Every once in a while, Amazon tells you that they won't do something, and then they do it anyway.

But hey, they've unexpectedly put my two Elder Empire books up for pre-order! If I had known it would happen, I would have announced it, but I didn't! It's a Christmas miracle!

Of Sea and Shadow!

Of Shadow and Sea!

And then here's the content of the blog post I was GOING to give you today: the final version of the Sea cover, which just came back from the graphic design hospital! Enjoy!

Here we are at the end of 2014, everyone, and I'd like to close out the year by releasing two books simultaneously.

December 30th, 2014, you will be able to read the first parallel books in the Elder Empire series: Of Sea and Shadow and Of Shadow and Sea.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get back to last-minute edits.

Happy New Year!

It's getting closer...

Soon, now. Soon.

Basically, I don't have a solid release date for the same reason that I haven't posted a blog update in two weeks: because I've been working as hard as I can. In the next few days, I'll know whether Of Sea and Shadow and its twin will be released this month or next month.


But either way, it's coming in a few weeks.

Gird thy loins.

I've spent this whole week writing, so I wasn't sure what to say today. In the end, I decided to give you a glimpse at a page I wrote this week.

This is a flashback scene from the middle of Of Sea and Shadow, and it involves Calder meeting with his mother (Alsa), who is an influential member of the Blackwatch Guild.

I haven't edited this at all; it's a screenshot straight from the OSAS file, and this scene is in its first draft. It's also very small, because I'm lazy, so grab your reading glasses for your old lady eyes.

Then hit the jump!

I know none of you trust me, so it will come as no surprise when you hear that I've been lying to you for months.

You see, I've told you all that I'm working on a new novel entitled Of Sea and Shadow, the first in a new trilogy. That's not...entirely accurate.

I've been working on two new novels.

One, as I've said, is titled Of Sea and Shadow. The other? Of Shadow and Sea.

You may notice a resemblance.

I'm trying a new approach this time, one that I've never seen another author attempt: I'm writing two trilogies, set in the same world, in parallel. Each book will be roughly as long as The Crimson Vault, if that gives you some perspective, and will be released at the same time.

Of Sea and Shadow follows Calder, a member of the Navigator's Guild and captain of his own ship, as he carries a mysterious passenger to an Elder-haunted island in search of a mystical artifact.

Of Shadow and Sea follows Shera, an assassin in the employ of the Consultant's Guild, as she works to stop her target (a certain mysterious passenger) from finding the mystical artifact that would allow him to become the new Emperor.

I'm calling this structure "a parallel trilogy," because the books will come out two at a time until the series is complete.

I may change that terminology between now and the books' release, though. I change my mind a lot.

You can read whichever one of the two books appeals to you, or you can read both (for the most complete picture), but you don't have to. If you only like one character, just read that one. If you don't like Calder, try Shera. Or, if you find that the world intrigues you, read both!

For those of you who do choose to read both books, you'll find it's like reading one book that's double the length of a Traveler's Gate book. Meaning that, when the series is complete, it will be twice the number of words as the Traveler's Gate Trilogy. But it won't take twice as long to release, because I am as merciful as I am wise.

I know I'll get questions about this, so let me try to head them off now: Calder is working against Shera, and Shera is working against Calder. As a result, they do clash at several points in the book. So, in those scenes, you'll see the same fight from two different perspectives (which might change your view pretty drastically).

In the rest of the scenes...well, Shera knows some things that Calder doesn't. And Calder has some goals that Shera isn't aware of. If you're worried that the books will be too similar...well, I can't spoil anything. But stop worrying.

As usual, I can't guarantee a release date.

But I can tell you that Santa Claus really wants to read this book. And he doesn't come to town that often.

-Will