January 26, 2022

Hello, wonderful-lovely readers of "THE QUEEN'S HOST"!

It brings me quite a lot of joy to share these updates with you. As you know, I've marked this book as "EDITING", but I haven't had a chance to really sit down and focus on any edits/rewrites because I have had my focus on (trying to, at least) The Xiphis Saga sequel (working title, The Burning of the Bridge). However, in recent days, I have found myself wanting to shift focus and just do something else. I gave myself a February deadline for TBotB, but I haven't written a single word. This brings me to this book.

The Queen's Host was my first, full-length fantasy novel. It awoke the desire to create second-world fantasy with magic and elemental powers (I was heavily influenced by Elise Kova and Michelle Madow). I spent so many hours working on the plot, which was mostly pantsed until I went in and wrote out a semi-outline to get me to the ending I hoped to reach. This is why I want to work on this book and here are the things I hope to accomplish.

Developmental Edits: This style of edit focuses on the overall story/plot of the book. Questions I will try to answer include "Is the story consistent?" or "Is this character necessary or can they be cut out?" - I also know that I have many POVs in this book and because I pantsed most of the book, I do have some details that don't add up. Some of my character names are just too similar (I have a lot of "A" names") and some characters don't even need to be named because they are not relevant to the ending. I also know I have a bit of "White Room" or "Empty Room" syndrome. My settings/location descriptions need attention.

Copyedits/Line Edits: This works on grammar and missing letters, overall polishing of the book) I have been told that this is something I can do with Grammarly or ProWritingAid (and I do have both), and this should be done after developmental edits. I have gotten better at putting forth a clean product, but I never worry about the polishing because I know 

Additional Changes: I believe I have mentioned/announced this on my profile and in my blog (I hope I did). But I'm renaming the series to The Anerathia Chronicles, instead of The Æmienix Chronicles. Running the name through any TTS (text-to-speech) system proves more daunting than satisfying because the automated voice just does not read the name correctly and I don't want readers to feel dumb when they can't pronounce the name correctly. I made up the word "Æmienix" thinking I would also create a new language. I rarely mention the name in the story itself, so it makes sense to just go with "Anerathia".

Furthermore, I will be publishing a new version of the new book. I know it means losing my numbers, but starting fresh will be good and bring in a new audience. I love my current cover, but I do want my covers to be cohesive and resemble the series they belong in. And maybe, I can get better traction as an author with an improved story.

I could just leave this book as is and have The Anerathia Chronicles be the overall series for all the stories I have planned within this world, but I do know there is more to tell in this main storyline before I can even think about getting into the sequel novel(s). Aleia's story is not over, though the first book is good the way it is and could leave off with the ending I've given it. The sequel story I have in mind, for the next generation of characters in this world, needs a build-up of events leading to the events in the new story. If that makes sense.

Thank you for letting me explain all of this. If you are at all interested in helping me with this process (which I am hoping to do over the next few months) as an alpha or beta reader, I do have a form with the questions for the kind of feedback I need. See "External Link" at the end of this chapter, or the comments on this section. ► Feedback Form