We do it to ourselves...
Diving deeper as an author and a sneak peek at Book Two.
Reflecting on this year, I’ve managed to release Book One of my A’dara duology into the world (which has taken years to achieve) I also received an honourable mention for one of my poems. I should feel elated, but I’m not that kind of person; if anything, the ongoing marketing of said book is taking all the fun out of any sort of, I’m an author moment. The internet is a stressful place full of wonderful authors all doing a much better job than I am at promoting themselves. I even changed my cover slightly to make it pop more, but it hasn’t helped. Oh, and FYI, all those of you who got the original cover, there are only 48 of them in the world that even got printed – so it’s kinda a limited first edition cover, hold on to it!
Still, it’s been delightful meeting people who’ve read my book and have absolutely loved it. I’m never sure how to act when people talk to me about it with such passion – but that important question is always inevitably asked – when is Book Two coming out?
Well, I was confident that it would be out next year, afterall, I only have one chapter left to add and a few tweaks, and then it’s just waiting for the edits to be done. I can finally release Heart of A’dara and finish this fun story, written to escape from the mystery of this world. But nothing is ever quite so easy. I decided I wanted to flesh out a bit of law and a recent conversation between two of my characters – honestly, I may be nuts, but they talk, and I write; thanks to them, I must now create an entire ancient history. I had notes about A’dara’s more recent past written down, a few ideas, and the odd nod back with the Tales of Acklan, which I was genuinely considering writing, but now I must go back further into an ancient world when god-like beings roamed this made-up place. This will take some time, and maybe only a sentence regarding it will even make Book Two, but darn it, I must know everything that happened, the why, how, and fallout from it. Just know, I am going to try my damndest to get Book Two out next year! (Also thinking of putting Sally the Shrew out, even if I don’t have another book written for her yet, there is now a huge gap in the UK kids’ book market *cough*).
But I’m going to take Christmas off and relax, even get some reading of my own done! Whereas in the New Year, it’s back to work and even deeper world-building.
So, until then, here’s the opening of Book Two (unedited). And don’t worry, this is as dark as it gets, but there are some scenes of a violent nature. If not your thing, skip the prologue, to the added snippet of Chapter One, something lighter, like most of the book.
If you’ve not had the chance to read Book One, the link is here.
Warning: the prologue is dark and includes the murder of innocents!
Prologue
Screams drowned out the deluge of rain, as the remaining survivors slipped in the mud, struggling to keep going against the murderous creatures ripping through the village behind them. The horde had attacked without warning, and the town was unprepared for the onslaught from such rabid creatures. Those who stood and fought had been ripped to pieces; their bodies lay strewn throughout the entrance, bloating in the rain-soaked mud. The creatures did not care if it was a woman or a child; they slaughtered all in their path. The demon walked at ease through the foray, sniffing the air. A small child was thrown into its path, and it picked her up by the scruff of her neck. The girl was bloody and screamed into its face; she had not stopped screaming since seeing her mother’s head ripped clean from her body in front of her.
The demon smiled with its thin, almost non-existent lips. “Hush, child.” It rasped in her language and sniffed the air around her. “There is magic here. But not in you, little one, a pity,” it uttered and snapped the girl’s neck, flinging her to the ground. The demon was not in a hurry; it was in control of those it had corrupted with its essence. Anyone with magic would be left for it to take; it needed more power, and the humans of this world offered little. The horde had circled an old woman, taunting and grunting at her, trying to get her to run; chasing was more fun to them. The old woman was terrified, and she huddled protectively against the wall of the tavern. She clung to a ruby necklace, but despite her need, she could not summon her magics to battle the creatures in front of her. The men stepped aside as the demon arrived to claim its prize. Her eyes bulged wide with horror at seeing it; the horde was evil, but still men. This thing in front of her was alien; nothing on A’dara looked like this, and her bladder gave way as she trembled before it.
The demon sniffed the air again, its translucent grey skin flashing red underneath, and it grabbed her by the throat. Opening its mouth over her, it drained her essence from her body, dumping her empty, shrivelled carcass to the floor. “The magic here is so pitiful. Where is the heart? I need it, I must have it. Where is it? Find it!” Its voice was a thundering command that shook through the village, bringing down the stone buildings around it. The tainted men let out a guttural cry as one and carried on decimating the place, leaving no one alive.
Chapter One. (Snippet)
Dee woke to the smell of coffee; it was delightful until she saw Delphi sitting on her balcony. Swearing under her breath, she got up to join her. “Is this some kind of fun way to annoy me?” she said, slumping in one of the metal patio chairs and pouring herself a cup.
Delphi smirked at her. “Well, it seems I neglected to feed you yesterday, so I brought you something to start your day right.”
“Sorry, I hope I didn’t get you in trouble?” She scowled, not caring if she had.
“Tsk! No, Rillion mentioned I should fatten you up more; you wouldn’t even make a good snack otherwise.” Dee’s eyes went wide for a moment, but she realised Delphi was in her own way, trying to be friendly. “Anyway, it seems you are far more interesting than I thought. You should have told me you’d only been doing magic for a short time; no wonder you have little control.” Looking her over, she seemed genuinely impressed. Dee shrugged, taking a bite of the small sticky pastries that Delphi had brought with the coffee. “I think we will try something different in your training, help you focus on control more,” Delphi uttered, before delicately taking a small bite of her own.
Dee wondered how she managed to eat the pastries without them flaking all down her, something she had not managed herself. “Ok, what did you have in mind?” she said, brushing the crumbs from her dressing gown.
“Have you ever dried your clothes?”
“Um, no, not with magic, I don’t think, but isn’t that kind of pointless, learning something so basic?” She thought doing something so trivial wasn’t going to help her learn great magics.
“Pointless? It is a skill of delicate finesse, hard to master. Tell me, what happens if you are stuck in a storm or fall in water; not drying yourself quickly could lead to illness, even death. This must have happened to you at some point?” she snapped.
Dee was already bored with the idea of today’s lesson. “Maybe, I can’t remember.”
Delphi stared at her for a moment. “The rabbit you created, was there a reason you chose that form?” she asked carefully.
Dee thought for a moment about the statue she had made, remembering she’d promised to show Rillion and smiled at the memory. “That was Beauty, my first pet.” Delphi leaned back in her seat, taking a sip of the sharps, satisfied with her answer.
This is a great read – sophisticated, challenging, and fun!