Spirits of the Earth Trilogy - Update

Thanks to my recent 2K/day writing regimen, I finished the first draft of Book 3 in my Spirits of the Earth trilogy this week. 129,000 words in two months is a personal record; the closest I've ever come before was 80,000 in three months, and that was five years ago. In that case as well as this one, I had a publisher already lined up, so I'm thinking that makes a big difference motivation-wise.

As far as genre, this trilogy is a supernatural, post-apocalyptic homage to John Milton's Paradise Lost. There's a lot of action and adventure, plenty of conflict between survivors, and the world expands with each book to include new locations and characters. There's time-jumping without time travel. There are mutants and superpowers but no superheroes. It's the end of the world but the beginning of something exciting and unpredictable.

Redemption is a major theme as characters come to grips with who they are after devastating loss. Stewardship over the earth and its creatures, as well as good overcoming evil, are also central. After the darkness and violence of Book 2, I wanted Book 3 to leave readers on a high note, satisfied with the journey I've taken them on and pleased with the way things turn out for these characters they've been rooting for along the way.

After a few months of revisions, rewrites, and edits, I'll have it all polished up and ready to send to my publisher. Until then, I'm giving it a little space while I figure out a few ways to really make it shine. As a reader, I know what it's like to be disappointed by the final book in a series, and I'm determined not to let that happen with Spirits of the Earth.