Next month, the second book in the Queen of Magic series comes out.
I have been working on this series since I was a teenager, and this particular book since I became an adult. I've published and re-published the first book several times, and, frankly, it's practically invisible.
But it doesn't really matter.
I went into my writing career as a teenager knowing full well that it would be the marathon of my life. This series has come to weigh so heavy on me that it would be much simpler to throw it out and give up entirely. But I don't.
I may go long spells without writing, and I may hit the wall of burnout time and again. But I keep going. I'm just not me when I'm not writing.
I'm just not me when I'm not writing.
This sequel has been long awaited in my own mind and heart. Book one is fine. I love it dearly, even if I try not to look at it ever because I know I will begin picking it apart. But the sequel? This is when I start to flex my storytelling muscles. I dig more into each character, into the world, into the conflicts that surrounded book one. There is so much boiling just under the surface in The Revolution that is contained just enough not to harm the events of the revolution. But in Queen of Madness, everything spills over.
I've always hated this idea that stories have perfect endings. A cute little credits scene wrapped in a bow, a sunset and a romantic kiss, all that nonsense. I despise tragic endings much more, especially in an era where too much tragedy is played out in fiction. It's as though people think that if a story makes us sad, then it's the peak of fiction. Life is so much more than endings.
In book two, I try to explore the natural (and unnatural?) consequences of book one. Salaire's romantic interest has solidified and broken apart. The twins' tightrope situation with their father is snapping beneath their feet. The Messavian princess's entire world is in shambles. And everyone is barely keeping their heads above water.
In The Revolution, everyone put their lives and problems on hold to handle the conflicts at their feet. Now those are done, and those lives and problems have returned in full force.
This is why I had to keep writing, to tell the real story. "The revolution was the easy part," I like to say, and it's true. In real life, it's once we leave traumatic or dangerous situations that we break down. PTSD symptoms appear when we leave abusive relationships. We get sick the second we start our vacation after weeks of working late.
It feels contradictory, but in reality it's perfectly natural. In The Revolution, everyone put their lives and problems on hold to handle the conflicts at their feet. Now those are done, and those lives and problems have returned in full force.
Let the chaos begin!
Queen of Madness: The Fae Queen releases October 24th, 2022!