The Lost Relic Worlds Novel

I had already written an entire novel that was supposed to act as book 2.  In fact, it was supposed to be book 1.  I had originally written it as the follow-up to a graphic novel I had been putting together.  The idea was going to be that people would read the graphic novel, then go on to the novel.  Actually, that’s a simplified version.  There was actually a novella that came first, then a comic book, then a picture book, then the novel.  I called it a multi-media event, but it really was just me pulling at straws trying to figure out how to tell this story.

I didn’t accept how absurd this was until I finished the novel.  Each of those stories was not only a different format, but a different audience.  And they would each get distributed and promoted completely separately as well.  I had to slowly come to accept that the graphic novel and the picture book, and anything that came before in fact, had to be thrown out, and the story would have to start with the book.

But then I was faced with an even uglier truth.  The book I had written was clearly a sequel.  It had the feel of a sequel, not an original story.  It felt like we were jumping into the middle of these characters’ lives, their journeys, as though their conversations were already in progress.  I tried to convince myself that this was a good thing because one generally does want to jump into a story already in progress and not take too long to set something up.

But that’s different.  There was simply too much back story going on that was important to the plot.  After really questioning myself, I finally came to the conclusion that the novel I had written had to be book 2.  So I set about writing book 1, and a year or two later I had Lancaster James and the Search for the Promised World.  It included everything I had in the graphic novels, the novella, the picture book, short stories, you name it.  And it also had more.

I needed to add more to the story in order to tie it together and make it a better novel.  But in doing so, I took the story off the rails that led to the second book I had already written.  Book 2 would now need to be a whole new book.  I could use some elements from the earlier novel, but overall, it had to be changed.

And thus, there is a lost Relic Worlds novel that will never get published.  I am stripping it for parts, using elements in it for the novels and short stories, but the book itself, which was called The Last Transmission, will never see the light of day.