The Valiard Mansion is done! Now what?

If you're a Valiard reader who's just gotten to the end of the final chapter and you feel a little left in the lurch, or if you're set to finish the novel soon, then this Journal entry's for you!

First thing's first

Before I say anything, I want to thank each and every Valiard reader out there. Thank you for investing your time in Valiard. Thank you for reading, for your amazing support, and for your kind encouragement. Some of you have been reading for years — thank you for your patience and for having such faith in me. It's been a wild ride, and it was my honour to travel it with each and every one of you.

All righty! Now to deal with some questions that have landed in my Inbox this past while.

What's in the cards for The Valiard Mansion now you've finished writing it?

I haven't exactly popped the champagne for a job well done juuust yet. I'll be spending the rest of 2015 polishing the book and doing the accompanying illustrations. I've gone to print out the full manuscript today so that I can get kicking on some detailed editing and fine-tuning, and let me tell you guys, at 140,000 words and 356 pages, it's a whopper! (Though, hopefully, with some careful editing I should definitely get that word count down.)

Then I'll play it by ear. If it feels like the right thing to do to grab the book and hit the streets to find a publisher, then that's what I'll do. In the meantime, it'll remain online.

It can't end like this! Will there be a second book?

Absolutely! It's been in the pipeline since the very inception of The Valiard Mansion.

Tell us everything we should know about the second book!

It will be developed under the working title The Valiard Mansion: Destiny & Fate. It will keep the dual-POV narrative of the first book, with one half following the boys on their adventure to find the Brakirum, and the other half following Ruth as she tries to lift the Mansion's curse.

Story planning for Destiny & Fate will likely span all of 2016 and I should start writing and publishing it in early 2017. However, if I can publish it sooner without compromising on quality, I will absolutely do so.

Why is it going to take so long?

All things Valiard are done part-time. I have more immediate daily concerns which have a claim on my attention. The first book took five years to finish — two years research and planning, three years writing — so compared to that, the second book actually has a bit of a head start. It's not that bad!

So now you'll be writing Up Since Dark, right?

Well, sort of. I don't want to get rusty writing-wise, so I'll be writing tidbits for Up Since Dark as well as Gangfield's backstory, and I'll be sharing online whatever's passable. Depending on the reception of these story bits, I'll see if I'll keep posting them, otherwise I'll hoard them for complete novels later on. But most folks follow me for my drawing, not for my writing, so you can bet I'll be drawing lots and lots of scenes and designs for Destiny & Fate, Up Since Dark, and anything else that pops up.

And that's all from me for now! Thanks for a wonderful three years, guys!!!