An Introduction
It feels very strange, at this moment, to be sitting here with this whole story in front of me. What started out as a Zorro adventure story for my son, Matt, has grown into something much longer and more complicated. To Matt's horror, as time went on romance sneaked in along with all the adventure and the dreaded L word began to be tossed around. (To those of you who are unfamiliar with some nine and ten year old boys' viewpoint, the dreaded word is L-O-V-E!) The Forge Trilogy has been wonderful fun to write. Guy Williams put so much life into his portrayal of Diego de la Vega and Zorro that it is very easy to see that character in action when writing. Ania...well, she just seems to be a character who wrote herself. All I had to do was write what I "saw" happen with the characters. What more can a writer wish for from her characters than that? I had thought that when I finished "Ring of Fire", it would be my last story with Ania Valdéz. However, I have spent eighteen months with these characters and I really do not want it to end. I think I will just leave "the door open" and seen what happens in the future.
At any rate, I hope that everyone who reads these stories will enjoy them as much as I have enjoyed writing them.
Keliana Baker
April 2000
Forge of Shadows
Anvil of Iron
Ring of Fire
