The End Is the Beginning (Literally)
Hello, dear readers.
I am in the middle of deadline madness, with two different projects back-to-back, plus two books launching within the next month, and my father's memorial service. I came up for air for a moment and realized it had been a while since my last newsletter. Alas, I don't have the time right now to write up some of things I want to start talking about for The Ghost of Drowned Meadow just yet. But since The Wizard of Eventide comes out in less than a month (July 12th!), I thought it might be nice to share something from it. This short passage will actually appear in the acknowledgements section at the end of the book, so think of it as an unconventional preview (and light spoiler):
The end of a trilogy is always special, but this one perhaps more than most. Those who have read my previous trilogy, The Empire of Storms, know that we have now come full circle back to my beloved hero, Bleak Hope, whose tragic origins inspired me to begin this long and satisfying foray into epic fantasy in the first place. So much has changed since I urgently scrawled that first chapter in a MUJI notebook all those years ago. For the world and for myself.
The Goddess War is, among other things, about the human capacity for transformation, both gradual and sudden. So it seems appropriate to me that the final book of this trilogy should be the last that ever bears the name “Jon Skovron”—a name that was never truly mine, but acted almost as a protective cocoon during my own very slow and meandering transformation. Although if I’m being honest, it feels less like a transformation and more like a long-overdue acceptance of something that had always been there. Regardless, I find a great deal of value in marking out moments in my life that I define as important and worth remembering. The completion of this story is one of them.
So, yes, for you Hope and Red fans, The Goddess War trilogy does directly and explicitly connect to The Empire of Storms. Surprise!
Six books, eight languages, and audio productions in three different countries. What a wild ride it's been. I am so grateful for where Bleak Hope and company have brought me, I cannot wait for you to see what's next.
Okay, I really need to get back to the word mines.
Talk soon,
Kelley