In September, 2021, my dream came true. My debut novel was published, and for the first time in quite a long while, I felt as if I might be heading in the right direction.
Freewilds - The Cult & the Constable started its life in a piecemeal state. It was an amalgamation and extrapolation of stories, concepts, and ideas I have been toying around with for years and years... decades, honestly... finally given life and purpose in the form of a weighty, 706 page novel.
The concept: A detective noir mystery set in an original dark fantasy setting with elements of suspense and horror. I felt that it was a compelling combination... a Sherlock Holmes-type as the primary protagonist of a story set in a Game of Thrones-like setting. However, there was a complication with the book that was going to hinder its success. It was not a quality issue; the feedback I received was overwhelmingly positive with regards to the way the story was conceptualized, written, and presented. Rather, it was a matter of ensuring that the book was an appealing prospect to pick up and read. The size was a barrier to that appeal.
The word 'intimidating' was used, repeatedly.
So, I had a problem on my hands, and I had to decide how to address it. I could stay the course, leave everything as it was, and hope that over time, in the aggregate, the book would find its audience despite its prodigious size.
Alternatively...
...I could unpublish my novel and put it through a massive conversion edit, changing one 706 page tome into a trilogy of 370-400 page installments, greatly improving and expanding upon each third of the original work, and take all the lessons I have learned in the months since the novel's release in September 2021 to heart.
One book died so that a Saga could be born!
Available now for preorder in Kindle eBook format!
Releasing on March 31st, 2022 in eBook, Paperback, Hardcover and Audiobook formats, STORMSEND represents the first act of the original story told in Freewilds - The Cult & the Constable. However, so much has been added, improved, and expanded upon that when combined with Book Two (VAGABOND) and Book Three (BASTION), the original tale is far greater than the sum of its parts.
Speaking of Books Two and Three, they are nearly complete, as well! VAGABOND will be published in June 2022, with BASTION to follow in September.