So remember that Space Pirate series? For the past few months, I’ve been working on the fifth book, Beginnings. For the longest time, I thought it would be a full-length prequel, telling the story of how eleven-year-old, snot-nosed brat Lyssa Peate became the adult snot-nosed brat Razia. And for the first, oh, six chapters, I did just that.

But then things got a little weird. Chapters eight through fourteen read more like complete episodes in her life. Months or years would pass between each story, and it felt like I was leaving a lot out of it. Truly, Beginnings could be a 7-book series chronicling every piece of Lyssa’s youth.

And as much fun as those books would be…I don’t want to write them. I don’t think it adds much to the story. To boot, Suni has already moved on to Madion and Brynna and Super Heroes and all the other things that are in my brain.

Problems, Problems

The other thing that I’m struggling with is that I always felt like Fusion was The End. It feels like The End. So Beginnings always felt like reopening the wound and pouring salt in it. I recently had a reader binge all four books in a few days, and had a book hangover after Fusion. Who’s going to want to read a prequel after that?

A few days ago, I had a brain wave.

What if Beginnings was simply a novella telling the episode where 11 year old Lyssa is plucked off the space ship until that magical moment Tauron allows her to stay? Obviously, I’d have to put aside an additional 25,000 words that I wrote in the Beginnings book, but maybe not. Maybe, in a year or two, I’ll return to Razia and turn each of those shorts into a novella. Maybe I’ll return and write “Razia: The Early Years.”

Or maybe I’ll say that what was said in the four books is enough and move onto something else. After all, there are no new discoveries, a few new, but unimportant, characters. And I don’t want to deliver something to you guys that I don’t love with all my heart.

For those who were expecting a full-length 5th book, I think, once you read Fusion, you will feel differently. And for me as an author, this is a perfect solution to a perfectly difficult conundrum.

Beginnings will be on your doorstep on June 12th.