In the beginning there was Charis…

Having now finished the revisions to Book 1 and handed them off to my editor, I’m back to working hard on Book 4. I actually finished the outline and planning stages back in August, so now it’s time to put pen to paper on Chapter 1. It’s a bittersweet feeling to start writing Book 4 since it’s the last one in the first story arc. But it’s also a very familiar feeling.

Why?

Because all four of the books start out with the same character–Charis. Since she’s not one of the three main characters, she’s often overlooked but she did get some love from Mei-Mei over at Jedi by Knight. (And Raysel did too–I love the comparison she made to Jeonghan of SEVENTEEN!❤ That made my day!)

In Book 1, Chapter 1–The Heiress of Chiyo, we meet Charis while she drops off her weekly delivery of (smuggled) books to Nerissa. She brought along an extra one to show Nerissa–a family heirloom she sneaked out without her father’s permission. It seems at first to be an average, everyday sort of exchange between friends but ends up providing Nerissa with a clue that is integral to her quest to take back the throne.

In Book 2, Chapter 1–Handkerchief, we catch up with Charis while she is curled up in her favorite reading spot: a cozy nook atop the shelves in the Special Collection Room of the University Library. She ends up being stranded in the nook after an argument with Amon, and is so flustered and angry when she leaves that she forgets to lock the gate behind her…leaving the room wide open for the would-be intruders who appear in Chapter 2.

And in Book 3, Chapter 1–Ink, Paper, and a Secret Meeting, Charis has volunteered for an extra shift at the library to fill in for an ill coworker. She ends up inadvertently stumbling upon an after-hours meeting between Amon and one of King Casimer’s men and spies on the pair via a gap in the bookshelves.

So what is Charis up to in Book 4, Chapter 1? She’s packing her bags for a trip! But where is she going, and why? You’ll just have to read and find out… ^_-