Update on the progress of the next novel and a sneak peak.
The prequel to Chosen of The Dark Realm is well underway. Currently sitting at 113k words, this one just keeps building and building. The story is set before The Great Collapse (Chosen is set 1003 years after that cataclysm) and follows the events of the recent novellas The Forge and Blood and Wild Places. Each story in the series can be read by itself, but together they develop themes and characters in the wider series, The Great Plan.
The first draft of the prequel is still a little way off, but it is getting closer. The story is structured and the major scenes are in place with most fully developed. There are still a few gaps, but they are moments that I feel will be sculpted through the final stages of crafting. I can’t quite explain how that works, but I find some elements of a story resist my efforts to complete them and prefer to come together by themselves. I know that sounds weird, but I don’t fight it.
With the overall story in place, I’m currently concentrating on character arcs and development. That involves reaching deeply into the tale and picking up an individual character, following them from where they announce themselves to their exit, ignoring what else is happening in the world (realms) and focusing on just them. They already have depth, motivations and challenges, but here they are developed even further and their voices become richer, their fears and triumphs juicier. Whilst the attention is on the primary characters, secondary characters around them also deepen, some growing more prominent, others fading and some disappearing entirely as the evolution of the story casts them aside. Scenes also shuffle around a bit during this process, sub-plots swelling and diminishing.
After thats done, the focus turns to wider, general detail such as the timeline of events, seasons and weather, further fine tuning event sequences and overall continuity.
Finally, its prose polishing. The story is complete, now every word is scrutinised, every sentence pulled apart and optimised.
And then we are done!
Well, then its copy editing, finalising artwork, updating website, contacting ARC readers, organising marketing and the list goes on, but you get the idea. If all goes to plan, aiming for around Christmas.
So, what can you expect in the next book?
- The dragons of Anki (usumgal in their language), their history, the Citadel, and their deadly politics.
- The background of Adaru, the antagonist of Chosen.
- Nanaya’s tragic journey.
- Sharur’s origin.
- The Collapse.
- The Academy.
- The darkness of Kur.
- And so much more.
As I mentioned before, the first draft is still a while away, but I wanted to share a small excerpt. It is still a work in progress, so this is a real sneak peak at what is coming:
The island of Si Esia burned.
Flames twisted hundreds of feet into the air from the broken remains of the civilisation that had called the island home. Theatres, palaces, law courts, banks and museums were all shattered husks, their remains now illuminated by dragon fire.
The smoke plume from the raging inferno rose over five miles, encasing the island in darkness. Thunderstorms ignited the black skies with spitting, jagged white lances that illuminated the horrified faces of broken survivors. The lightning snapped and cracked in the storms, madly stabbing at the ground to explode buildings, smash craters into roads and fields and spark yet more fires. Rain fell in sheets so dense they were solid columns of water, drowning thousands in waves. Tornados ravaged the island, tearing apart what little remained of cities and towns, encouraging embers of former fires back to life, and gleefully urging them to burn hotter and spread faster.
Through the cataclysm flew the dragons of Anki, the usumgal. The glare from the flames and lightning devouring the island glinted off their scales, revealing the different dragon kind in all their terrible majesty. The mighty lirum shone in shades of blood, from the bright wetness of fresh wounds to the dark dryness of old trauma. The ti glowed rich and vibrant yellows and golds, vitality seeping from their bodies to refresh those that flew alongside them. The zalags were silver and pearl stars gleaming with pure energy, and amongst them all shimmered the depthless intense blues of the ri, their energies enhancing the powers of all others.
The gallus must be stopped. Kill everything.
The queen’s order pounded in Annungal’s mind as he soared over the island, his gleaming pearl body blasphemous in its purity against the destruction.
This is wrong.
The lirum were unleashing dragon fire with gleeful abandon, whilst he and the other dragon kind held back. Annungal watched humans running from ruins being burned alive, and buildings where people had taken shelter being reduced to molten rubble. The pearl dragon reached out to his lord with his mind. Zuen, there must be another way. We can’t just kill everything on this island. The loss of life-
I feel the same, the lord of the zalags said. Annungal felt strain in the words. But now is not the time. Do as commanded. We will talk of this after. Now, leave me. I must concentrate on the nexus. I can feel more gallus trying to cross.
Until then…