I'm re-reading the Daughters of the People Series (Lucy Varna) to refresh my memory on the characters, events, and writing style, in preparation for developing and writing the final novel, War's Last Refuge.

The Prophecy, the first book in the series, was the very first novel I finished and published, and also the first one I rewrote. It's been interesting to read just to see how my writing has changed.

More, it was a complete surprise to discover how good The Prophecy is. It's a rich, complex story world with deeply developed characters. The individual stories are less emotive than those in The Vampyr Series (V.R. Cumming), and even in the Sunshine Walkingstick Series (Celia Roman), but still poignant and even heartbreaking.

The more lowkey emotional displays aren't such a bad thing, considering the Daughters' origins. The control they have over their emotions is a natural extention of the rigid discipline each developed over a lifetime of looking over her shoulder. These warrior women learned the hard way that life is a dangerous, risky endeavor. That extends to risking their hearts in love.

Hence how Hawthorne the Chronicler came to be known as Hawthorne the Beheader. (You can read her story here.)

Rooted in the Past

When I published the 2nd edition of The Prophecy in 2015, I added a prologue set circa 7,500 BCE. The prologue confused some readers. The books themselves are set in the modern era. Why, then, have a prologue set so far in the past? Why make that huge jump in time?

The answer is simple: Because the prologue tells the beginning of the Daughters' story. It places the entire series into context with the historical origins of the People, with the Seven Sisters and the crucial event that began the long struggle they and their progeny endured.

When I first considered writing that prologue, my editor and I discussed the addition at length. I worried that the time jump might be too much for readers. Should I leave it out, maybe publish it as a stand alone short story?

No, he said. In fact, he insisted that I keep it where I'd placed it, as a prologue to the first novel, at the very beginning of the series.

After literally years of further consideration, I agree. The prologue provides the sort of context for the Daughters of the People Series that would otherwise be lacking when the final few big reveals are made in the last book.

For one, we'll discover the true identity of the Woman with No Face. It's taken quite a bit of fortitude to keep that secret under wraps, believe me.

But for another, we'll learn more of the hows and whys underpinning the entire story world.

Convergence

That's the plan anyway. I haven't finished developing the basic story line yet, nor am I in a hurry to do so.  All I know is that many of the elements we've seen in previous books will intersect in the final one. The Prophecy of Light. The Shadow Enemy. The Eternal Order. The Bones of the Just. The Woman with No Face. Even the short story published in Dreaming of a Dark Christmas comes into play.

In fact, that short story is crucial to understanding Lukas Alexiou, the "hero" of War's Last Refuge and the leader of the Shadow Enemy. His relationship with Abragni is much more complicated than it seems. The real challenge here will be in conveying that complexity without overwhelming readers.

We'll see how those many forces converge over the next few weeks (months?) as I develop and write the series' final novel.