Elliot Kessler

Last month, I finally published Liar’s Legacy. I could move on to my other ideas that I’ve been excited about. I couldn’t wait to get started! But I wasn’t sure what idea I wanted to begin with. They all seemed like a ton of fun. Should I do Sci-Fi or fantasy? Fast-paced thriller or slower character study? There was a lot to choose from.

Before I began working on Liar’s Legacy back in 2019, I wrote a short novella about an asteroid mining company that discovers a fossil in deep space. I thought the idea could be interesting, so I began to develop it more, starting from scratch.

The first draft of “Fossil” is now finished. It’s the first book of a saga about humanity’s first contact with alien life. This is a thrill of a novel, and I’ve been having a blast writing it.

But while the first draft is finished, I’m not quite done yet. There’s still a lot of work to do. This was the first big project I wrote without an outline, and I know things are a mess right now. Characters are inconsistent, the plot drags in some places, and there are sure to be plots holes somewhere.

But all first drafts are terrible. All it requires is some editing, and it’ll be in your hands before you know it! But for now, I’m going to take a step back for a bit and clear my head. I’ll take a week off from the novel and come back to it with fresh eyes and a fresh perspective.

What am I going to be doing in the meantime?

Six years ago, I wrote a short story called Eorum and the Shadow Men. It was heavily inspired by Tolkien’s work, and I had a blast writing it. It was one of my first ever short stories, and it was the first story I had edited and revised. I even sent it to my aunt, Wanda Bush, who is a writer herself (check out her book here!), who reviewed my story and also edited it for me. It was about 1,500 words. I sent it to a young writer’s contest, lost, but didn’t care. It was something I was proud of, and I was happy I had written it.

I began to write some more stories set in the fantasy world of Eretor where Eorum roamed. I watched Eorum grow from a small boy to a brave warrior. I watched adventurers find themselves in strange lands and face terrible dangers. I had a ton of fun. But I didn’t share the stories with others. I kept them to myself. It was more of a pastime than anything. A hobby.

But now, I’m bringing you all into this world of magic, monsters, and adventure!

This week, I’m going to be writing The Chronicles of Eorum: The Shadow Man, an adaptation of my original short story. It will be the first in a series of novellas centering around the warrior of Eorum and his adventures throughout the world of Eretor. In the novellas, you’ll meet strange people, find yourself in distant lands, and face terrible monsters the likes of which you’ve never seen!

I cannot wait to bring you into this world that I explored growing up. These character and this world mean a lot to me, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy them as much as I do.

It’s likely the first book in The Chronicles of Eorum will release before the first book in the Fossil saga, so keep an eye out for that. I have a lot more stories in the works as well, but these are the two that I’m working on the most. I’ll talk about some of the others after I release these two. Just know that Eretor won’t be the only fantasy world you’ll be traveling to, and there are plenty more planets for you to explore…

Thanks for reading! Have a fantastic day.