Welcome to my stop (first of two!) for the blog tour organized by Tomorrow Comes Media for Stephen Zimmer‘s book When Shadows Fall. Stephen is a close friend of mine and a huge supporter for writers. I had read a number of series in my reading career and when series comes to end, it feels like a good bye to a dear friend. I have always wondered what it’s like for authors themselves to wrap up a work and since When Shadows Fall is the last of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy for Stephen, I asked him how it feels to have a series wrapped up. A little bit about Stephen first:
Stephen Zimmer is an award-winning author and filmmaker based out of Lexington Kentucky. His works include the Rayden Valkyrie novels (Sword and Sorcery), the Rising Dawn Saga (Cross Genre), the Fires in Eden Series (Epic Fantasy), the Hellscapes short story collections (Horror), the Chronicles of Ave short story collections (Fantasy), the Harvey and Solomon Tales (Steampunk), and the Faraway Saga (YA Dystopian/Cross-Genre).
** Giveaway alert! **
Yes, as part of the tour, Stephen is also having a giveaway with multiple prizes. Take a look at the after his guest post. 🙂
How It Feels to Have a Series Wrapped Up
When Shadows Fall represents the conclusion of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy, which began back in early 2015 with the publishing of Heart of a Lion and then took the next step in 2017 with Thunder Horizon. For myself, it also represents the first multiple book project that I have completed, and I had a number of thoughts and emotions upon reaching the finish line.
The particular story arc represented in the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy represents a large adventure within the greater story of main character Rayden Valkyrie’s life. The trilogy needed to be a complete story in itself, in addition to being connected to all the other stories and adventures that transpire across Rayden’s many journeys and forays.
Extremely important for the last book in a series or trilogy, the story threads central to the plot in the trilogy had to all be tied up at the end of When Shadows Fall, while also setting up hints about new horizons for Rayden to explore. I definitely had a sense of this being achieved when I finished writing of When Shadows Fall.
Everything that had to be concluded was wrapped up without loose ends, and a lot of things were set up for the next series of adventures in Rayden’s life. Even further, some of the ideas that rose up during the writing of the trilogy will play a major part in both future groups of novels as well as the stand-alone novellas that I have been creating beginning with Blood of a Queen (at the time of this writing, five have been released).
With all of the elements set up in the first two books, When Shadows Fall required a larger book to be written to bring everything to the right kind of conclusion, a necessity that readers will not mind when they see how everything is brought together in the new and final book. The events set in motion during Heart of a Lion and expanded in Thunder Horizon are wrapped up in a tight manner, while still looking to the future tales that remain to be told.
When it comes to a series, I always want each installment to serve its own purpose and be complete, in a way, while also serving a role for the greater series. In addition, I want the first book to set a solid foundation and subsequent volumes to accelerate while building upon that foundation.
In this way, the reader should find each new book release in a series to be “better” than the one before. This is a result of the character arcs and plots advancing, seeds planted in earlier installments beginning to bear fruit later in a series, and other dynamics. I definitely think this was accomplished in the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy and the things I am now hearing from readers of When Shadows Fall, so far, reflect that.
Ultimately, I am very gratified with the completion of the series. A book was delivered in When Shadows Fall that I think is strong in and of itself, in addition to fulfilling its proper role as the conclusion of a series. The trilogy itself serves as a finished work of speculative fiction, while also being a part of a much broader exercise in storytelling involving my character Rayden Valkyrie. I am confident that readers who enjoy the Rayden Valkyrie tales will see it in a similar light after they finish their own experience of When Shadows Fall!
Giveaway
The entire Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy print editions signed by Stephen. Includes Heart of a Lion, Thunder Horizon, and When Shadows Fall.
– (3 winners selected) Signed print copy of When Shadows Fall by Stephen Zimmer.
– (2 winners selected) Full Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy in eBook format.
– (3 winners) eBook copy of When Shadows Fall (can substitute either Heart of a Lion or Thunder Horizon) plus one eBook copy of a Rayden Valkyrie Tales novella of your choice.
– (5 winners selected) A Rayden Valkyrie Tales novella of your choice in eBook format.
Here is more about When Shadows Fall, the last of the Dark Sun Trilogy:
When shadows fall, the dominion of light reigns.
Rayden Valkyrie and her companions enter the Imperial City, the heart of the rising Teveren Empire. Never before has her gaze taken in a city so vast, wealthy, and populous.
Sensual delights, grandiose spectacles, and the spilling of blood enthrall wealthy and poor alike. Beneath the surface, Rayden senses an undercurrent of a darker nature.
Learning everything she can of the venomous secrets lurking within the shadows, little time remains before a host of northern tribes arrives outside its walls.
Power lies within blood, and dark rituals have unlocked mysteries from the depths of the abyss.
Legions are on the march, a storm is about to unleash, and a dark sun will soon rise.
When Shadows Fall, the conclusion of the Dark Sun Dawn Trilogy.
Want to read When Shadows Fall? Find it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Come back tomorrow to learn 10 things about Rayden’s world. She is a badass.
Cover image: Writing desk Photo by Clark Young on Unsplash
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