With every day that passes, book 2 in The Children of the White Lions series grows nearer. As to what that exact day is, I cannot tell you. There are two possibilities.

The first is totally out of my hands. Some of you might not know that I am an indie author. I have no agent, Progeny was a self-published effort. But due to its success, a number of agents are currently reading it and I am awaiting their decision as to whether or not they wish to offer representation. If they do, well, I will discuss what to do with book 2 with them first. I wrote a longer post explaining all of that back in mid-June.

If I get a long string of no’s, then I am targeting early-mid September for release. I am in the midst of my last editing pass of book 2 (83%) and have a wonderful group of trusty readers trailing me, (hopefully) picking up every typo, dropped word, and ‘hey, this sounds weird’ spot in the book. So far, they are doing a wonderful job.

There are a few things I will share with you about book 2. As of now, it’s shaping up to be almost the exact same length as the second, smaller edition of Progeny: about 264k words. Yet, I—and the proofreaders—feel like a lot more ‘stuff’ happens in the same number of words. Why? Well, it has to do with what Progeny is, something one particularly astute reader more or less nailed in this review on Amazon. Here’s an excerpt:

“Now, [Progeny] is a set-up novel. Fantasy readers familiar with Sanderson's The Way of Kings will know what I mean. There's a great flow of story, and a very compelling character arc throughout, but at the end, you're looking at a last few pages, knowing that even though everything will resolve satisfactorily, there's a whole lot more story coming down the pike. It's a lovely feeling, and one that is a tricky balance to maintain. I'm happy to say that in my opinion, Kaelin balances quite well, leaving the reader, not with a cliffhanger, but with an open invitation to peer around the next bend in the road, beckoning us onwards.”

Progeny was about the Isaac siblings’ journey after the tragedy in Yellow Mud, Jhaell’s relentless (and misguided) pursuit of them, the cast of characters surrounding the tale, and an introduction to the Oaken Duchies and the world of Terrene. In many regards, it was—as the reviewer (Rowan Reader) above put it—a ‘set-up novel.’

Book 2 is not that.

In the sequel, Nikalys, Kenders, and Jak’s eyes open a little wider as they are forced to grow up quicker than any young person should.

We will spend time with your favorites from Progeny as well as meet a number of new characters, some of whom are rather unique.

Familiar locations are revisited and expounded upon while new, fantastic ones are introduced.

You will smile. You will feel shame, anger, and sorrow. And I guarantee a handful of “No way!” moments.

So, that’s a long run up to what will actually be a very quick and dirty announcement. After which, I have a special surprise for you all.

Just like Progeny—the #23 top rated Epic Fantasy on Amazon—the title to Volume 2 in The Children of the White Lions series is but a single word:

Prophecy

That’s it. Good days ahead.

--R.T.

PS – Keep an eye out. In the next few weeks, I will reveal the cover. It’s pretty sharp.

PPS – And no, that’s not the special surprise. This is. The opening 1890 words to Prophecy at my website.

Enjoy.