Prodigy Eternal (book 2)

**Another Special Note from the Author**

Based on some of the emails and comments I've been recieving, I wanted to offer some perspective on Prodigy Eternal.

What’s up with the ending??

This seems to be a common question with a lot of people, including my editors. I’ll start at the beginning.

Prodigy Eternal was made purely because I received so much positive feedback on book 1. If you read any of my books or short stories, they all end the same way — somewhat open ended, teasing for a sequel. Prodigy and Prodigy Eternal are no exceptions.

At the end of Prodigy, I added a chapter called “**Update January 17th, 2014**” which coincidentally was almost one year ago to the date. In the update, I stated that I had no intentions at that time of writing a sequel and wanted to focus on other writing projects. Then a few months later, my girlfriend, Sarah, reintroduced the idea into my head and said, “Why don’t you just give the people what they want?” I conceded and began planning the outline.

In a series of updates, I kept people in the know on what was happening with the sequel and worked really hard to get it written and edited so that I could release it as soon as possible. I usually write a book and then have it come out two years later. Prodigy Eternal is the only exception to this formula. It was written and published inside of 6 months. Again, I did this so people didn’t have to wait.

With Sarah’s advice in mind (“give the people what they want”), I made the sequel follow a similar trajectory as book 1. However, I wanted to address some of the feedback from the first book and make it even stronger. Some of the criticism I received was:

What’s up with the tracking system? – I got this question a lot, so I had Milo ask Mara about it and then later it became a pivotal plot point.

What’s up with the crude Child Rearing Act? — I had Milo debate with Mara on the relative merits of this controversial law.

Why is Alex so perfect? — Most people prefer flawed characters, but I like perfect characters — someone to admire. My favourite superhero is Superman, who arguably has THE BEST superpowers, and on top of that, is perfectly moral. Alex is a super genius, total babe, and completely humble, and this is exactly the way I wanted her. But some people didn’t like this. So to satisfy those critics, I took away her ability, made her rely on others to solve problems, she made a lot of mistakes, she was not the hero, and she did not save the day at the end of the book. In one scene, she tells The Fox why she’s not perfect. I can picture the scene in my head and it gives me goose bumps every time.

What’s my point?

My point is that when writing this book, I planned to make it a trilogy. Book 1 would be the intro to the cast of characters, where Alex triumphs in the face of adversity. Book 2 is where she experiences struggle and defeat. And Book 3 is her triumphant return to being a hero.

So the reason the book ends rather abruptly is because I didn’t want her to overthrow The Fox, or save the day, I wanted her to fail. Also, keeping with my formula, book 2 ends open, teasing of a sequel. The ending only seems unsatisfactory now because there's no book 3. I think people would have a very different opinion if all three books were available to them and they read them back to back.

When she goes to meet her father, that seemed like a natural end and the start of a new adventure, so that's where I ended it. I could have continued to write, but I didn’t think I could adequately tell the tale with her and her dad in 10,000 words and provide a satisfying ending.

What’s next?

I have two completed novels that I need to release first, which were done before Prodigy Eternal. P2 skipped ahead of the line, but I think I need to release those two books before P3. I have outlined P3 and can tell you that it will be epic.

This year I will release the Prodigy audio book, the Prodigy Graphic novel, Prodigy t-shirts and mugs (not really), and my next book, which has nothing to do with Prodigy, but is still really awesome. Hopefully minds will be blown. Please stay tuned for future updates.

As always, thanks for the support, I really appreciate those who bought the book(s), and those who like me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube… and thanks for all the votes and comments on Wattpad.

Edward Mullen

January 15, 2015