. The lead protagonists are a fabulous duo, struggling with their growing love vs. honor and duty. The spectacular Stobie Piel provides her fans with a novel that is sure to be acknowledged as one of the best books of the year. Since it is only January, writers have an extraordinarily high bar to attain to match this tale's level of excellence."

Harriet Klausner

My second review:

"The consistantly entertaining voice of Stobie Piel takes us on another rollercoaster ride of excitement through the stars... Ms. Piel spices a rousing adventure with blistering sensual fire and adds a witty leavening of secondary characters whose sparkling interplay is well nigh irresistible."

Melinda Helfer for Romantic Times (this is a really great issue of RT, btw)