If you’ve read to this point, congrats! That means a lot to me.
This is my obligatory author’s note, here to tell you a little about myself and the future of the Valenfrost Saga.
When I first started writing this story, I never expected myself to reach this point. I know it sounds cliche and pretty stupid considering this isn’t really the best rated thing ever, but you have to understand something about me first. Before this, I would literally never go through with any projects or stories. My old wattpad account is basically a graveyard of old ideas and projects that never made it past 20k words.
Funnily enough, this entire world is actually based on a one shot story I wrote on that cursed app. The original story was called One Wish, a fantasy story that revolved around a knight and mage venturing out to make a wish at a magical shrine. Along the way, they would gather up a party filled with odd characters and such. Of course, it was horribly written (I was 14 when I wrote this). There was also a lack of world building and nuance.
Still, it served as a base for the Valenfrost Saga. The original one shot is still ‘technically’ canon to the saga, albeit without the 8th grade level writing and lore. James’ story takes place about 150 years after the original, allowing me to make big world changes and such. I’ll definitely go back and rewrite it someday, I really do think that it can work.
There’s even references to that one shot in the Valenfrost Saga. As you can guess, the wishing shrine mentioned by Lowe and Falrick is the same one from the original story. Leonard Kord is another callback, as he’s an ancestor of the knight character. Gwenyth is actually from the original story, serving as a sorta bridge between both eras.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
More references and callbacks are sprinkled across the saga, but it’ll take me ages to explain every one of them. So I’ll leave the references for myself and any unlucky person who had the misfortune of reading my old stories.
Black Waters is something that still seems unreal to me. Ever since the first entry to the Valenfrost Saga, I knew the third installment would have to end with a battle for Vindis, the floating city of Valenfrost. I needed to incorporate the other clans and begin the eventual rise of James Holter.
If you reread the first two entries, you might be able to catch some not-so-subtle foreshadowing hidden in dialogue and exposition. Still, despite the buildup and hints I’ve written in past entries, I’d never actually thought I would have the energy to eventually reach the third entry. To that, I thank my readers and reviewers. Without you, I doubt I’d have the motivation to get here.
As for the future of this saga, I will continue it. So much more of Valenfrost to explore and so many threats coming to James Holter and his friends. I’ve already planted seeds for the future in these past entries, so you should have some idea of what’s to come if you read carefully.
For now, however, I need a small break. I’ve been technically writing non stop for a few years now and I want to take a breather, lest I get creative burnout.
Still, do not fret. The fourth entry is all laid out and I plan to get to it. I am as excited to write it as you are probably to read it. Give me like a year to rest up and I’ll deliver. Obviously, it’ll be the same procedure as the third entry. I’ll finish it first, rewrite it, and release it here for free.
In the meantime, I’ll be rewriting all of Frost. It’s pretty clear that my writing style has evolved to a point where I need to rewrite and refurbish a lot of my early stuff.
If you want to support me or show me love, please do consider dropping a review or comment. If you want, you can also leave a comment if there’s anything you feel should be changed or redone in my rewrites.
– with love, Geo <3