You might have noticed that PETER is labelled Book 2 in the Legend of the Pan series but was released first.
Simply put, here’s why:
1. Peter (the) Pan isn’t the main character in Book 1
Book 1 ADVENT functions as a series prequel about the beginning of the panhood, but more importantly sets the stage for the remaining six books in ways readers won’t fully discover until they read Book 7 IMMORTAL. I’m a huge fan of interconnected fiction, where seemingly minor characters early in a story become the most important characters toward the end, and in editing this story, I drafted every book before I began series storyline edits. While Peter’s journey is the main vehicle to deliver readers through the series, he doesn’t become central until Book 2-6.
2. All books were drafted before storyline editing
While LOTP contains three main storylines — the first pan, the infamous pan (Peter), and the final pan — the entire series is one organic story. I knew how the story needed to end before I even started on the vital overarching editing phase. No George R. R. Martin uncertainty if a series is finished or not, or if the series might somehow stop because a publisher doesn’t find it profitable enough with mainstream media. This story’s bones are complete and will produce, what I believe, is an amazing tale you’ll carry with you for the rest of your life.
3. My characters demanded a different kind of series
When I began PETER in 2008, I had no idea where the journey would lead me. What I first expected to be three books soon morphed into five. A scene written for WENDY (later split into WENDY and TINKER BELLE due to size), however, completely changed what I thought I was making. In it, dwarves in search of the Pan accidentally release an ancient evil locked away for millennia. As I wrote out this scene, a villain surprised me by asking a dwarf about a character I never knew existed.
As a writer, your characters truly take on lives of their own. You stop treating them like string puppets and, instead, serve as a powerful caretaker who puts wholly developed individuals into fantastic situations and then watch what they will do next.
When the villain demanded to know where “Elverbane” was, I froze. Who was Elverbane? Why was the villain asking about him? Why was Elverbane important? Months of internal debate later, I knew I had to explore this story. More importantly, my characters demanded it.
What was the story? ADVENT, the origin story of the pan, which needed to be Book 1, not Peter.
Why Book 1 and not a separate story? As characters central to ADVENT will reappear later in the series, you’ll find out ADVENT is so much more than a prequel, but is integral to the entire saga. I have goosebumps as I write this because even thinking about it stirs deep feelings I know you, too, will experience when you dive in with me.
The Takeaway
So, while nontraditional in most publishing methods, Book 2 needed to be released first. Know that you can start reading PETER, WENDY and TINKER BELLE without missing anything important. You ought to read ADVENT, however, prior to reading TIGER LILY and IMMORTAL.
I’m working hard to get ADVENT out next so it’s available to everyone as soon as possible, and have set an ambitious release for the end of 2021. Realities being what they are, delays are possible, but I will keep you up-to-date on all of that.
Thanks again for reading!
