by Lesley Smith
The final book in the series is The Shadow of the Stars and is set, from our perspective, in 2021. Coronis has been without an Oracle for two generations and Terran religions are starting to impinge on Kashinai society. After the Kashinai members of one of the communal houses in London are brutally murdered, the only survivor—a seventeen year old human girl named Francesca—is spirited to Coronis until she’s old enough to be declared an adult. She is hidden in the temple to keep her safe from her family, religious extremists who instigated the massacre. Once there she is taken under the wing of a young woman named Shaiyan and her friend Kash, and begins to learn more about this strangely familiar but alien society.
Chronologically, after the trilogy completes, the next book is Blood and Starstone. It’s what I describe as urban sci fi and is narrated by Shaiyan. It takes place in 2023/4, several years after The Shadow of the Stars, and Shaiyan Kasan has just moved to Earth as the London Kishai’s first Cultural Advisor. She is living in Richmond under the watchful eye of Elyn, the last Oracle’s daughter, when the capital’s first inter-species couple are murdered at their wedding. The attack is blamed on a splinter group with nefarious plans that don’t stop at killing, they want all Kashinai-Coronians to leave Earth and not come back. Then the Kashinai begin falling ill and Shai realises the murder of her friends was only the opening gambit in a much larger conflict.
On a non-Ashteraiverse front, I also have an urban fantasy series called City of Dragons that I’m working on. It’s set in my adopted hometown of Norwich and mixes mythology and magic with intrigue, and it’s the closest thing I’ve ever written to a detective novel, except my protagonist/narrator, Jenna, is a djinn trying to hide in plain sight. The first book is done and I have lots of other stories planned for her, I just need to get the first one out there and I hope it will be at some point next year.
Do you have any advice for wannabe writers?
Oh yes, every question you could ever ask can be solved by this answer: Just write.
Failing that: drink lots of coffee, find a comfy place to work that serves said coffee, and be prepared for a solitary life. I like to write surrounded by people but, at the same time, I’m lost in my own introverted bubble where no one can follow. At the end of the day it basically boils down to your arse, a computer, and time. Write the story first, then focus on everything else. Start small, let the characters tell you their tales and always leave your finished draft in a metaphorical (or real) drawer for six months.
If you do want to self-publish, go for it! Just make sure you hire a proper cover designer and get an editor. I have a toolbox of the people I use on my website, all of whom came from recommendations by other indie authors. I use them because they are the best at that job and, if you invest in your book and do things well and you’ll reap the benefits in the end.
Meet the Author
In a former life, Lesley Smith was a freelance journalist, but now writes fiction full time. The Changing of the Sun is her first novel and the sequel, The Parting of the Waters, is due out in 2015.
Lesley’s hobbies include baking, archery and binge-watching box sets. She lives in a quaint Norfolk market town with an ever-growing number of cats and her guide dog, Unis.
Join the online chatter with #thechangingofthesun and find Lesley at:
@LesleySmith
/tenthmusepublishing
LesleySmithUK
www.lesley-smith.co.uk
Table of Contents
Dramatis Personae
Prologue
Book I: Calling The Sea and the River
Hearth and Kin
City of the Disembodied Goddess
The Calling
Dreaming in the Darkness
The Test
The Tower and the Cavern
Darkness
Book II: Denial A Gilded Cage
The Gift
Wisdom Unheard
Family Ties
The Lovers
Divided Loyalties
The Call of the River
Naming
The Falling of Aiaea
Book III: Exodus The Crossroads
The Forbidden Road
Fallen Son
Where the River Runs
Death and Life
The City of Wanderers
Grass and Water
What Must Be Done
Sorrows
The Silent Ending
Book IV: Sanctuary Remembering
The Changing of the Sun
Against the Storm
The After Days
Epilogue
Glossary
Acknowledgements
Kickstarter Backers
Q & A
Meet the Author