Both of these duologies I began writing without the intent of writing a sequel to the first. But sometimes I can't help but imagine what would happen to the characters after the ending, and eventually those stories in my head become a whole other book.
New world Duology
Millenia
This book is fairly new; I think I came up with the basic concept about a year ago, and the story has only built up and broadened since then. It's the first dystopian book I've really gotten serious with as of yet. The story takes place in a future world where the entire human population has been boiled down to a small enough population to only inhabit the landmass of Europe and Asia, joined together to form Elysia. While most other continents have been left uninhabited, the Elysian Population Control has created a sister land known infamously as the Millenia, its creation followed closely by an act known as the Independent Abandonment Act, where any parent has the right to officially turn their child over to the government between 2 and 18 years old. As for the Millenia? It's become a mad land of cutthroat survival for those ditched kids. Hundreds die daily, killed, starved, or worse. But I couldn't leave the story all dark and hopeless, so it follows a clan of 8 kids, Drayden, Ashton, Jaylin, Ferrin, Tessla, Ember, Garret, and London, and how their trust in each other eventually carries them through one of the most harrowing times of their lives. I would give more detail, but then again, it would spoil the story. I've actually written a pretty good amount of this on, considering its so recent.
Elysia
Predictably, the second book of this duology is all about the surviving Millenia characters as they make their transition to the new world, a world they always dreamed of: one of peace, comfort, satisfaction. But that dream world only proves fantasy. The clan is separated; Drayden is has finally reunited with his mother and brother, Ashton is forced to tell his parents and the sister he never knew he had the brutal truth behind his brother's murder, Ember has become part of the Millennial Resistance, illegally smuggling kids off the Millenia... and sometimes it takes the hardest lessons for them to finally realize that their trust in each other might be the only trust they will ever have.
Phoenix/Seed of the Matriarch
Phoenix
This story is one of my classics. I've always been working on one racehorse story or another, but this particular one originally stemmed from an underdog story about a thoroughbred filly titled Eko, until it finally became Phoenix, and the story it is. From the moment she was rejected by her mother at birth, Flyme to Phoenix has never been expected to be anything great. But when a young groom, Jack, takes responsibility for the filly, she shows extraordinary any signs of promise. But no matter how much promise she holds, her owner, Bryce Hunt, refuses to run her against the colts, leaving the more acknowledged races to his prized stallion, Scottish Accent. Jack, refusing to back down, enters the filly behind Hunt's back into a race against the colts, and he sees in Phoenix a desire to win like no other filly he's ever worked with. It's only a matter of time before that desire will take her to the top...or break her completely.
Seed of the Matriarch
I wasn't actually planning on making the stories of Phoenix's offspring a book by itself; I was planning on just adding a couple bonus chapters at the end of the original book. But the more the idea worked itself into my head, the better it sounded. I only came up with the title and cover design a couple weeks ago, although I've had the general story lines of the horses in mind for a while. It follows the stories of Phoenix's 13 offspring: Sanctifier, Slayer, Paint the Town, Secrecy, Stuck on You, Screetching Halt, Dream On, Integrity, Ellie Queen, Classy Jack, Rouge Runner, Blood Moon, and Crossmyheart, as well as Jack's future training career, and his younger brother, Ben's, rise in the horse industry alongside the Seed of the Matriarch.
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