Hey there, Summoners.
I’m sitting here at my desk in the full heat of summer, drinking carbonated coffee, and wondering how to start talking about the last book I wrote--the fourth installment in the Choronzon Chronicles series. It does have a title, but I’m not releasing that out into the world just yet, so for now, we’ll call it book 4.
The process of writing book 4 was dramatically different from the three books that led up to it. For starters, the majority of it was written while the pandemic was still in full swing. And while that certainly took a toll on my mental well-being, just as it did for everyone else, my writing process was much more affected by something else: in March, I quit my day job.
After I quit, I took a few days to burn off some steam--and then I dove right back into writing and steamrolled my way to the finish line. Mind you, the finish line took some getting to; book 4 currently stands as the longest installment yet at well over 160,000 words. Even so, it only took about six months to write, which is the least amount of time I’ve taken on a book since the first one. Turns out being able to devote yourself to something full-time occasionally means you finish it sooner. Who knew?
The process of writing book 4 was also a joyous one. I’ve had the idea for this book in my head for so long, it felt like a dream come true to finally write it. When I started work on the Choronzon Chronicles series, there were a few specific moments that I was looking forward to the most, and the whole concept of book 4 was right at the top of that list.
Warning: there will be some minor spoilers after the break for the end of book 3 and the very beginning of book 4. Stop now if you aren’t caught up or don’t want to see it. Either way, you’ll get another email from me in a few days--and that one will include the very first chapter of book 4.
Ready? Let’s go.
I always knew that I wanted Logan to travel to other worlds. I wasn’t sure exactly how that would work, or how it would fit into her larger story, but I knew almost from the very beginning that I wanted it to be one of the powers of the Choronzon Key. After all, what does a key do? It opens a door. So I figured a magic key might as well open a door into another world.
As for what this other world might be like...well, check back here in a few days and you just might find out.
-TESS
Hey, thanks for reading! If you’re new here, and you’d like to hear updates on my writing, including these blog posts and my ongoing novel series, The Choronzon Chronicles, then click below to sign up for my email list!
Alternately, if you’ve never heard of The Choronzon Chronicles before, but you think you might check it out, you can find the first book right here: Shadow Summoner.