Happily Saying
Goodbye
It’s never an easy thing to do, especially with books.
There’s always the wish for one more chapter, one more scene, one more minute
with characters you love in a world that has brought you a free escape from
reality. It’s even harder for an author. We don’t just create these characters.
We live as them for a time,
experience their world and their trials as intimately as they do. I’ve carried
the Dark Sky series with me since I
was a teenager, and now that Obsidian Sky
is released and the series has closed, I feel a mixture of pride, relief,
and a little sadness that it’s over.
Don’t get me wrong––I love the world I created for the
Dark Sky series. Aon, its capital
city, Westraven, and the hellish dimension known as Hellnore were the first
places I created as an author. It’s been an experience that has helped me grow,
and has created connections and friendships that have progressed my career. Crimson Sky received way better
reception than I was expecting, even going so far as to earn the attention and
advice from renowned fantasy author (and one of my biggest inspirations) Michael
J. Sullivan.
Still, there’s a piece of me that wishes I had more
stories for Claire, Sawyer, Nash, Gemma, and the new characters I created to
join them on their adventures. I’ve toyed with the idea of a prequel series, but
the truth is that I don’t want to be an author who carries one series with her
for most of her career. I have literally dozens of other stories I wish to
write, and I want to grow and progress and learn and (hopefully soon) write
full time.
The way to do that is to move on. I love the Dark Sky books. To date, this is my most
favorite series to have written. I had the time of my life inventing these
characters, putting them in dire situations with some of my favorite monsters,
and watching them fight their way free in a world I’d envisioned for years. Sometimes
I even go back and skim over scenes that I adored writing and recall why
writing them kept me up until ungodly hours of the morning. There were
definitely ups and downs to writing these books independently, and I had more
than my fair share of stress, headaches, confusion, restless nights, and face-palm
moments. And yet, the series took an unexpected turn, and ended up being better
than I could have hoped. It proved that with hard work, trial and error, patience,
and determination, any story can be told. Honestly, I didn’t think such a
strange mash-up of vampires, pirates, and steampunk would be able to coherently
combine and become what it has. I thought it was just a daydream brought on by
the over-active imagination of a teenage girl who read too many of R. L.
Stein’s Choose Your Own Adventure books
and watched Pirates of the Caribbean until
she could recite every line.
But now that I know it’s possible, I can only imagine
what other possibilities are open to explore. So while I would love to stay
with the Dark Sky series and its
characters, there are other worlds to create, more adventures to bring to
readers. I can only hope they’ll enjoy them as much as I have, and still do.
Obsidian Sky Excerpt
“I have seen your mind, Claire,” continued the Vesper. He hadn’t blinked
once since the start of our conversation. “You know what it is like to be weak.
To be desperate. Imagine that weakness and desperation, combined with pain.
Every second of your existence consumed with an ache that burns like acid in
your stomach. Constant hunger, giving up your own blood to feed your own.”
The Vesper’s grip tightened. The fabric of the tunic ripped, but my skin
remained intact. For now. He bent closer. I choked on bile and the smell of
blood and rot as he swarmed me.
“You have endured hardships, Claire. But you know
little of true pain.”
Buy Links:
Obsidian Sky
Crimson Sky
Midnight Sky
Kindle | Paperback | Createspace | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Nook | iTunes | Smashwords | Goodreads
Amber Sky (Prequel Novella)
Smoke Sky (Prequel Novella)
Author Bio
Amy is a
Canadian urban fantasy and horror author. Her work revolves around monsters,
magic, mythology, and mayhem. She started writing in her early teens, and never
stopped. She loves building unique worlds filled with fun characters and
intense action. She has short stories in various horror and urban fantasy
anthologies and has been featured on various author blogs and publishing
websites, and is an active member of the Writing GIAM and Weekend Writing
Warrior communities. When she isn’t writing, she’s reading, watching movies,
taking photos, gaming, and struggling with chocoholism and ice cream addiction.
More From Amy Braun
CURSED
DEMON’S DAUGHTER | DARK DIVINITY | DAMNATION’S DOOR
DARK SKY
CRIMSON SKY | MIDNIGHT SKY | AMBER SKY | SMOKE SKY
STANDALONE
NOVELS AND NOVELLAS
STORM BORN
PATH OF THE HORSEMAN
NEEDFIRE
Social Media
Links
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#IndieBooksBeSeen #indieauthors #booklover #bookworm #bookaddict #bookaholic
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