How would you describe Black Mirrors of the Soul?

We're in the final countdown to the release of a book 26 years in the making that should be released the weekend of 4/14/17. How could this book be older than the first book in the series? Well, Black Mirrors of the Soul was always intended to be about Damon more than anything else—not necessarily A Throne of Souls since that story didn't exist at the time that I came up with the title and a lot of content for this book. However, A Throne of Souls came along and became more and more refined and eventually dovetailed beautifully into the backstory of Damon.

I'll give you the polished one-paragraph description of this book and then expound upon that: "Black Mirrors of the Soul is the second installment in the series A Throne of Souls, but this is the story of how it all began. This is the story of The Cauldron of Hate that forged Damon. This is where you’ll read, see, and feel the fuel for the Fork of Consequences. This is the gut-wrenching, emotional journey that will have you screaming, crying, and cheering for more. For those who pay close attention to the nuanced clues and can assess disinformation from information, this installment illustrates the ‘who’ and the ‘why’ behind it all."

So, when you start thinking about A Throne of Souls, the way I want you to think about it is as a great mosaic landscape where nuanced clues of information and disinformation might 'appear' like something you initially recognize as a distinct unit, but then as I draw that clue closer to another part of the mosaic you might lose focus and think 'how does that relate to this?' However, a couple more clues later and you can see that those 4-5 clues assembled might form an eye or a tail or some smaller component of something much larger you might begin to recognize as the larger mosaic. I tell you that to tell you this: Black Mirrors of the Soul is when I start to show you the larger mosaic landscape we're dealing with in this story. You're going to have to work for it, but the clues are there! I promise you they are there. This is where I'm going to encourage you to think BIG—REALLY BIG. The landscape of this mosaic is easily the biggest story you've ever read—or been exposed to—before. I'm going to propose some questions and answers you may never have considered before—especially as a cohesive story. Individually you might have considered some of these concepts, but as an aggregate, it's likely going to be new territory for you.

I can't emphasize enough how critical Dallia is to this story. Damon could not become the man he is today without Dallia. And the question you really need to ask and keep asking is "Why must Damon—the way he is now—exist?"

Far beyond a continuation of A Kingdom Forgotten (Book 1 of A Throne of Souls), Black Mirrors of the Soul aims to illustrate the intricate friendships and relationships that made the Damon we know and see today. Beyond Damon, it aims to illustrate the vital growth necessary in Radin to become the man he needs to be. There were many comments about Radin being whiney and annoying in book 1. Well, he's a teenager! I don't know if you have a male teenager at home, but I do and I can tell you for a fact they're whiney and annoying. There are exceptions to that general rule, of course, but you get my point. Radin begins to grow out of that in book 2 and you'll see just how vital he is becoming to the story. Talemar's backstory is intricate and nuanced and we begin to scratch the surface of this very layered character. Just remember, not everything is as it seems—especially when it comes to my characters. Rarely ever will you find a character in my stories that is purely 'good' or purely 'evil' because that's not how real life works and my stories are meant to reflect the real world around us, but with an edge of the fantastic and the paranormal.

Scientifically speaking, Black Mirrors of the Soul is going to introduce some real, hard science into the equation as well as some fantastic science fiction concepts you may never have considered before. I'm going to help you with tons of illustrations both scientific and otherwise. In fact, there is more than $5000 USD of artwork in Black Mirrors of the Soul. So, you can understand why it took so much effort to bring this product to market.

It was almost effortless for me to write. I wrote the entire thing—from a blank slate—in about 12 weeks. The rest of the eight months it took to assemble it was about 70% artwork-related. I just have a very specific vision in my head for what this book is supposed to look, feel, and read like and I wasn't going to settle for anything less than that.

Many people commented on how A Kingdom Forgotten jumped all over the timelines and was a bit more challenging to read because of that. In Black Mirrors of the Soul, there's a lot of timeline shifts as well, but I tried to be much more categorical about that when it happened to make those timeline shifts more obvious when they happen and more obvious as to why they happened as well. I further tried to group chapters together in logical segments where those timeline shifts made sense. The overall effect was to make Black Mirrors of the Soul more easily digestible than A Kingdom Forgotten, even though the story gets deeper and more complex.

Finally, I will say this about Black Mirrors of the Soul... It's dark. It's really dark, but it's also so beautiful in so many ways. The glimpse into the souls of these characters is so very real and so touching, I know you'll find yourself in tears if you keep reading. That wasn't meant to toy with your emotions, but for you to feel the emotions necessary to get you to the next stage of the story. It was also meant to give you a gut (or visceral) feel and attachment to some of these characters that are so close to me they're like a near reflection in the mirror.

I wrote this story because it was the only way to get this obsession out of my head, but I also wrote it for you. I wrote it to give you something truly unique, truly compelling, and truly yours. I think as you read it, you will become very emotionally attached to it as if it were your story. I welcome you to Black Mirrors of the Soul...