I’m glad I broke into writing with a trilogy. I’ve learned some of the most difficult rules of writing this way, and I actually look to future projects with relief, knowing I’ve experienced one of the most complex types of storytelling. When I wrote my first fantasy novel, Escape from Arylon, I knew full well that I would be unable to chronicle the complete adventures of the two teen protagonists, Ainsley and Megan, in one book. I knew there would be questions left unanswered, relationships left in limbo and enemies still undefeated.

What I didn’t know was how much effort would actually have to go into writing the sequel. I’m not referring to the plot here. I knew what the follow-up novel, Curse of Arastold, was going to be about, but there were all sorts of nuances that had to be taken into consideration.

For example, because I have lived and breathed these characters for the last five years, I know who they are, where they come from and all their sordid little secrets. I know the events that have befallen them throughout the previous book, but I forget that my audience may not. In the midst of grocery lists and summer vacations, my readers might not remember why Megan is skilled with a sword or how Ainsley came to carry healing salve that smells like wet dog.

There can also be the reader who happens across the second story without having experienced the first one. I don’t do this with books, but I have done it with movies, and it makes the story much more enjoyable if you have some idea of what has happened in the past. So began the difficult process of reintroducing the characters and earlier plot points without having it all read like Cliffs Notes. I decided to throw in brief summaries here and there, but since I couldn’t very well rewrite the whole book, a few insignificant items remain unexplained as inside jokes for those who will understand.

Once the recollection of the story returned to them, however, I knew the audience would expect me to stay loyal to the personalities they’d become familiar with. This meant I couldn’t deviate from the typical behavior of my characters without a logical explanation, despite how much more interesting it would be if a particular character suddenly turned cold-hearted. So, I had to make sure the characters stayed true to their origins yet maintained an appeal by revealing further tidbits that would make the audience feel more intimate with them.

Another item I took into consideration was world development. In the first novel, I’d revealed a fraction of Sunil — a teaser of the differences between that enchanted world and ours. Where a story is concerned, nobody likes to read about the same people in the same place for too long, so I needed to unfurl a little bit more of the map. This meant introducing new creatures, new cultures and new scenery that could complement what already existed but still be intriguing in their own right. It also meant re-reading portions of the previous book where I had briefly mentioned a foreign place but might have forgotten how I described it. For example, in my first draft of Curse of Arastold, I reference the hylark flower as having yellow pollen. In the previous story, the pollen had been green. Would most people have even noticed? Probably not, but for the few that would, I didn’t want to create any disparity that might destroy their vision of this fantasy world.

Finally, as the story grows, so must its characters — on their own and in their relationships with others. I couldn’t write Ainsley and Megan as the same teenagers from the previous book because in the story, as in real life, their experiences had changed them and brought them a bit of wisdom. Their interaction with one another in the second book differs profoundly from the first because of the situations in which they’re placed. It doesn’t allow for so much adolescent bickering, and because of their emotional growth, they are as much aware of this fact as the audience.

I used to read the second or third or even eighth book in another author’s series without a thought to how much work goes into keeping each new story original, yet consistent with what already exists. Now that I’ve gone through something similar, it makes me truly appreciate the phrase “to be continued.”

A Plague Borne in Blood

It was Ainsley’s greed that infected him before the Illness did. Years ago, Lodir Novator — a renown hero in Arylon — got greedy in his thirst for magic. His obsession led him on a quest to vanquish Arastold, a dragon whose powers were legendary. Lodir succeeded in his goal, and might have become the most powerful magician in history — if Arastold hadn’t cursed him before she died. Instead, Lodir morphed into the very creature he sought to best: a fearsome dragon with a fierce attitude. Lodir had contact with many others with an uncontrollable desire for magic and the accursed ailment spread by infecting them with his blood. Humankind misunderstood dragonfolk and reacted to the Illness first with disgust, and later by imprisoning and slaughtering anyone contagious.

Unaware of the grave danger and susceptible to the lure of magic, Ainsley touches infected dragon’s blood and contracts the dreaded illness. And his dire fate is sealed — or is it? Megan discovers that perhaps, deep in the frozen wilderness of the Icyllian Mountains, Arastold still lives but is being held captive. Is there any truth to this, and can the plague’s creator provide the cure? Ainsley’s only hope is a perilous quest to find Arastold in time … and to convince her to reverse the curse.