This book was extremely difficult for me to write. I kept second guessing everything I was doing. Chronologically, it takes place before the events in Sitnalta, yet it is definitely the third book in the series. I kept reading and rereading everything that I had put into Sitnalta and The Kingdom Thief to make sure I wasn't contradicting what I had previously written. Yet I kept having ideas for great plot elements that I could not do. I know that readers are very good at finding inconsistencies in writers' work.
Another thing was that I kept questioning whether or not readers would WANT to read something that takes place before the events they're already aware of. I kept calling my brother Brian and asking him "Are you sure?" "Is this really a good idea?" He kept telling me to go on, and as my foremost Sitnalta fan and cheerleader, I believed him.
In other news, I was just interviewed by Lisa Winston the host of the radio programme CHAI Montreal, their Holiday Spirit Show. The interview airs this Sunday at 10:00 p.m. and you can listen live to it on their website: CFMB.ca (just click LISTEN LIVE). We talk about writing, folklore, family, The Hadariah Chronicles, and Sitnalta. (PS. Books make awesome holiday gifts!)