Despite the Arctic Vortex's best efforts to freeze the life out of us all here in northwest Ontario, the sequel to The Calling has reached the astounding length of about 70,000 words. This is roughly the length of The Calling. So I finally decided it was time to wrap it up and call it a book. The rest of the story I had planned to tell will become Book Three, then what was going to be Book Three will become Book Four. Or, at this rate, Four and Five!
Don't expect the new book to appear in the next few days: I have now set off on an editing campaign. I have to track down and exterminate all those little errors which have slipped in, and to make sure the whole story makes sense.
I also need to find or create a cover picture and some publicity.
So far, I've settled on a title for this book: Called To Battle. I like the way it's coming out: it continues the script of The Calling, but on a much broader stage. Some characters who barely got a mention in The Calling have plenty of room to explain who they are, and some new faces pop up too. For example, we get to know the tree-like alien known as Ynerog Jau as Valin has a hair-raising conversation with her. There is another new recruit to the Telarine Squadron, whom you'll already have met if you have been reading these posts. And the enemy side of things? Yes, they push their way into the story too, and I had to try my hardest to stop them taking over and wrecking the plot!
Watch this blog for news of the book's release sometime this spring.
