This week… I will be mostly having a breakthrough

Not quite the metaphorical door I 'broke through'... but I hope you agree it looks impressive and suitably dramatic

I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders. Ethné, one of my main characters, has a back story that I am finally happy with, and one which I hope will both intrigue and shock readers as it plays out through the chronicle.

It happened while planning a rewrite of the last chapter of Warlords, to create a stronger ending – some of you may know that following the split into two novels I wasn’t sure if book one ended on the right note. Well, it took me right back to the underlying story of the chronicle and a back story that I was still slightly unsure of for various reasons. After years of playing the ‘what if’ game on and off, a combination of things came together in a way which fitted like a key turning in the lock. Everything works – finally!

You are probably wondering what the hell I am on about. When am I going to spill the beans on what this back story is? It’s a bit unfair that I can’t tell you yet, it would spoil the surprise. But I am working through Warlords adding references to it gradually. You won’t see it in the first few chapters which you can read on Authonomy but it will come out in later chapters – which I hope to post on Authonomy in the not too distant future so you can finally read more of the book. 

For now, let me tell that you she is special. But you knew that. Her magical talent, such as it is, is pretty unique, but it isn’t the only factor in her importance to the story. She will gradually learn why she was raised in the Velderwood, away from prying eyes and other educated folk. She will find out why she looks different to other Arkavians, something she hadn’t thought much about before. She will discover that under a certain magical light, her shadow has a life of its own… and realise that her true nature is a dark secret which could cost not only her life, but her eternal soul.

Intrigued? Shocked? Stay tuned.