Swansea author Keith Carreiro completes trilogy of books

SWANSEA — In 2014, A. Keith Carreiro started writing a manuscript about a story he had in mind about what the world would look like 500 years from now. Setting a minimum goal of composing 500 words daily, he started his literary quest on May 23 of that year.

He discovered that once the premise for the story was created he now had to sit down and write it.

“I didn’t know if I could create such a story,” Carreira, a Swansea resident, said. “I had tried writing full length novels before, but never succeeded in getting them completed.”

Inspired by former University of Maine classmate, Stephen King, when Carreiro and he were students at the University of Maine at Orono, Carreiro recalled that King once told him to set a daily writing goal of 2,000 words. “Look what you end up with in just ten days,” the then 20–year–old King told him. “Imagine if you write like that year round.”

Fifty years later with that advice still in mind, Carreiro decided that 2,000 words a day was too daunting a task, so he settled on writing 500. Another 139 days later, on Oct. 8, the manuscript was completed. He had written over 168,000 words, a feat he never thought possible, and the Penitent was conceived. He had averaged about 1,200 words a day.

Then the real work began- editing, revising, finding beta readers to help in this task. The story, being in three parts to begin with, was divided into three novels. Working on a limited budget, he decided to publish one book at a time.

The Penitent – Part I was published in November of 2016. Part II followed in 2017. The last book in the trilogy, Part III, is being released on his birthday this summer.

Cover art for the book is done by Hollis Machala of Rehoboth. She is an award winning artist member of the Rhode Island Watercolor Society.

Along with the first glimpse of Part III, the first two books have been edited further. All three books contain maps created by Jamie Forgetta, a Rhode Island freelance illustrator, author and designer.

The series is being published by Stillwater River Publications and Copper Beech Press.

“Once the writing began in earnest, I envisioned a nine–book series,” Carreiro said. “I saw the story as that of a Russian doll where there is a doll within a doll within a doll….”

In the first book of the Penitent, an allegory seemingly right out of the Middle Ages explodes into being. Ironically, however, it remains a futuristic tale whose story unfolds as a 26th century epic.

Two warriors, Pall Warren and John Savage, establish an uneasy alliance with one another and begin a quest to discover the truth behind war and evil breaking out in their land. Pall is young, wounded in battle and fighting now to regain memory of his identity; Savage is a seasoned veteran working in intelligence for his king. As one experiences a grueling quest for meaning, the other embarks on a hunt for a wily opponent.

Pall discovers that his world, while filled with unfathomable beauty, seethes with an opposing force of repulsion against it. A cautionary story of the future, a legend unfolds around these two medieval warriors.

Writer Tony DePaul, of Cranston, reviewed Part I of the series and wrote, “Fantasy sci-fi is hardly my preferred genre, so I was surprised to be drawn into this story. It's well done, skillfully told. It takes a talented writer to make you see things in your mind's eye that have never existed in reality; and to carry the narrative from one reality to another without losing the thread.”

The trilogy book launch is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 18. It will be held at Stillwater Books which is located on 175 Main St. in Pawtucket, R.I.