I am so thrilled that THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL is now available! This is my sequel to the Nebula & BSFA Award finalist THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, both writing as J. Dianne Dotson. This sequel was part of a two-book deal for a sequel and prequel to LANTERN. The prequel is called THE DAWN OF DUSK AND TWILIGHT, and it begins in our era. I’m writing it currently; it’s due at the end of the year. (And as you may know, I have had a lot of personal derailment from my writing, so I really need to push myself to get this done.) This series is officially called The Amethyst Lantern Series.
My First Series
You may not realize that this is the second book series I’ve written. My first one is called The Questrison Saga®, which is a four-book space opera series (also under the Dotson name) including HELIOPAUSE, EPHEMERIS, ACCRETION, and LUMINIFEROUS. This is a series I spent many years planning, although I did alter those plans to make HELIOPAUSE its first book, rather than EPHEMERIS, which wound up being both a prequel and a sequel as a result.
Commonalities and Differences for Both Series
Both of these book series blend science fiction and fantasy. Both of them take place in the future. They feature exotic technologies, world-building, science, magic, interesting sentient animals, robots, eclectic casts, and monsters. They feature courage, fear, battles, and hope. (Also, let’s be real: they look gorgeous.)
There are quite a few differences, however. The Questrison Saga® is an adult series, and if you were to rate the books as movies, they would range from PG-13 to R for violence, body horror, language, and steamy romance in parts. Also, the saga takes place over vast distances in space and broad time ranges, within our galaxy.
The Amethyst Lantern Series takes place on Earth, mostly in a post-apocalyptic future, when humanity has chosen Night Living to cope with a savagely wrecked Earth due to climate change and centuries of other catastrophes. (There is never just one.) This is a future 500 years out; HELIOPAUSE, in contract, takes place in the 23rd century. Other parts of that saga take place in the distance past. In the prequel for the Amethyst Lantern Series, however, the events begin essentially in our present day, skipping across the centuries in the story to tell the origin of that Night Living future. Also, the Amethyst Lantern Series is chiefly a young adult series. The main protagonist is 14 at the start of the series. However, in the prequel, the main characters are adults.
Another big difference between the two: The Questrison Saga® was always meant to be a series. And in fact, I began it decades ago, reworking it over time. Because I was determined for this to be a series, that led me ultimately to self-publish it, because trad publishing may never have allowed me to finish these stories. So I contracted two editors and a professional artist for the covers. That paid off, and led to my becoming a publisher.
The Amethyst Lantern Series, in contract, was originally just the one book. And that book didn’t exist! I had written a short story in a Lunarpunk submission call at Android Press/Solarpunk Magazine. And once I’d written it, I realized there was more to that universe, and I really wanted to write that book. So I pitched the book, and I was offered a deal, and I wrote it on spec. That book, THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, would become my most award-nominated book: Nebula Award finalist, BSFA Award finalist, longlisted for the Lodestar at the Hugo Awards, longlisted for the British Fantasy Award, and considered for the Ursula Le Guin Prize. And my first book that had ever been an award finalist at all. Not bad for something that wasn’t planned from the start! It was after LANTERN became a Nebula Award finalist that I was offered a two-book deal, my very first.
This all came about so very quickly that I had to step up while writing or editing several other books (DOOMFLOWER, ATACAMA, THE VALE OF SEVEN DRAGONS and its two sequels in progress, making the VALE books my third series) to get this sequel and prequel planned out. But I knew, from the first book, where I wanted SENTINEL to go. So that was comparatively easy to wrap up, and it takes place not long after LANTERN.
The Proof Is in the Planning
While I had many years to think through the ins and outs of The Questrison Saga®, and very little time to plan The Amethyst Lantern Series, the underlying factor for making both series came down to planning. While one could “pants” through a standalone book (this is not my style, as I’m a plotter), when you have a continuing series, you MUST plan out the connective tissues of world-building, timelines, character development, and so on.
Still, characters do what they will! There’s a scene in THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL that came about because two characters are quite stubborn, but drawn to each other, and where they end up only happened because I let them evolve even as I had plotted all the events around them. It’s a beautiful scene, earned, tender, vulnerable, risky…and one of my favorite scenes I’ve ever written.
Now Available
You can now buy THE SECRET OF THE SAPPHIRE SENTINEL! From a short story to a cold pitch to a series, these tales have carved out a unique corner in genre fiction, and for that, I am very proud. Thank you to Android Press for giving this series a home. I’ll celebrate a launch book signing at Underdog Bookstore on October 25, so if you’re in LA, do join us. Otherwise, get your preorders from your favorite bookseller; and if you’ve not read THE INN AT THE AMETHYST LANTERN, you’ll want to do that.
And now to get back to writing the prequel, THE DAWN OF DUSK AND TWILIGHT, which has suddenly become incredibly relevant and personally, heartbreakingly relatable. It’s therefore going to be a cathartic prequel to write, and a fitting end to this hopeful trilogy.
Find all my books here on my dedicated books page, under both names, with both standalone works and anthology appearances. Keep up with my news via a general newsletter on Ghost, or a more in-depth, behind-the-scenes posts and showcases on Patreon.