Hey everyone! Ariel here with an update. Light’s Insurgent, the sequel to my release Shadow’s Dissident earlier this year, is now live on Amazon! I’m very excited to present to you the final book in my Children of Chaos duology. It’s a great feeling to have a complete series done and published, especially within less than a year. As with the last book, I want to provide readers with an idea of what to expect from this second book, though if you read the first through to the end, you should already know there were hints at some really big stuff going on behind the scenes.
For those who haven’t read Shadow’s Dissident, you can find the new release announcement and info about it here. Unlike my Legends of Alcardia series, this one cannot be read in any order, so you’ll want to pick up book one first. Both books are free on KU if you read that way, but they’re also available with Kindle and on paperback through Amazon if you read one of those ways.
For everyone else, onward to book two! This book fulfills the promise of a tangled web of secrets that book one hinted at toward the end. It also ties up loose ends and brings onboard V, a character who was introduced as a mystery/wild card in book one. Now, as I noted with book one, this book is not your typical YA dystopian fantasy novel. I’m not going to give you a sniveling, cringy heroine who starts strong and falls apart in book two. Personally, nothing irritates me more as a woman than a strong female lead who has promise and is really relatable but then falls off the wagon with no warning in book two. I’m not going to write something that I find obnoxious myself, and I certainly wouldn’t ask a reader to pay to read that! So if you like characters who are strong but human, that’s what you’ll find here.
Gwen really takes on the challenges in both books head on, but in the second book, readers will get to see her growing and adapting as she learns to meet those challenges with more wisdom and decorum than she sometimes had in book one. So she does change and grow, and of course, like anyone would, she struggles with the difficult situations she’s in, particularly since she often has to face them without Sheppard’s strength to support her. Readers can also expect to see Sheppard growing as he has to face his own insecurities and fears about his relationship with Gwen and the new secrets that he’s uncovering as he works with the Coalition to topple Oblivion.
This book is much more complex than book one was. There’s more building out of the societal structures and magic system of the world, as readers were hoping to see in book one, but the majority of the book focuses on the plot to bring down Oblivion and what the various characters are doing in relation to it. Readers will find that the book brings everything to a conclusion that leaves everyone’s journeys tied up.
For those of you who have been reading or will read the series, I am happy to announce that there will be a companion series. Healer of Alcardia is a high fantasy trilogy that focuses on V, the character introduced in book one and brought into the main cast in book two of the Children of Chaos duology. Her story is the only one that doesn’t fully conclude in this series, so if you enjoyed her character in this duology, rest assured you’ll be seeing more of her in the future! I am currently working on book one, Healer of Shadow, and I hope to have that out come the middle of this year.
Finally, as usual with my new release announcements, I want to take a moment to provide a bit of info on what sort of content you should expect for parents who want an idea of whether this is appropriate for their child.
While this is YA appropriate, as was book one, it does deal with difficult and sometimes dark themes. It’s certainly a bit darker than the first book because the characters are growing and facing growing dangers/difficulties with Oblivion. However, I approach all of my work with the concept that, while young people should not be sheltered from evil’s existence, the goal should be to present it as evil and in a form that is appropriate to their age. This means that, depending on the age range I am aiming at, my work may include difficult subjects that can become very dark. But it also means that I strive to show only what is absolutely necessary and to avoid too much discussion of certain subjects that may not yet be appropriate for an age group if that age group is on the younger end of the YA spectrum.
For Shadow’s Dissident and Light’s Insurgent, this means that while Oblivion runs escort/brothel services as a means of control over key political figures on planets they’re trying to control, does some horrific things to those in their training programs for soldiers and trainers, and is extremely evil, these things are only mentioned in brief but generally are not shown. In book two, things are spelled out a little more. There are some scenes where the abuse that V endured in her past are hinted at. There is also some suggestive content from a few less savory characters, though I strive to keep it clean enough that it can be realistic without being gratuitous or scarring to younger audiences. I don’t shy away from what is being suggested in the single scene where one character proposes Gwen sleep with him, but he is promptly and sharply rejected and the idea is presented as being a bad one. So for older teens, again, it shouldn’t be an issue. Nothing actually happens, and it is kept fairly clean even though it’s obvious what the guy is asking. There is some kissing between Sheppard and Gwen; again, I strive to keep it realistic but clean for a younger audience.
My approach is intentional because, as I said, while I don’t believe in sheltering teens and young adults from the reality of the evil that can go on in the world, I also don’t believe the best approach to helping them to realize that evil exists is to hand them writing with graphic descriptions of all the horrible things that could happen to a person. It is enough to establish that it exists, what brand of it is being dealt with, and why it is evil without going into lengthy descriptions of its manifestations.
However, this does mean that some parents may not feel comfortable with giving the book series to their teens. I leave that decision in their hands; my goal is to provide them and you as readers with the information they and you need to make an informed decision on whether or not you want to read it. It is not my job or my concern to determine your decision or to decide if it is a good one or a fairly considered one. For those who have dealt with abuse before, this may not be the book for you. It isn’t graphic in its descriptions, where the abuse is described at all, but I understand that even the presence or mention of it may make those who have been through abuse uncomfortable. If that’s you, please, for your own mental health, don’t read this.
And finally, if you read the first book, it is a pretty good indication of the sort of content that will be in this one. There’s no sex, some kissing, and descriptions of violence are kept appropriate for the target age range. If you’re looking for something with a higher heat level to the romance or more R-rated descriptions of violence, this won’t be the book or the series for you. Thanks for reading, everyone, and I hope this helps to bring some clarity to readers and to let you all know what to expect! Happy reading!