Well, without further ado, let me announce that King in the Dark: Part 2 — Swan’s Song is available to buy on Amazon!
The author would like to thank his friends for their kindness and support; without diligent beta-readers, this series would not be possible.
I have written about the writing process and word-building for King in the Dark across several newsletters. For the uninitiated, this is a historical novel-meets-urban fantasy.
It began as a prequel concept that spawned its own prequel, an expansion of the first chapter. It became a full-fat novel, of two parts, together totalling around one hundred and thirty thousand words, where, dear reader, you will find a lot of exciting things happen.
I settled on the real-world Wunderwaffe called the Vampir—Zielgerät 1229, a WWII infrared night-sight, as the template for the prize my characters — heroes and villains — would chase.
A story that developed a life of its own, deciding to be a novel and not a novella.
The Spectral Detective posed some interesting challenges: the protagonist is physically blind, and his Spectral Perception, while arguably a kind of superpower, isn’t a direct replacement for sight.
Writing about a character that “leans into his other senses” to make up for the loss of one—eyesight, while discovering a sixth, means for King’s Point of View, colours do not work, he sees some that resemble reality in a noir negative or white lines on black. Colours appear, but describe the invisible supernatural reality, and not the physical world.
Regular novel-like descriptions, when in King’s point of view, such as “the lady wore a red dress,” do not work without breaking these rules. He can see the lady has a bloody heart—anger burning red within her, but not the colour of her outfit. King’s idea of the physical world is a sketch; chalk lines on slate. Animated caricatures of reality rather than accurate photorealistic images.
It allows for wild descriptions of people’s characters; their desires and motives appear as symbolic images. However, like figments of a dream, they require interpretation. Spectral Sight demands that King be a detective within his own imagination to grasp what his mind’s eye is seeing.
Every hero’s journey should come with a learning curve. King’s is steep, adjusting to physical blindness and Spectral Sight, while getting back into shape after weeks of bed rest. I wanted his story to feel earned.
The next novel will pick up where this story ends. There are plenty of unresolved questions, not only about King himself but also about his friends and enemies. After the tumult of VJ Day, and King’s own personal adventure on a flat roof with a clear line of sight to the Capitol steps, and another man who can, in his own way, see in the dark.
For those who prefer a physical book, I intend to bundle King in the Dark, parts one and two, into a single print volume, opening with the free-to-read prequel—Into Darkness.
I foresee two related series: the e-books and the collected print editions.
In other news!
I have focused almost all my efforts on the Spectral Detective over the last few weeks, but my other project, the Chimera Chronicles, is very much ongoing. You can pick up the free-to-read prequel for this series by following the link.