Schemes Page 16

  “Tomorrow, I’m going to speak with Stanley and Rayner, see if they can offer advice on how to use my influence to find Erem.” Bethany shook her head. “I’m really afraid for him.”

  “I know.”

  “I haven’t even...ugh...we didn’t even have a chance to all be together and see what abilities you all have now.” Bethany shook her head. “I should have at least taken the four of you out into a field, hit you, and see if I could teach you how to heal yourselves.” Bethany snorted. “Though, I’ve only done it twice myself. I barely know how to do it myself.”

  “Twice more than I have,” Arrago said. “To be honest, I try not to think about it. It scares me.”

  “Do you ever hear the hum?”

  Arrago kissed her cheek before ending the embrace. He sat down on her bed. “When I’m angry.”

  Bethany nodded. “You’ll get better at controlling it, and the hum goes away. I repressed my Powers for so long that it’s a struggle to even find them. But...”

  “But you think we might need to find them for what’s coming,” Arrago said quietly.

  “Arrago, something big is coming. There is something seriously wrong in Wyllow. I don’t know what it is, but it’s serious.” Bethany pursed her lips. “I intend to find out what it is.”

  A knock interrupted their conversation. Bethany walked to the door and unhooked the latch. Rose stood there and handed Bethany a letter. She waited.

  Bethany cracked the seal on the letter and said, “Jovan found Erem.” Her heart dropped. “He’s in trouble.”

  Author’s Note

  Thank you so much for this incredible ride. Thank you so much for the opportunity to share Lady Champion Bethany with you all of you. Bethany started as nothing more than a prissy little girl in 2001. She was an immature snot bag who everyone was in love with and magical glitter rained upon her whenever she was in the room. Bethany was my first serious attempt at writing as an adult. Through her, I learned how to write. Because of Bethany, I now have a career that I craved and dreamt of my entire life.

  Blaze was my first book and it reads like it. For a long time, I was embarrassed by Blaze. I set out to write an ambitious book that was well beyond my skill level. I made many mistakes that I regret in that book (the poor development of Arrago and Bethany’s affection, the fistfight between Jovan and Bethany, the poor development surrounding the purpose of Amber’s rape, and the sexual violence against Drea).

  In theory, Grief was my opportunity to correct many of those mistakes. I’d written Grief shortly after I’d written Blaze. However, I set it aside to write various other projects. When I came back to the manuscript a couple of years later, my skills had sharpened significantly and editing Grief was horrible. I hated the experience. I was mentally exhausted and incredibly frustrated. I was unable to work on Fury, so went and wrote other projects. That's when the Spirit Caller series came, the non-fiction guides, and the romances. Basically, I wrote anything I could to avoid Fury.

  I kept coming back to try to write it. I wanted to finish the series and I felt that I owed it to myself to do what I'd promised I'd do. But it was impossible. I stopped counting how many times I scrapped Fury once I hit six. I often berated myself for Blaze and felt no one would love it. The series had stopped selling. Bad reviews came in. There was a huge problem with Blaze's first edition and, eventually, my publisher and I went our separate ways. There was a lot happening behind the scenes and it was making Fury even harder to write.

  Add to all of that, there was the tangible issue of there being a giant massive plot hole in Fury that I'd couldn't get myself out of...so I couldn't figure out the book's logistics. I was unable to write myself out of what I thought was a hole. I wrote other things and made money elsewhere. But Bethany was still in the back of my mind and I felt so guilty for betraying her and her readers.

  Everything changed the summer of 2014. I was in a box set with some heavy-duty indie writers and I admit I almost denied Blaze being in the set when they asked to include it. It got so bad that the organizer for the box set told me I wasn’t allowed, under any circumstances, to read the reviews for the box set. That I needed to take whatever little money I made and be proud of it. That gives you an idea of where I was with Blaze.

  The box set exploded. And then, the emails started. Beautiful emails telling me how much Bethany meant to them. Asking for more. Asking why I’d only written two. Demanding anything else I had about Bethany. Then Grief exploded. I was not prepared. I couldn’t understand.

  I sat down and started to write Fury. Again. The words came slow as I felt the weight of so many more eyes on Bethany. So I stopped writing Fury and I wrote Interlude. That was when I fell in love with Bethany all over again.

  Love Notes helped me fix one of the major issues I had with Blaze, by telling this sweet story of Arrago and Bethany falling in love. I got to see them through each other’s eyes all over again. Knight’s Day Off I’d already written previously, but it was another reminder of the strong relationships and friendships in these books. Somewhere along the way, I'd forgotten that Bethany's books weren't about war and gore, but about friendship.

  It was Myra’s story and her POV where I really found my footing with Bethany. I got to look at the world through a young woman’s eyes for the first time. Through Myra, I was able to show the myth of Bethany and the reality of her.

  When I finished Interlude, I dove into Fury. I wrote the book in about five weeks. I was in love with Bethany all over again. I loved the world I’d created. I had found my footing, finally. I was proud of the work I’d done in Blaze and I wasn’t embarrassed anymore. Sure, Blaze is rough compared to Grief, and certainly compared to books like Limelight.

  As soon as I finished Fury, I started working on Schemes. My editor was working on Fury, in fact, and was leaving me notes about the potential to keep going and here I was already well into Schemes.

  I knew Schemes would be the end of the Tales of Tranquility series. I’ve said all along that was where I wanted it to end. But, if I’m going to be completely honest with you and myself, it was partially because I didn’t believe in myself and my abilities to keep going with this series. But when I found my footing, I realized something very, very important: I have so many more stories to tell.

  And so I’m going to tell them.

  Thank you everyone for your amazing support. It is because of all of you that I found the strength to face my own feelings and keep going to bring you a character who I’ve known for over a decade.

  Yes, we are saying good bye to the Tranquility series in 2015. And we'll be saying hello to Gods of Tranquility in 2017.

  In the meantime, check out Interlude, a collection of short stories set during Blaze and after Grief. And make sure you are signed up for the new release list on www.kristadball.com for details on the next Bethany book, as well as my new releases.

  All the best,

  Krista

  The Demons We See

  Available Now

  Society was rocked when the Cathedral appointed Allegra, Contessa of Marsina, to negotiate the delicate peace talks between the rebelling mage slaves and the various states. Not only was she a highborn mage, she was a nonbeliever and a vocal objector against the supposed demonic origins of witchcraft. Demons weren't real, she'd argued, and therefore the subjection of mages was unlawful.

  That was all before the first assassination attempt. That was before Allegra heard the demonic shrieks. All before everything changed. Now Allegra and her personal guards race to stabilize the peace before the entire known world explodes into war with not just itself, but with the abyss from beyond.

  So much for demons not being real.

 

 

 
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