Letting the Fantasy Evolve

Eye of Everfell is special to me. It is the first novel I attempted to write, an ordeal that nearly killed me. Or, at the least, drained me like a vampire does its thrall. It has been revised innumerable times and took so much effort that I took a break and wrote two other novels before coming back to finally complete it.

It was a beast.

And I’ll always love it for that. I cut my teeth on an epic fantasy, a bold endeavor I wasn’t ready for but nonetheless wrestled with until completion. I’m proud of the work and the world I created, even after distracting myself with the creation of the Havenworld universe instead of finishing the series. I think the break was necessary. Nothing makes you a better writer than continuing to write, and working on Havenworld has made me a better novelist. And so I take a break from Havenworld and return to my first love, intent on finishing the saga I started to create.

With a few improvements.

Readers will immediately notice the new cover and look for Nyori, one of the main protagonists. Why alter the appearance of a major character? Because something nagged me for a long time, like a feather’s tickle on the dark side of my brain. But it wasn’t until I read an article about Shadow and Bone author Leigh Bardugo that the feeling was put into words that made so much sense. Her exact words about her writing experience with her first series:

“I was really echoing a lot of the fantasies I’d grown up with.”

So succinct, but it says so much. And I know exactly what she means. There is a long road paved with tropes when it comes to fantasy, including what the main characters usually look like. And when creating Nyori and other major characters, I stuck to the usual medieval European sorts. But it was all right there with her background details: a small village in the Steppes, a highly diverse region strongly influenced by African and Native American cultures. I was simply too programmed by popular fantasy tropes to fully realize who she was. Fortunately, I’m able to update that in this revision. It doesn’t alter her story or change her character; it simply allows her to be who she was meant to be.

And not just Nyori, but a few other things that bothered me. Mostly, I improved the text: corrected errors, streamlined descriptions, sculpted and carved to sharpen the dialogue and make the action pop. Sharp eyes will notice the improved maps and updates in some of the region and city names. In fact, I changed the idea of the continent from the usual variation of Europe to being loosely based on the continent of North America instead. A few character names have been changed to reflect their backgrounds, but nothing too major. The result is an upgraded experience that former readers will embrace and new readers will love.

I hope, at least. I’m sure you’ll let me know, either way.

You can pick up Eye of Everfell here, or wait for the upcoming announcement for a free version.

“Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.”

Earl Nightingale