Introducing Blood-Forged Bonds

Here we are again, it’s time to write another book release blog. I like cracking my notes open to reveal little bits and extras every time a book goes out. But as I’ve mentioned in the past, it gets increasingly difficult to do so without giving away massive spoilers. As usual, I will do my best to write something worth reading without giving the game away.

As I reflect on this particular installment of the Aruvalia Chronicles – and thus what makes it special – I keep coming back to one thing. This story is generational. It was always meant to take place across a large span of time. Sooner or later, the first set of main characters would at least begin the process of handing their batons to the next generation. And this is the part of the story when that process finally begins.

I like generational stories. I mean, I like long stories in general. That’s probably obvious given the length of the tales I write. My favorite thing about long-running stories is when the characters, as well as the readers, get a chance to see the outcomes and consequences of the decisions they made early on.

When I first conceived of the Aruvalia Chronicles, the story for the original cast was going to end after Life Beyond Time (Book 6). The plan was to jump the story ahead to the second generation and gradually explain how the two connected. But as I mentioned during the last release blog, I abandoned that idea. Because it turns out, the most interesting parts of the story took place in the gap.

But while it was important to fill in the gaps with the main cast still present, we have reached the introduction of the story’s second generation.

Meet the Royal Children

I have written stories that include children many times before. But usually the children come in at the end of one installment and are fully grown in the next. (If there is a next installment.) I don’t typically tend to spend a lot of time on my character’s childhoods.

For the Aruvalia Chronicles, I tried a different approach. The raising of Domerin and Crescent’s children happens on camera, at least in fits and spurts. This felt critical because certain key moments in the plot take place when the children are very young. And ultimately those events end up shaping the people they become.

But there’s another reason I ended up immensely enjoying crafting these particular children’s lives in story form: it gave me a chance to develop new aspects of their parents.

Domerin never made any secrets about the fact that he wasn’t interested in raising children. He always feared he’d end up too much like his own father – stubborn, intractable and ultimately harmful whether he intended to be or not. So watching how he interacts with his children, learns to be a parent and learns how directly his actions affect them has been extremely satisfying.

Of course the biggest challenge for Domerin isn’t imparting the skills necessary for his children to survive or contribute to society. The biggest challenge for him is balancing family time with his job. (Which is highly relatable, let me tell you!) And while his children remain too young to fully understand the importance of his job, the challenge is greatly increased.

The Problems Presented by Fantasy Aging

Aside from the challenges presented to my characters by trying to keep an entire kingdom safe while raising a group of rambunctious children, writing this installment of the series presented a large number of challenges for me. The biggest one was deciding which events needed to be witnessed on camera and which could be glossed over and reflected back upon.

Full disclosure: I tore myself into a lot of knots trying to figure out how I could show the births of all three of the royal children on camera. Births, after all, feel like major events worthy of spending time on.

But in order to space out the story enough for the later installments to make sense, certain sacrifices had to be made. So you’ll notice this story starts with 3 royal children instead of just the 1 born at the end of the last book. As it turns out that births are all pretty similar in narrative if nothing goes terribly wrong. And that was the only way to avoid explaining a ten year time gap in-narrative.

And while we’re on the topic of timing, keeping track of how old each of the children was and how quickly they would age presented a fresh form of challenges. When you’re dealing with the mixing of magical races, aging is one of the first things to get wonky. Making certain all of the children would age consistently was bad enough, making sure they would all arrive at the appropriate ages at the appropriate time complicated things considerably.

I won’t claim I didn’t create any awkward situations. My system is far from perfect. But I’m pleased with how everything turned out – and that’s the most important thing.

Which means I’m more excited than usual to share the results with you!

Blood-Forged Bonds is Available Now!

When evil strikes at the heart
A warrior must be ready to act
Even if it means making the ultimate sacrifice…

Most of a decade has passed since Domerin and his companions managed to trap Karis Drathmore – Aruvalia’s number one most wanted rogue adept – in an interdimensional prison. Everyone knows their grace period is coming to an end, but no one is ready for the tyrant’s next attack. Not with a deadly sickness tearing through the ranks of the Queen’s Division and the high tempers of needy nobles threatening to derail treaty negotiations.

But the greatest threat, the one that threatens to turn the royal family upside down, once again looms out of the past – in the form of a crime Crescent committed to protect a friend. A crime that will destroy his entire life if it comes to light.

While Domerin and the rest of Aruvalia’s defenders struggle to uncover the heart of Karis’s new plot in time to counter it and Crescent attempts to rebury the secrets of his past, Aruvalia’s queen wrestles with her own demon. For she has just experienced a Vision of Domerin’s death – a crisis that looms close enough she might not be able to divert it, even if she still possessed the power in her eyes.

Grab your copy today!