It's on Amazon now and should be out at all retailers within 48 hours!
|
Wow, lots going on! I've started writing Episode Ten, the Final episode of the Chronicles. It's a weird feeling to get this far. The series has dominated my writing life for years now! On the one hand I'm sad to leave the world of the Harekaiian. I've become attached to Akalya and it's like moving away from a long-time friend. On the other hand, I'm looking forward to developing other projects. Akalya has her life and I have many more to explore. Yes, I do know how this ends. What I didn't know until a few days ago was how the end begins. Looking back over the series, it follows a progression that I could easily believe was planned in advance, at least if I didn't know my writing process. The fact is, after I finish an episode, I wait a few days for the next one to grow organically out of my subconscious, then suddenly I'll have to furiously write down a beginning for the next book that's bursting out of me. This time was the same, but those first couple of paragraphs showed me a character arc for Akalya that I never could have thought out and planned! After so many things got resolved in Episode Nine, I really had no idea where I would go with this last one, apart from having set up some new characters in Episode Nine to take Akalya in a fresh direction. Meanwhile, I've had word that the audiobook of Episode Eight has completed production and will be released any day now. Squeeee! These are close to catching up with me, so audiobook fans won't have to wait much longer than those who read on e-book. As for paperback aficionados, you haven't been forgotten. Episodes Six - Ten will be published in paperback very close to the release of Episode Ten. It's just waiting to be complete.  The cover is ready to go and it looks really good next to the first volume with Episodes One - Five. I'm very pleased with the design!
So, back to work for me. I've got a few last loose ends to resolve and a trauma or two to come, then maybe a happily ever after... or maybe not. We'll have to wait and see. I've finished Episode Nine and it has gone to edit, Yay! It will go on pre-order on Amazon and possibly other places by the end of the weekend I'm told and is scheduled for release on 5th May! This one has taken it out of me emotionally, I have to admit. All I can say is where one door closes, another opens. I've set up a few new characters to explore further in Episode Ten and the cover for that one is already in progress! I have to admit, if I had known how much a ten episode series would take over my writing time, I never would have committed to it. Yet I'm glad I did, because following this story through the episodes has been as much fun for me as I hope it is for you, my readers. Will I ever explore this world again? Maybe. I want to write some backlogged ideas and finish the re-writes on my previous two books, then perhaps some new adventures though time will call me. In the meantime, I'll be working on Episode Ten very soon. I always wait until edits are finished so I don't lose my connection to the current story. Oh, and the audio book for Episode Eight is due to be recorded in May! It's running right behind me, eeek!  I'm down to the last couple of chapters for Episode Nine. Things have been flowing into place. I even have a first draft of the Epilogue written, because when I get this far in a book, I know what's coming as if I worked from a strict outline. The edit has begun on the early chapters, Yay! I expect this episode will be out in a week or two. There's been some excitement and I'm coming up on a part that may be difficult for me to write, but it's all going well. Just as well because the next episode in audio is going to start production next month! The narrator is only one episode behind me, eek! I mustn't say very much about the story because spoilers! But if you've stayed with me this long, you won't be disappointed. This has been a fun series to write. I can't wait to see what happens in Episode Ten!  ...And sometimes it goes slowly. Once again, I must apologize for taking so long to finish episode nine. There have been times during this series when a full chapter flows out of me in one sitting, sometimes even with the beginning of the following chapter. As I get closer to the end, that isn't happening as much. It isn't that I'm losing interest. Far from it! I'm really fascinated at the direction this one has taken and I can hardly wait to see what Kallie will do with a new situation I've developed for her. Yet even when I know what's going to happen in a chapter, sometimes I only manage to get a 400-500 word transition written before something distracts me. That's part of the delay. I've had a lot of family related distractions. Nothing to complain about, just things that need my attention. You would be amazed at how much going out to grocery shop early to beat the crowds can disrupt a writing flow! But not to worry. It's coming along. I'm past the halfway mark and it's beginning to snowball. It's always the middle of a story that takes me the longest.  In case you wondered. I'm finding that beyond the research for the science bits, the series requires that sometimes I go back to previous episodes to make sure I'm getting the continuity right. Mostly I can work out things from outline notes but occasionally I actually have to read chapters from past episodes to get the details I need or see where I last left a character! So, I'm making no time estimates anymore, but episode nine is on a roll and I'm diligently working on it every day and will keep doing so until it's finished! Meanwhile, I've been told that the audiobook version of episode seven has been finished and approved so it should become available on Audible very soon! I love how Akalya is leading me into more intense drama in these later episodes. As any author knows, there comes a point where the characters lead the action and the author is just along for the ride! I'm looking forward to getting to the final episode soon, but I do know how this one finishes and I'm steeling myself against the inevitable emotional backwash that I know is coming. Please do leave your comments in the reviews of your retailers website! Feedback tells me if my readers are enjoying the series as much as I am!  Happy New Year to everyone! I hope you've had brilliant holidays, whatever you celebrate. Well, my grand plan for finishing the series before the end of the year hasn't worked out, largely due to the holidays themselves. It's amazingly difficult to settle down to write when what to get for various family members and keeping track of other holiday preparations takes over the thinking process. But we've got past Christmas now and I don't tend to do anything for New Year as I'm not a drinker. It's time for me to get back into my work pattern and get the next episode out! I promise it will be worth the wait. This one starts with a bang and there is plenty of action throughout, despite Akalya's ability to deal with anything life throws at her with stoic grace. Well, anything might be a tall order. I should at least have episode nine in edit before the finish of January. Then I'll launch right into episode ten, because these last two episodes are closely tied together. That's all the hints I'm dropping for now!  I sometimes wish the individual episodes were still coming out in paperback so that I could have a whole set, just for the artwork. But, the publisher deemed the five episode collections more practical in paperback, so that's how it is. Still, the e-book covers retain the variety. Episode Nine has a hard hitting image. It does reflect some of what's going on in the continuing series. If you've read Episode Eight, you know that gun crime has come into the series. I also dropped hints about the implications of a Time Shifter slipping through time at will with an attitude and a gun. This is a subject I want to be careful about. I'm not here to make a political statement, only to tell a story. Since the story is set in America, the proliferation of gun use is a natural part of the setting. Los Angeles is too well known for drive-by shootings and road rage, and the recent incident in Thousand Oaks is disturbingly close to home when I'm writing about a gunman in Los Angeles. Perhaps I should use trigger warnings (no pun intended), but the issue is not as prevalent in Episode Nine as it was in Episode Eight. Anyway, as you can see from the picture, the cover art for Episode Nine has some chilling imagery in more ways than one.  Just released! Episode Six of The Chronicles of the Harekaiian in Audio! Find it at Amazon, Amazon UK or Audible stores!  The audio production team is catching up to me! Not to worry though, Episode Nine will be finished in E-book before the audio version of Episode Seven is ready for release in December/January. It's so exciting, getting close to the end of the series at last! |
Shanna Lauffey
Author of paranormal and science fiction Archives
June 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
