With Child of Night and Day (Champion of the Gods; Book 4) being released April 11, 2017, I recently reflected on the beginning of the series and realized I started writing it in various forms more than twelve years ago. First came Farrell and Miceral and the rest of the story grew from there. Before I actually gave thought to having it published, I’d written close to 1.3 million words. And that didn’t get me to the end.
In the interim, I’ve re-written a lot of the original story and pared it down considerably. Of those 1.3 million words, less than half made it into the first four books. Surprisingly, only a few major scenes were cut. Most of the reduction came from cutting excess words. Talk about overly wordy!
Book 5—When Hero’s Fall—is almost entirely new. Apart from the end—which was written long ago—there was nothing left of those million words I wrote long ago. With a just few minor changes, the end and epilogue haven’t changed much since I first wrote them. I’m really pleased by that.
In the next year, a lot will happen with the series. Book 1—The Last Grand Master—will be released as an audio book. There will be a new series trailer. I have artwork based on the characters and places being created and of course, the final book will be released.
In addition, for the release of Child of Night and Day, I’ve created a new free story that will only be available to readers who’ve purchased Book 4. There will be a link at the back of the book where you can download your copy. Unlike some of my other free stories, this one will have its own cover created by the designer who came up with the concept for the series covers. It might be given away later, but certainly not for at least six months.
To help get you up to speed for Book 4, DSP Publications has agreed to put Books 1-3 on sale. If you want more information of that, you can click the link below.
I’ve very excited about the direction the series is going, but I have to say there is already a bit of sadness creeping in. After When Heroes Fall it will be finished. There won’t be a sequel. Not only don’t I think it would lend itself to a sequel, I have so many other stories I want to tell. But after twelve years, it’s going to be tough to say goodbye. Fortunately, there is a bit of time left before I get there.
Andrew Q. Gordon wrote his first story back when yellow legal pads, ball point pens were common and a Smith Corona correctable typewriter was considered high tech. Adapting with technology, he now takes his MacBook somewhere quiet when he wants to write.
Since devouring The Lord of the Rings as a preteen, he has been a fan of all things fantastical. His imagination has helped him create works of high fantasy, paranormal thrills and touch of the futuristic. He also writes the occasional contemporary story.
He currently lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his husband of twenty-two years. Together they are raising their pre-school age daughter and three dogs. Andrew tries to squeeze writing time in around his most important jobs, being husband and ‘Papa.’ Along with teaching how to kick a soccer ball or ride a scooter, he has become fluent in cartoon characters and children’s books. To find out more about Andrew, his writing and his family, follow him on his website or on Facebook.
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Books:
The Last Grand Master: (Champion of the Gods–Book 1)
The Eye and the Arm: (Champion of the Gods–Book 2)
Kings of Lore and Legend: (Champion of the Gods–Book 3)
Child of Night and Day (Champion of the Gods—Book: 4) (Pre-order now. Available April 11, 2017)
Self published:
I’ll be sad to say good-bye to these guys. Congratulations on the audiobook. That’s great news!
Hi Anne,
Right now I’m not sure how I’ll feel when this series is over. There are more than a few new people and worlds I want to share, but I need to finish this one first.
Thanks for reading and commenting,
-AQG
Congrats on the series, it sounds great. It might be pretty obvious, but how do you know when a series has come to an end, as you say, it does not lend itself to a sequel?