What stories come next?
A big story broken down
It all began with an idea.
The original idea of (To) Burn the Sky was about a 1000-word prologue to the story I wanted to write.
From what I read, most people skip prologues, so I expanded the idea and wrote a novella of about 34,000 words (the image on the About page).
The novella expanded quickly and covered the 80,000 words our publisher had requested for a first-time author/s. After we had included what we thought was everything, the story had become 120,000 words. Contacting the publisher, he said something like, “Readers won’t read over 80,000 words from a new author”. He asked us to split the book and just write a second book.
In the time between sending the first book for publishing and sending the manuscript for part two, it had become about 125,000 words and finished the Burn the Sky story.
The first book doesn’t leave the reader with a cliffhanger, so even if only part one was read, it still has a conclusion, but both books finish up the story of Jayne in this part of her life.
What comes next?
With Burn the Sky written as a prologue/novella, there is still more to come.
The next series (currently being written as a trilogy) is set in the Burn the Sky universe, and some characters are coming across to the new story. World building sets the calendar about five cycles later, and nothing has stood still.
Orbital rings, shipyards, O’Neill cylinders, well-equipped pre-war mining ships, a strange black metallic fluid containing nanites and one ship with a Faster Than Light drive all add to the depth of the story.
Factions tussle for resources and people, and the major players have their agendas; most search for the ship with the FTL drive.
Ancient mythology
According to the ancient texts, during the first age, Progenitors ruled the world and cared for the fledgling race of Gians.
Progenitors gave the power to those deemed worthy in return for assistance in their tasks. These few were called Gia’Ta.
Power is the greatest aphrodisiac. A great war divided the union between the Progenitors and the Gia’Ta and fragmented the people. In the end, the Progenitors captured the Gia’Ta and exiled them from Jorth. Over the centuries, the label Gia’Ta faded from memory.
Now, only a few people believe in the progenitors and are preparing for their return.