At last! At long last!!
How long have I been talking about this? Four months? Five?? Definitely since April... and only just now have we arrived at the point when I can actually show you what it's going to look like. At least on the outside!
Ready to dive in? Let's go!!
What's Changed?
1. Added: The Epilogue, and "Tales From Undersea"
I've mentioned before that, while I endeavored to avoid the "happily ever after" kind of ending... the ending I had when it came down to the publishing deadline was not entirely what I wanted it to be. (I've also heard from more than one reviewer that it might have been a little too open!) A month after publishing it, the discomfort irked me to the point where I finally came around to sitting down and writing out an epilogue scene that basically carried everything I wanted it to. The only problem was... now that the book was out, how was I going to get it to readers?? There really wasn't an easy way to accomplish this.
I shrugged it off and moved on. In 2017, the year after I published Princess of Undersea, I took the "A to Z Blog Challenge", using my Suggestion Box serials as a launching point, and adding in other stories I'd written, finished or unfinished. Among those were characters I selected from Princess of Undersea--namely, the characters Gondu and Yssandra, as well as the place name of Undersea. The following year, I came out with a couple short stories I put together as "reviewer tributes", since I'd promised the first 10 people to review would become characters in these short stories.
Now, in this edition, you can read that epilogue, and I chose three of the short stories as well, calling them "Tales from Undersea": There's "Gondu's Shame", "Give Me What I Need", and "The Castaway and The Carnival"--which ended up serving as a nice segue into the sequel! (More about that below!)
2. Small Tweaks Throughout The Story
Of course, if the story of "The Castaway and The Carnival" was going to be the thing that led into a sequel, instead of a "non-canon fanfiction" kind of story... that would mean there was a character in it whom I had previously stated had died, who would now need to be not-dead. I therefore went into the book thinking that I was just going to have to fix every instance in which I mentioned the "formerly dead" character (which wasn't a whole lot), but in the process, I encountered other places in the novella that I remembered having a difficult time with. Certain lines in a conversation, or segues into certain topics that didn't quite end up the way I wanted them to--but at the time of publication, it really was the best I could come up with. To my surprise, looking at it four years later, with all the writing I'd done and the books I'd read, I found I actually had ideas for how it could have been done differently. Ergo, I started marking those places I was interested in tweaking, and ended up making small changes in just about every chapter. Changes like:
-The "Becoming Human For Love" trope is out. I hadn't realized how exactly to eradicate it entirely, but at least I lessened the impact by keeping Ylaine's focus on "seeing what the humans are actually like." It's her godmother who keeps harping on the "you have to find a human who can love you" theme--but Ylaine really didn't intend to fall in love at first. She just wanted to ensure that the two kingdoms wouldn't be going to war.
-I made King Theodore more interactive in the "Dinner with the King" scene, and changed the conversation between him and Prince Nathan. It was one of those scenes where mid-twenties me thought I was being "so clever"... but really I was making things more awkward than they needed to be. Needless to say, that's fixed!
-The discussion between Ylaine and Nathan that leads to his epiphany: I actually made this make sense with foreshadowing! A line that her godmother says in regards to the way her father rules his kingdom ends up sticking in Ylaine's mind, and she brings it up to Nathan, and that's what gets his attention... not the smarmy "I'm gonna just say this one thing and it's going to shift your entire paradigm because you're in love with me" exchange I had before!
-Best of all, I managed to include yet another callback to the original fairy tale--namely, the part where a mermaid's body dissolves into sea foam. It's not Ylaine, obviously... but it does do away with the villain in a manner I thought was much more definitive than just fading away screaming "never to be seen or heard from again." LAME! The new way is much better!
3. New Blurb, New Cover!
I'm so happy with this new cover, you have no idea! Four years ago, if you had told me there was an artist out there who could paint exactly the character concept I had pictured for Ylaine (and merfolk in general), I would have scoffed in your face. It wasn't even till 2018 (four years after I first drafted the concept, and a good two years after I published the book) that I ever saw anything even closely resembling my idea--much less artwork to that effect! Discussions with my publisher had led to me leaning toward the "minimalist" style more than anything, and the blurb I came up with tried to reinforce the theme of "two realms becoming one"--but even that ended up with a lot more romantic overtones than I intended.
Then I made the acquaintance of an indie author who was not only local to me (and yet we still haven't met) but he also happened to be a fantastic digital artist, as evidenced by the paintings he would share from time to time. I first became acquainted after reviewing one of his books here on the blog, and the moment I saw his picture of a merman warrior, I knew I had to commission a picture of my main character, Ylaine.
The picture was everything I had hoped it would be.
With the help of a formatter and graphic designer, I could finally have a cover featuring my main character--and the tweaking and rewriting I had done motivated me to come up with a new blurb to go with it!
Safe in the palace of Overcliff, Prince Nathan seeks his own comfort, and dreads the day when the people of his failing kingdom will depend on him for their well-being. His father remains distant and forgetful, while the Royal Council runs things—and as far as the Prince is concerned, he is free to continue doing as he likes. When a mysterious stranger arrives on the island, he begins to realize that all is not as it seems—and threats can come just as easily from across the sea as under it.
What's Next?
Well, for one thing: It's definitely going to be a series! I'm calling it "The Undersea Saga", and there are going to be four books in all! A few months ago I sat down and hashed out potential blurbs for each of them. I had already come up with the idea of using "Pinocchio" as the basis for the second book (because the protagonist is male and there aren't a whole lot of fairy tales with male protagonists, if we're being honest here!), but as for the rest... I'd already wanted to try my hand at crafting a steampunk version of "Aladdin"... after doing "Cinderella with Dragons" and "Red Riding Hood's A Lycanthrope", I found that I really enjoyed twisting fairy tales! Now, there was nothing in this fantasy world that would qualify as "steampunk" per se, but the tie-in to Book 2 brought up the region of "Outwest"... which would still qualify as "steampunk"--the Wild West in America and the Victorian Era in Europe were about the same time--and thus I had my third "re-telling"... the fourth came shortly after, a version of "Snow White" with even more mermaids than Princess of Undersea had!
Check out these blurbs!
Simon Langton should have died. Washing ashore on a mainland beach was a miracle itself, but Simon’s good fortune ends when the group who “rescues” him turns out to be a traveling carnival troupe led by a ruthless, greedy Ringmaster. Simon and two members of the troupe escape the Ringmaster’s clutches and set off across the kingdom of Crossway. His family might believe him dead, but Simon is willing to do whatever it takes to see his home again.
Life is relatively simple for someone like Melissande, the Roving Librarian. Famous for the stories she tells as much as for the books she carries and trades between towns, Melissande knows just one tale that never seems to leave her alone, the one that her imaginary “Muse” tells her in her head, through vivid scenes Melissande can picture as clearly as if seeing it all through someone else’s eyes.
One stormy night, the impossible happens, and two stories converge as two worlds collide. A boy on the run meets a strange young woman who might know him better than he knows himself, and an inspired young writer finds herself face-to-face with the Muse who inspired all her stories. Together, they must unravel the mystery of their connection and evade the relentless pursuit of the Ringmaster, or what should have been only a story will have very real consequences!
Book 3: Fury of Outwest (Inspired by the tale of Aladdin)
Life in the arid desert of Outwest is harsh and desperate. The ones that survive are prepared to do so by any means necessary. Delaina is no exception. She lives as an outlaw, shaking down the carriages of the rich and raiding abandoned houses for food and valuables that can be sold for money.
One such raid nets her an incredible device that promises to be the answer to living in comfort for the rest of her life—but when word gets out about this miraculous object, Delaina finds herself the target of a massive underground manhunt, and leading the charge is Outwest’s most formidable sharpshooter: Calamity Jacques, the girl who always hits her mark, and never gives up on a challenge. Delaina can only run for so long, and when Calamity Jacques catches her, all the magic talismans in the world won’t save her.
Life is relatively simple for someone like Melissande, the Roving Librarian. Famous for the stories she tells as much as for the books she carries and trades between towns, Melissande knows just one tale that never seems to leave her alone, the one that her imaginary “Muse” tells her in her head, through vivid scenes Melissande can picture as clearly as if seeing it all through someone else’s eyes.
One stormy night, the impossible happens, and two stories converge as two worlds collide. A boy on the run meets a strange young woman who might know him better than he knows himself, and an inspired young writer finds herself face-to-face with the Muse who inspired all her stories. Together, they must unravel the mystery of their connection and evade the relentless pursuit of the Ringmaster, or what should have been only a story will have very real consequences!
Book 3: Fury of Outwest (Inspired by the tale of Aladdin)
Life in the arid desert of Outwest is harsh and desperate. The ones that survive are prepared to do so by any means necessary. Delaina is no exception. She lives as an outlaw, shaking down the carriages of the rich and raiding abandoned houses for food and valuables that can be sold for money.
One such raid nets her an incredible device that promises to be the answer to living in comfort for the rest of her life—but when word gets out about this miraculous object, Delaina finds herself the target of a massive underground manhunt, and leading the charge is Outwest’s most formidable sharpshooter: Calamity Jacques, the girl who always hits her mark, and never gives up on a challenge. Delaina can only run for so long, and when Calamity Jacques catches her, all the magic talismans in the world won’t save her.
Book 4: Queen of Overcliff (Inspired by the tale of Snow White)
King Nathan has ruled the small island kingdom of Overcliff and brought it back from the brink of total ruin, to a thriving, well-ordered community—thanks in part to his wife, Queen Ylaine, the former Mermaid Princess.
For three years, they have built back the strength of the kingdom, and restored peace between Merfolk and humans—but that peace is tested when the young Queen disappears, and all evidence points to foul play on the part of the Merfolk. An old enemy returns, and Nathan must once again make the choice of how far he will go to rescue the woman he loves—even if it means risking everything he has, and the chance that saving her life might mean losing her forever.
For three years, they have built back the strength of the kingdom, and restored peace between Merfolk and humans—but that peace is tested when the young Queen disappears, and all evidence points to foul play on the part of the Merfolk. An old enemy returns, and Nathan must once again make the choice of how far he will go to rescue the woman he loves—even if it means risking everything he has, and the chance that saving her life might mean losing her forever.
Furthermore, each book is going to have at least 3 short stories to tie into it, as "Tales from" the region established in the title: "Tales from Crossway", "Tales from Outwest", and "Tales from Overcliff." I am so super stoked to produce this series, it's going to be tons of fun!
Stay tuned for Princess of Undersea and the rest of the Undersea Saga!
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