As we've previously established, ORPHAN SEA was the first thing written for the collection that would become WHAT LIES BETWEEN, and it was written waaaay back in pre-COVID 2017/2018. Fun fact: its star, Dainone'i Boe (or Dain for short) influenced ISLE OF THE SLEEPING GODS, which in turn influenced the next story I would write: THE SERRUS. So, long story short, I found out I liked writing Dain, and ended up kicking one character out of ISLE OF THE SLEEPING GODS and plugging Dain in instead. That scene involved a plant-based spiritual colossus called an ascenti, and that ascenti's name was The Serrus.
Plant-based?
That planted the seed (pun-intended, just for your torture) for a possible side story, and therefore knew, if that seed ever sprouted (ugh), Volume 2 is where it would go. The story originated from a series of questions: where did The Serrus come from? Where was it found, and how did the Majdi manage to smuggle it into a heavily-populated city?
Furthermore, as I wrote Dain's little scene in ISLE OF THE SLEEPING GODS, I noticed this strange fondness he had for The Serrus that came without any forethought on my part. I didn't even notice it was there until my next read-through, and thought it interesting. So, boom--I had a main character for this side story that was slowly coming together. I'd already intended to use Dain again after ORPHAN SEA, so why not right away?
The challenge of actually writing THE SERRUS came from the novella length I had in mind for it, and the size of the cast needed to pull it off. I knew it would take a pseudo-military operation to snare The Serrus, and, "oh cool, I've already established that the Majdi have mini-sorta-military units called sariff squads." Neato. Add a few more characters, toss some conflicting motives into this Serrus Salad, aaaaaand mix.
What I suppose I'm saying is that once you've got your world pretty well established, there's a snowball effect that happens when it comes to problem-solving. Things sometimes slide rather neatly into place, you get that giddy feeling when those pieces click, and you tell yourself you're a friggin' genius.
While the "genius" part may not be true (let's be real: it's NOT), it feels like it sometimes.
So, yeah. THE SERRUS ended up coming together pretty well, fairly action-packed for its length, and no real excess fat on it. But my favorite thing about it was how it completed a cool little arc for Dain that started in ORPHAN SEA. He was lost in the Majdi Order, didn't know where he fit and what he wanted to do, and to top it off, his girlfriend dumped him.
By the time THE SERRUS wraps up, he's found his place, and, with a little luck (and maybe some flowers), might even win the girl back.
Hit up Amazon for your copy of WHAT LIES BETWEEN: Odyssium Collection Volume 2, and support your indie author!
Till next time, take care.
-C
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