Hey, all, it’s me, Robin. I’m Michael’s wife and “helper bee.” You probably don’t know me or what I do, but I see myself as having two primary roles. First, I’m here to take as much of the administrative burden off Michael’s plate so we can get more stories. To that end, I manage the Kickstarters, organize and run the beta and gamma reader programs, and I also coordinate with . . . well . . . everyone: agents, copyeditors, printers, narrators, designers, and distribution partners. Second, I’m Michael’s alpha reader, which means I get to read the book before anyone else—one of the perks of being married to the author! Hopefully, I’ve made the story better through my early feedback and the editing support I’ve provided throughout the creation process.

For people who have read my other afterwords, you know this is where I get to “dish” about my favorite (and sometimes disliked) parts of the book, so let’s dig in.

Michael often teaches new authors that writing a book is similar to flying a plane. By that I mean that the most critical times are the takeoff and landing. I couldn’t agree more, and I think he nailed it in this one. It’s not easy starting a new series. There is so much to convey, and you want to do so efficiently while still being entertaining. For me, I felt a connection to Nolyn right from the start. But the best part of the opening was watching the unspoken communication between Jerel and Amicus that had me gleefully anticipating when I would find out what they knew that I didn’t.

Oh, and before I go any further, let me state for the record how much I enjoyed the masterful way that Michael spun the tale. Yes, dear, I said masterful, but don’t get a swollen head. What I’m referring to are the early mentions of (a) Audrey, (b) losing your soul if you break Ferrol’s Law, and (c) how important it is for the dead to reach Phyre. It wasn’t until I re-read the book that I noticed how these things come full circle. I tip my hat to you, dear husband. I knew I was wise to snatch you up when I did.

Okay, other likes.I adored every scene where we were inside Arvis Dyer’s head. The way her scrambled mind thought, the bravery she exhibited when Death pays a visit, and her courage to fend off the foes in the sewers to save Nurgya were all favorites of mine. Please do me a favor, go back and reread the first two paragraphs of chapter ten. The opening of the scene is beautiful and heartbreaking.

Another favorite aspect of mine was the camaraderie of the men-at- arms that are the Seventh Sik-Aux. Jerel’s unrestrained devotion to Nolyn, Amicus’s initially skeptical view of his new commander that bloomed into shared respect, and even the comic relief of Smirch made me look forward to the scenes when we returned to this band of brothers.

And then there were the surprises! To be honest, I didn’t expect to see Malcolm. And I completely missed all the clues during the scene with the bakers. In fact, when Mawyndulë first mentioned that Seymour’s name was obvious—I, too, was taken in. I thought to myself, Why didn’t I suspect this all-too-convenient monk. And then I was proven wrong when Malcolm dropped the bow string to Sephryn.

While it may seem odd, one of my favorite parts of this book is that things didn’t go the way Malcolm planned. I’m a massive fan of the old television show Quantum Leap, where Sam Becket is “striving to put right what once went wrong,” and that is Malcolm in a nutshell. If everything always worked out for him, this series wouldn’t be nearly as interesting. But Michael upped his game in this book by showing us that even Malcolm can trip and fall. And my husband broke my heart by making Sephryn pay the price for Malcolm’s shortcomings.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Speaking of which, I know from my interactions with the beta readers that Sephryn’s fate is a disappointment to some. But I have a different perspective. First, I think she, Nolyn, and Nurgya will have hundreds of bliss-filled years together. Also, Sephryn is like me in that we are happiest when we have goals to strive toward and positive results come from our efforts. I see a lot of potential for that in her new role as empress, so that gives me hope. But I also know that Michael is a “happily ever after” kind of guy, and I’m confident he has some tricks up his sleeve. And, no, this isn’t a carrot I’m dangling because of things I know about privately. It’s just that after forty-two years, I know how Michael thinks, and we are both romantics at heart. But even if I’m wrong about that, another book of Michael’s has taught me that people who have broken Ferrol’s law can still have a happy existence filled with purpose and fulfillment even if that means finding it on the face of Elan rather than in Phyre.

While we are on the subject of Sephryn, I should mention that just because I’m not singing her praises doesn’t mean I didn’t like her. On the contrary, I enjoyed her quite a bit. But as I already mentioned, we are a lot alike, so it’s awkward for me to say too much about her.

Now for my one gripe: Moya. The first time I met her in Age of Myth, I wasn’t impressed. To me, she was a “pretty girl with a cheeky mouth,” who I had seen before. In many ways, I thought of her as a throwaway character. But then came Age of Swords, and Michael changed my entire perspective (something he has done on multiple occasions, so I shouldn’t have been surprised). Anyway, after one particular scene, she became one of my favorites of all time. Because of my love for Moya, I wanted her and Sephryn to be close. In many ways, they are, but not how I wanted them to be. I wasn’t fond of how Michael portrayed my beloved Moya in this book, and even though what we saw was “Moya as seen through Sephryn’s eyes,” I hope new readers don’t get the wrong impression. From a story perspective, I know why Michael made the choices he did, but I still wish I could have convinced him for some changes.

While I wasn’t able to influence the book in that particular case, there are places where my feedback did result in alterations. One of the cool things about writing an afterword is providing a behind-the-scenes peek into the creative process, so I’d like to share one of those now. In the original version, Trilos was in Seymour’s body from page one. When I discovered this, it “tainted” my early impressions of the monk. What I saw as a genuine and sincere person turned out to be a deceptive and manipulative cretin, and that didn’t sit well with me. After much debate, Michael conceded that I could have my well-loved monk and that Trilos would take over “at some point,” but he left the time of transition vague and untold. As a reader’s advocate, I thought some would feel they had been the victim of a bait and switch, so Michael eventually added the scene where we see Trilos step in.

That illustrates just one of the thousands of decisions made during the creation process. Ultimately, how much you enjoy a book depends on how often you agree with the author’s choices, and I hope that in the case of Nolyn, it’s more often than not.

Well, my time is up. I sincerely hope you’ll return to Elan for the release of Farilane in the summer of 2022. It’s one of Michael’s favorite books and for many valid reasons. For now, I’ll bid my adieu by saying thank you for the continued fantastic support. Michael and I will keep working hard to provide you with the best stories we can.

Robin Sullivan April 20, 2021