The following is the introduction to the booklet for the second Terra Incognita CD, A Line in the Sand, which will ship in the next couple of weeks.  You can order the autographed novel and companion CD, as well as collectible Terra Incognita items, from AnderzoneShop.com or from progrockrecords.com.  You can also hear three complete sample tracks at the ProgRock Records website.

With the release of The Edge of the World, the first novel in my “Terra Incognita” trilogy, we developed a companion CD with music by keyboardist/producer Erik Norlander, lyrics by myself and Rebecca Moesta, and performances by some of my favorite musicians, under the band name Roswell Six.

This is the companion CD to Book 2, The Map of All Things.  Where the first album was about exploration and discovery, brave adventurers sailing off to unexplored lands, this CD tells a different part of the “Terra Incognita” story with a new cast of characters—a darker tale about the never-ceasing war between the two lands of Tierra and Uraba.  Its theme of religious intolerance and the continuing cycle of hatred is as relevant to us as it is to the characters facing the tragedy of the crusades.

A grittier CD required a harder sound and a different mood.  Henning Pauly (Frameshift, Chain, Shadows Mignon), whose music I have enjoyed for years, took on the project with great enthusiasm.  His music conveys the distinctive cultures and personalities of the two lands at war.  Rebecca and I crafted a set of lyrics that tell a part of the overall epic not included in the novel (including two songs cowritten with our friend, and music legend, Janis Ian).  Our new vocalists embraced their characters and delivered powerful performances.  Artists Lee Gibbons, Bob Eggleton, and Richard Ware delivered great work to illustrate the Cd.  And Shawn Gordon at ProgRock Records made this project possible and shared the vision of the novel/CD crossover.  Listen to the music.  Read the novel.  And enjoy.

—Kevin J. Anderson