by Shawn Muller
Mia and I had a winter wonderland wedding. A small ceremony was held on a hilltop where we were surrounded by our fellow Ghosts and a few dignitaries, all providing us with many, many blessings. The day was crystal clear, the sky a deep baby blue with not a single cloud in sight. The wind had died down just before the wedding, leaving the air fresh and alive as the sun gently shone down on us.
I never noticed what Mia was wearing, or what I wore either! All I remember is watching her walk towards me, flanked by old Schneeder himself and Queen Canderson. Looking at her filled my heart with such joy and happiness that I thought I would burst. The rest of the day was a blur as a massive feast was held, and plenty of beer and ale was passed around.
What I do remember, though, is being witness to King Marcus and Queen Canderson exchanging their vows. The world was at peace, we were at peace, and all seemed just right.
Nothing was heard from Cotus Myhym during winter, but when the last snows melted he appeared before our walls with news of our next training missions. It seemed that our time of resting was over. The news itself was grim, and it was a call for help we could not ignore. Once again, the Ghosts were assembled and marching off due south to fight a war against seemingly impossible odds. Something we seemed to enjoy.
In the end, did my wishes come true? I think so yes. I was within a fantasy world righting wrongs.
Were there sacrifices to be made?
All the time.
Were they worth it?
Yes, they were.
Would I do it all again?
I turned to look at my beautiful sleeping wife and smile.
The End
Author’s Note
The process of writing REBORN was actually done the same time as AWAKEN. Initially I wrote one story, but when I was looking to publish the book I was advised that first time authors should write a book of about 50000 and 80000 words. I was sitting at about 156000 words, so I found a suitable middle spot and cut the book in half. I had to cut all of the cyclops parts out of AWAKEN and move it to REBORN. This constituted a slight rewrite of a few of the parts, but overall I didn’t have too much to do.
The one main thing that I battle with is finding an editor that I feel comfortable with. Living in South Africa has a disadvantage of a poor exchange rate, making USA and UK editors very costly to use. In the end, I used Grammarly for REBORN, and will re-edit AWAKEN shortly after the release of REBORN to bring the standard of the book up to where it should be.
All-in-all, I have enjoyed the process of book two, and I am really excited about book three. I have a basic storyline for it, but the more I think of it, the more I want to add. One major change I am considering is to change the point-of-view from first person as seen through the eyes of Bob, and write it as the more traditional third person. I have not made my mind up yet, and would appreciate some input from you, the reader.
Please feel free to leave me messages on my Amazon author’s page or on my Facebook author’s page.
Kind regards
Shawn Muller
(01/05/2016)