Cover Reveal That Almost Was: A Stormfall Chronicles Prequel

I thought it might be interesting to share what the cover art might have looked like, had I released A Wolf Before the Storm as a novel rather than as an episodic series on Vella. I also wanted to share what the book blurb would have looked like - as opposed to the shortened version Vella supports.

My thanks again to my daughter, Liron for pulling the cover design together.

In an age of magic, in a realm where werewolves still stalk the land, a lost girl awakens from a nightmare – and claims a legend as her own.

Callisto never saw herself as a hero in anyone’s tale, least of all her own. She never saw herself as a villain either. Just someone making the best of an impossible situation.

An indentured servant to a den-master of thieves, she has had to live by her wits and talents – all the while hiding the secrets of her past. Trained as a pickpocket and lockpick, she proves equally adept with a dagger. Fate, it has seemed, had never thrown her many favors. The few it has thrown she has been determined to make the most from.

Everything changes when a chance burglary hints at a hidden cache of letters – letters left behind by an Arche-Mage centuries ago. Secreted somewhere in the imperial library, the documents promise to fetch a fortune from the right buyer. It could be everything she dreamed of. Enough to pay off her debts. Enough to start a new life. Or it could just as easily land her in the dungeons of an empire vowed to exterminate her kin.

Amidst fleeting glimpses of a life she longs for but can never have, Callisto must maintain her cover long enough to find the treasured documents – before the shadows of her past overtake her.

A Stormfall Chronicles Prequel, “A Wolf Before the Storm” follows the story of Callisto more than a decade before she appears in Book 3 of the series.

The first three episodes of the novel are available now on Kindle Vella for free:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QL999X5/

Stormfall Chronicles Prequel - Released on Vella

It's here! Finally ready for release!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09QL999X5/

The first chapters in the Stormfall Chronicles Prequel, A Wolf Before the Storm will be released this week.

The first four episodes will be released at a once-per-day cadence. Other episodes in the story will follow each week on Friday.

My thanks go out again to my daughters who have been my beta-readers throughout this journey.

From the moment I had introduced her in Book 3 of The Stormfall Chronicles, I knew the story behind Callisto was a tale which deserved to be told. A tale of both tragedy, and resilience. I'm glad to finally see it available online.

Sixth Prequel Draft Complete

It's done! Draft six of the Stormfall Chronicles Prequel is finally complete. The text has grown moderately since its last edit, from 63,000 to 66,000 words. The number of chapters has grown from 44 to 45.

It's finally ready, however. Time to begin uploading episodes to Kindle Vella.

Fourth Draft for Book 4 Complete

While my oldest two daughters have been visiting over winter break, beta-reading the latest edits to the prequel to the series, I've been making use of my time editing Book 4 of the Stormfall Chronicles.

I've now completed the fourth draft of the book, with the text growing from 111,000 words at draft three, to 114,000 words at draft four. It's been good to see the story arcs of Lynette, Baxter and Eirlon (among others) finally drawing to their conclusion. It will still need another couple of rounds of edits - but it's getting close.

The prequel to the series, meanwhile, should be released on Vella later this month. Looking forward to it.

It's been great having all of my daughters at home over the break. Sharing stories, movies, and games again. I'll be sad to see them returning to their respective campuses at the end of this week.

Fifth Prequel Draft Complete

With the fifth draft complete, the prequel is nearly ready. The text has grown yet again, from 60,000 to 63,000 words, and the number of chapters has increased from 43 to 44. The sixth draft will be the one which goes to Vella. Have to get the cover design completed too.

I'm looking forward to having my two older daughters, who are also my beta-readers, back home next week. They'll be returning from university for winter break. It will be nice to talk with them in person, and not just over FaceTime, about plans for the prequel's release.

Fourth Prequel Draft Complete

I've had my first reader feedback on the Stormfall Chronicles prequel, mostly centering around the pacing and a couple of the side-characters in the story. My middle daughter's feedback has been invaluable in refining the storyline.

A few of the chapters have undergone some rearranging as a result - particularly closer to the end of the story where a lot of things are happening at once. It has not been the edit cycle I might have originally envisioned for the 4th draft of this novel, but it was the edit cycle which was needed.

The text has grown from 55,000 to 60,000 words, and the number of chapters has grown from 40 to 43.

It's coming along nicely, although another round of edits and beta-readers is still needed to polish the story before release.

Third Prequel Draft Complete

Each successive edit cycle tends to take less time, with fewer additions and changes to the text. Having now completed the 3rd draft of the Stormfall Chronicles prequel, the text has grown from 52,000 to 55,000 words. The number of "chapters" or "episodes" has likewise grown from 39 to 40.

Ordinarily, I would continue to complete multiple edit cycles at this point, and begin to seek beta-reader feedback on the draft novel as part of this process.

In this instance, however, since the story is expected to be released as a serial, on Kindle Vella, I'm planning to begin honing the story on a chapter-by-chapter basis. In other words, Chapters 1 through 4 might each undergo multiple edit cycles and beta-reads, before I even begin additional edits to Chapter 5.

Getting more excited to see how this story shapes up.