I’m working on a companion book in the TeraNor series (a romance-ish novel called The Courting of Moonbeam). If you are new to my world, the TeraNor series starts with The Guardian of TeraMagoria, a young adult book (which is completely suitable for adults) that was published back in 2016.
Just as the Princess Carrina series takes place in three different kingdoms, the TeraNor series also takes place across three different kingdoms. There seems to be some sort of theme going on here.
In the Princess Carrina series (which is available in paperback and Kindle), the two other kingdoms we visit are nowhere near the main Kingdom and they require a very special mode of transport in order to reach them. Box of Hair takes place in Underbrook, The Venus Diary takes place in Brazenwood (formerly known as Acadia), and The Dragons of Tarnack takes place in the aptly named kingdom of Tarnack which is now known as Westerling. Confused? Let me clarify for you…
The three kingdoms in the Princess Carrina series are: Tarnack, Avash, and Sariya. However due to things and situations, they are currently named Westerling, Acadia, and Underbrook. And also due to things and situations, Acadia was temporarily known as Brazenwood before reverting back to its second name. Wow…just rehashing this in my mind makes me wonder what in the heck I was thinking when I wrote those books…anyway.
In the TeraNor series, the three Kingdoms aren’t detached from each other in any way other than basic geography. We have TeraMagoria, TeraBella, and TeraDonna. In the first book of the series the second two kingdoms only serve as location shoots for some specific events in the story. Although I’ve planned future stories in these kingdoms, I haven’t yet decided whether we’re moving forward in time such as in a sequel, or whether we’ll explore the origins of the kingdoms in some sort of prequel.
The Courting of Moonbeam (the companion book I’m currently writing) is more of a tangential story and not specifically a prequel, and here’s how it came about.
In The Guardian of TeraMagoria in a chapter called Antidote (oooooh some foreshadowing there perhaps?), our protagonist Bertha is in the library of the castle having a cup of tea while she’s doing some research. She happens across what is described as “a historical romance novel about the great witch Moonbeam Maybelle Mason,” and since she’s got other priorities at that moment, Bertha tosses the book aside.
I knew at that point I wanted to further explore the story that Bertha so carelessly ignored (even though she really was busy doing something much more important). And so I started outlining a companion story that takes place in the same universe as TeraMagoria. It is not completely detached from the main storyline in Guardian, and there may be some sort of foreshadowing of events to come as we learn more about Moonbeam and her life. But that’s part of the magic that has yet to unfold because I’m currently at around 26,000 words and that’s maybe only halfway there.
Here’s a little tiny snippet from the book. I don’t like giving too much away so it’s completely out of context but what the heck…
“Good evening, Kingston. I have just left the party that is still in full swing,” Ildrid said. “As you know, I would never leave a party full of teenagers unless there was something important to attend to, and I believe this is most important.” She pushed Sunny toward Mr. Mason, keeping her hands on the young girl’s shoulders. “Take in a deep breath, won’t you? I believe you will smell a strong stench of mead on your daughter’s breath. Your daughter, I might remind you, who is much too young to drink anything other than strawberry punch at the Strawberry Festival.”
Within Moonbeam, I am also repeating a theme by making casual reference to another book. This one is called Strange and Unusual Diseases of the Mind by a doctor named Listing Fay Maudrin II, and it’s described as containing “delicate pages…sketched images of faces, eyes, and brains.” It makes me want to write a fantasy-themed medical reference book that can then be a companion to a companion.
I might be developing a new way of creating a book series. Just make reference to another book within the book and start down the rabbit hole. The only downside is that by the nature of a reference like that you’re always moving backward in time to a point when that referenced book could have been written, unless we want to throw in a temporal vortex somewhere that takes us out of time. (Don’t tempt me.)
Readers who have been with me for a while are saying to themselves, “Hey didn’t you make reference to The Venus Diary from within Box of Hair: a Fairy Tale, and didn’t The Venus Diary then become the second book in the Princess Carrina series?” Why yes. Yes I did and it did. But as we all know, The Venus Diary plays a much more significant role in the Princess Carrina series than just being a child’s diary.
If you haven’t got a clue what I’m talking about then it’s time to catch up.
Check out The Magical Adventures of Princess Carrina (three book compilation) in paperback and for Kindle. You can also get the individual books but there’s no point in that when I’ve nicely packaged them for you.
And then look for The Guardian of TeraMagoria. It’s available exclusively in digital format on Amazon Books (get it for your Kindle app or reader). It’s FREE if you’re a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, and only a few dollars if you aren’t. Suitable for young and adult readers who enjoy magical adventure stories with witches, ghosts, and talking fish.
I’d love to hear what you think about the books – so if you’re inclined you can write a review on Amazon to help other people find them as well!
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Heath Buckmaster 