Well, three years have gone by. I hoped to do it in two but with other responsibilities in life, that just wasn’t realistic. Writing a book only takes a year. It’s the editing and perfecting that takes up the bulk of the time.

Now that the book is finally out there in the world, I want to reflect on some of the things I’ve done to make this book great.

Character Focus

The Inner Lands has always been a human story, so I brought my strongest characters to the forefront. By focussing on Sill, Kallem, and Artell (Kallem’s mother) we gain an insight into their unique thoughts on everything that transpires between each other and in the larger plot.

Never forget

Don’t you hate it when characters in a book or film move on as if previous events never even happened? You won’t see that here. There is lots of reflection on past events, thoughts to the future and concerns about themselves and others.

Development

Five years have passed in The Inner Lands. I’ve tried to keep my characters true to themselves whilst also showing change (and sometimes growth) after the things they’ve been through. This also counts for side-characters such as Raffin and General Venth.

Keep the tension

Both Something Stirs and Dark Tidings, as titles, suggest that something menacing is coming; some nagging tension leading everybody towards disaster. I wanted to keep that theme going so you’ll see lots of tension, this time growing in Rydan Fort and then spreading out into the rest of the novel.

Discovery

Fantasy is often about discovering new worlds so I wanted to give readers something new as well as a respite from the dark, main plot. Artell’s journey allows for this and gave me an opportunity to bring back fun, positive characters from the first novel, as well as introducing some new ones.

Keep it epic

Some people have said the first book starts slowly, and I agree. But I also think, without that, it’s hard to build to a climatic finish. It’s a very popular notion, especially among agents and publishers, that a modern novel needs to be action-packed from the get-go.

In some stories that works great but it can also cause a numbness to the action, like an action movie without a soul, all needless explosions and squashed-cabbage fight sounds. There’s a place for that, but that’s not what I’m trying to create here. I want to give readers a deeper experience. A book is more personal and, for me, there’s value in the journey. The reflection and stillness is as important as the storms and battles. Someone once told me to focus more on contrast and it was great advice.

Keep them guessing

The first novel was part-thriller. Kallem’s past was as confusing to him as it was to the reader. Surprise is thrilling, sometimes heart-breaking, sometimes uplifting and I hope you experience more of this when reading the sequel.

Keep it personal

You may or may not notice that I don’t spend a lot of time describing physical appearance. This was a decision I made way back, when I started writing the first book and draws from my own experience as a long-time reader. When I’m writing and creating, it’s my story, but as soon as you pick up the book (or open your e-Reader!) it becomes YOUR story and everybody’s experience is unique. I give you small pointers about a character’s looks and then it’s over to you. I build characters through their voices and actions. The words filter from the page into your heads and then you create a version of the world that suits you. That’s how it should be.

Ask Questions

I planned this book before I started writing so you may think everything that happens is my choice. Wrong! Of course I created it but to keep it realistic I had to ask myself questions. What would these characters be doing now? What’s happened to the Grinth? What’s the effect of being stuck at Rydan? I make choices, of course, but when doing the actual writing, you often have new ideas that work better than your original plan. There’s a great quote I love, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader.” (I wrote a blog on this too)

This book was surprising to me. I have cried several times whilst writing emotional scenes, both sad and touching. I can’t guarantee you’ll like it – I’ve already said that every experience is unique – but I can guarantee that I wrote the best book I could during the time that it was written.

I hope you enjoy it.

You can buy the book from all major online retailers.