WORD VOMIT AHEAD.
Hello! Oh my, I thought only a couple weeks had passed, but much more has... So sorry for going silent! I wanted to share a few announcements and then just an author's note and reflection about writing this story.
Announcements:
When is the new book going to release? Probably not for several months... OR SO I THOUGHT. I was going to write the whole book first before publishing the sequel on wattpad, well edited and all. But Wattpad reached out to me to join a special program and the deadline to sign up is like... now. And guess who signed up?
What does that mean for you?
It means I'm gonna be back sooner than expected! The requirements to be in this program is to write a minimum quota each month. Which I will be devoting mostly to The Elf and The Demon (book 2) as well as some short stories to give me some time to prep for book 2.
Expected release date: Around November 2022
IN THE MEANTIME! I do have an ongoing WEBTOON Canvas story titled, "The Day We Promised." It's heartwarming and heartwrecking at the same time. We're currently in a heart wreck arc :D. Do check it out if you're interested!
It's about a boy named Ren when one day, his best friend who had died comes back to life as a ghost. It's a story regarding loss and growth, but I especially love the dynamic between Ren and his ghost bud. They have a very special bond.
Author's Note:
Honestly I just want to say thank you again so much to those who are following the story, giving it a chance. As it's my first book and have so many places to improve, I really appreciate you all taking the time to read this. Your comments have helped me so much with motivation as well as learning/growth. I appreciate you all so much whether you've stuck around from the beginning or recently picked it up. It warms my heart to think people are invested in something I wrote enough to wait for and read a second book. Not gonna lie, this book is already so long. I wasn't confident people wanted to read so much, or even be patient and interested enough for a second book. But some of you have reached out wondering when the next book will release and honestly, I was so surprised to get those messages! Thank you so much for your love, support, and interest. You are wonderful and I appreciate you.
Reflections:
As I mentioned at the beginning of this book, this was the first time I wrote a novel. It was a great learning experience for me, but definitely docked down my ego a bit haha. I made so many irredeemable mistakes.
About Vrona:
The first, not having the right image for Vrona. Because I didn't picture her appropriately and laid out her character in my mind, I ended up making her awful in the beginning. Much different than the character she was supposed to be. Which made many people understandably hate her, but I wish I did her justice.
I was thinking, maybe I shouldn't have made her a mother. Maybe a sister to Drokn instead or something. Because many people seemed to have certain expectations of Vrona purely because she was a mother.
To me, she is a type of person who should never have had children. She values her freedom and independence too much to care for another. She was young when she had a child and thought it was okay for nannies to take care of him because they'd provide better care. (She'd assumed).
Growing up, she didn't have parents, only her brother, but as close as they were, they were very independent. She didn't learn how to care for others like a parent should because she never had that example to follow. And she didn't realize how important a parental figure is.
Now, that doesn't remove her from the mistake of having a child and neglecting him. But this is just her character, with her perks and her negatives. She's a flawed person, just like any other being. She's trying to take responsibility now, but I can only imagine it to be more like a friend or aunt figure than an actual mother. I can't see her as an actual mother, to be honest.
In the case of Eial, she raised him very logically. Basic needs and all. Until he was able to express his personality and then she loved/doted on him as a person more so. Or rather, even like a cute pet, haha. Even then, he was raised to be fairly independent, almost adultish. It's how Eial knew how to survive even after Vrona was kidnapped. Their parent/child relationship was not typical.
Anyway, with all this in mind, I did not write her out appropriately at all in the beginning. Sometimes her personality would be free spirited, sometimes it would be too serious and regal, sometimes she'd act like an uptight or caring mother, sometimes she'd act like a cool neighborhood hero. It was all over the place until much later in the book when I understood her character and background more.
About Pacing:
Augh, I honestly was so focused on just getting the first book done so I can finally have a break that I rushed the plots without giving the readers a breather. My mind thought, "ah, but an intense plot will make people stay engaged!" but I completely neglected emotional fatigue with all the constant drama towards the end. I will be mindful of that in the next book :)
About Romance:
I uh... I will include more of that in the next book. LOL. As I've mentioned, part 1 is for personal growth for Drokn. However, Eial's abandonment issues, trust issues, low self esteem, hyper independency, self sacrificing habits- all have not been addressed. Those will be tackled in book 2 as well as focusing more on the romance. Because romance is a major aspect of growth to book 2.
About The King:
The king was also a character I did not write as I originally intended. He was definitely not as cruel, he was just heavily biased against elves and very discriminatory regarding power/magic ability. The king still wanted the demon kingdom to raise up, and the battle between him and Drokn gets interrupted by the disruption outside. After Eial saves the demon territory, it was supposed to be the king himself who offers Eial a wish, as a courtesy for saving his kingdom despite him still not really liking elves. But it was supposed to be "Use your wish and leave, or use your wish to stay" and Eial uses his wish to make Drokn the next king and leaves.
I don't remember why I changed the king to be as horrible as he was. I guess I just wanted a rebellion. And I wanted the king out of the picture. It's not like he was going to be a better father to Drokn after this. But I did like the original ending idea. It had more context to why Eial left than the current set up- where I barely explained anything. (I will next book lol). Honestly, another regret is that I didn't add at least a little more context so the end wasn't like a "wtf?" BUT I did add foreshadowing of where his mind was at. It was very subtle, but his departure was planned for a while.
About The Brother:
Not much to say about the brother other than that it would have been nice for stories of the brother to be brought up more before his big entrance. Just so that he wasn't so out of the blue for people who forgot he existed haha.
Timing:
Vrona left Drokn at age five. Vrona was taken away from Eial when Eial was seven. I made it seven so Eial was a little more grown enough to take care of himself. That's how I wrote it down, but I forgot to check my timeline notes and I think I accidentally had him fending for himself at five. I'll need to recheck and change if needed, but for the future- Eial started living alone at seven! lol
Closing Thoughts:
I'm sure I had a lot more I wanted to say, but I forgot for now lol. I re-read/skimmed through the book recently and realized so many awful parts I want to re-write haha. Vrona for sure. But also their first kiss. I remember not knowing if I should add it or not and then just thought, well, whatever, let's add it. In reflection, it was kind of awkward and forced. I made the excuse that it was the bond, but... still... could have planned better.
I also wonder if there was a way I could have shortened the beginning up until the twelfth chapter where Drokn had his first breakthrough from his toxicity. Because by the twelfth chapter, readers were, to put it bluntly, sick of his shit. LOL. I'm surprised of all those who trucked through those awful Drokn moments for that long. Thank you for continuing to give it a chance, haha.
Writing this was such an interesting experience. When I started the story, I was in a much different headspace than when I finished. When I started, Drokn's toxic behavior was just "angst fuel." By the time I finished, I could not stand Drokn's harmful behavior. I grew as a person and did not want immature behavior in my writing. (Which was why I dropped one of the webcomics I was working on, as well). So it was extra hard reading the beginning. The second book will be more interesting in that respect, as well. The angst comes from different things and from different thought patterns. In ways it'll be both frustrating and less frustrating to write.
With the current plan I have for it, looks like the second book will be shorter. But I am looking forward to sharing the rest of their story. And the story of a new important character ;)
I'll be posting an excerpt eventually from the next book. Hope you're hyped ;)
That's all, folks! Thank you so much for reading. And stay tuned. :)
(Feel free to follow my profile. I don't really spam/ make mass announcements to followers, but this way you'll get the notification when I post the next book/future books.)