The Shadow Will Fall
Today I introduced the cover for Book 3 of The Last Whisper of the Gods Saga, Shadow of the Otherverse. The book has been submitted to Amazon.com for pre-orders. Assuming things go about as they did for the other two volumes, it should be available for pre-ordering tomorrow or Tuesday. The release date is March 7. If you’re interested in getting a pre-release copy for reviewing purposes, contact me.
The cover is once again by Jacob Atienza, whose work on the previous two books was phenomenal. I think this is the best of the three covers. I won’t describe the scene in detail because of spoilers but you don’t have to look far to find it. Jacob, by the way, is putting the final touches on the cover for the final Last Whisper-related book, Stories from Ayberia. That volume will have three sections: short stories (newly edited versions of the eight prequel stories that are available on this site), “deleted scenes” (a selection of segments edited out of Book 2 to improve pacing, and a new novella, “The Prelate’s Legacy.” I’m having a lot of fun writing that medium-length piece. It’s a true sequel in that it takes place after the events of Shadow of the Otherverse and should not be read until the trilogy is finished. However, since it is a stand-alone piece, it’s not mandatory reading for those who have completed the three novels. Stories of Ayberia will be published in June or July. (I haven’t settled on a final date yet.) As I previously indicated, the short stories will be removed from the website prior to the publication of Shadow of the Otherverse.
Another new contributor for Shadows of the Otherverse is Jack O. Gibson, who has taken my amateur map and done a professional job with it. Still the same Ayberia but looking a lot better. Jack’s contribution can be found on the website if you want to check it out prior to its availability in Book 3. (At some point, I will probably go back and replace the maps in Books 1 & 2 but that’s not a priority.)
I view the release of Shadow of the Otherverse with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. It is by far the most ambitious of the three books and, as such, the potential for failure is much higher. I take a lot of risks. My goal with this series was always to begin in safe, familiar territory and gradually transport the viewer through a series of increasingly challenging narrative twists. Those who have read The Curse in the Gift probably have a sense of what I’m talking about. It’s not nearly as conventional as The Last Whisper of the Gods. Shadow of the Otherverse is another step beyond. It’s also the longest of the three novels, about 50 pages longer than The Curse in the Gift and a full 100 pages longer than The Last Whisper of the Gods.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I have another series in the works but I’ll talk more about that after Shadow of the Otherverse/Tales of Ayberia are out. No sense getting too far ahead of myself.
One final thing: an apology to those who are offended by the pop-ups I use to advertise the books around the time of their releases. I try to be judicious about these but they are the best way to make casuals visitors aware of what’s going on. (If you jump to ReelViews from Rotten Tomatoes, you go directly to the review page, making it highly unlikely you would be aware of the book’s existence.) Shadow of the Otherverse will get this pop-up treatment for three weeks (Feb. 29- March 20). Sorry, but there are some inconvenient things I have to do.
Update: Shadow of the Otherverse is now available for pre-ordering (that was quick!). The link is http://amzn.to/1oexhrr