Russell Kirkpatrick's Journal
Bittersweet
15-Oct-2008
I'm a few lines from the end of Beyond the Wall of Time, the final book in the Husk/Broken Man trilogy, and definitely the final word on the world of Faltha, Bhrudwo and Elamaq. I'm now finally certain how it's all going to turn out. I cried a little tonight, but there was an undercurrent of happiness and satisfaction there too.
Sound silly? Consider what it's like to live with a character for quarter of a century. That's how long Stella, for example, has been in my head. I've known her as long as I've known my own wife, and tomorrow will be the last time I ever talk to her. I don't go back and read my books after they're published, so tomorrow is it.
I'm also saying goodbye to the world I've played in for such a long time. I won't return. I want to develop a broader canvas, one where the rules are different, where things are a little more ambiguous and a lot more complex. While I'm looking forward to the new challenge, I'm sad to be leaving Faltha.
Well, the Epilogue gets written tomorrow, then that post-novel bittersweet feeling will set in. Never fails. I'll have to console myself by playing lots of golf. Sigh.
'Beyond the Wall of Time', the last in the series, should be released in the middle of next year in Australia and New Zealand, and perhaps a month or two later in the UK and the US. I hope you like it.
The Great Unwashed
10-Oct-2008
There's nothing like the aroma of unwashed teenager. I've just taken a load of them home after a night wargaming. Oh boy - I'll have to leave the windows on the car open all day tomorrow. How do they do it?
Glad to hear Conflux 5 went well. Actually, I'm not. I hope you all had a miserable time. While you were conning I was on the golf course, trying to earn a place in the Waikato team at the end-of-season Freyberg Master's tournament. I missed out - by one place.
My books are going great in the USA. The Fire of Heaven trilogy was released earlier this year and there are more than 100,000 of them in print. Thanks for your support!