Welcome to the next instalment in this little series called ‘Writing my…’ or ‘My Thoughts On…’
This is where I usually just talk about something I’ve written, and today, we’ll be talking about the first Alterum Book!
How did I not notice that I didn’t do this? I thought I had already spoken about this book, but turns out I was mistaken.
But, before I begin, there will be heavy spoilers for book 1!
If you want to read book 1, then you can do so with the link below. As always, I won’t be explaining the story, so it’s recommended that you go read it, it’s cheap!
This is your last spoiler warning! Get out before you can!
From now on, Alterum: The Other World, will be referred to as Alterum 1.
Alright, so where do I begin?
To start, it’s been a while since I released it. The book came out back in May 2021, and it’s currently November 2021.
I can’t give you the exact date I started working on it, but the earliest document I have on it dates back to January 2021. But, that doesn’t mean I was working on it all that time.
Oscar Pat 2 came out in February and Oscar Pat 3 in April, all before this book launched. I don’t fully remember, but it’s likely that this book started after Oscar Pat 2, went on break for Oscar Pat 3 and then continued once Oscar Pat 3 was released.
Next, let’s talk about the world. If you’ve read some of my other stuff, mainly my web novels, you probably know I enjoy large complete worlds and world-building. This book is no different. The world of Alterum is filled with rich history and characters. From ruthless leaders to a tense political climate created by various wars. Personally, I’d say it’s one of my favourite worlds, that I’ve made. Although, I did struggle a bit at times. You can probably tell that the Historia Guides are a bit ‘rough written’. There is a large mystery to them and that works well for the book, but the truth is, at the time, even I had no idea about them.
But how did I create it? Well, the original idea was always to have the clans. I always wanted the world to be tense and dangerous for a normal human.
But one interesting fact is that the original idea was completely different.
In the current version, there is a bit where Sally brings the school into Alterum. Originally, this was going to be throughout the entire book and involve all the students. Ryan would be the one with the powers to bring in the school and move it around, all whilst a large group of them explored the outside world. Sally didn’t even exist back then. They were to move around with the school and use it as a camp at night, whilst exploring and trying to find Joe during the day. But this idea never left the initial document. It was just one little paragraph that I wrote based on an almost identical dream. All I remember was that I was moving the school between worlds whilst some people and I looked for something. In the dream, we knew the world was dangerous but not what we were looking for.
Pretty interesting, don’t you think?
But, moving on! Let’s talk about the characters!
There’s a lot you can say about them. I think there’s a lot of interesting developments throughout, along with a lot of hints to secret identities that are revealed at the end.
I’m a big fan of little details meaning a lot, as well as foreshadowing, so maybe you’ll notice some things if you read it again.
But back to the characters.
To start, Zac and Joe were never twins, just ordinary friends that went to school together. I can’t remember if Victoria was always going to be there, but as soon as I created her I knew what she would be and who she would become.
The only other character I can think of is Iris. She plays a very minor role in this book but has a bigger part in the future (although not as originally intended, but that’s a later story).
Overall, a lot happens in this one book. When you break it down, you have…
Joe gets lost, Zac encounters Ryan, Zac and Victoria meet Sally, they stay at Ryan’s house, they leave to Alterum, they find the school, they find the cannibal village, Victoria gets taken, they go to Dolus, they free Sally and do all that, then they continue moving and encounter Tim. They continue moving slowly. Zac encounters the Cri, and then they arrive at the port.
Considering the book is around 300 pages, a lot happens.
This brings me to probably the final topic, the journey.
The key element of this book is the journey. I wanted a story of friends travelling across the world, forming an unbreakable bond as they did. Having fun whilst knowing they are faced with danger. And, there were some musical inspirations. There are a few pieces of music that give me this feeling of journey and friendship. I created a little playlist that I listen to now and then. But here are some of the songs:
Wish That You Were Here – Florence + The Machine (Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children)
Main Theme – Yoko Shimomura (Final Fantasy XV)
I See Fire – Ed Sheeran (The Hobbit)
Exhale – Lena Raine (Celeste)
Three very different pieces of music, but to me all have similar feelings of a grand adventure. (probably because they all come from material which is about that).
But, that’s all we have time for. If you have any questions about this book, leave them below and I’ll try my best to answer them.
To finish, I want to say thanks. Not only for reading this post, but also for reading Alterum. I consider the first Alterum book to be one of my best works, so thank you.
Thank you for reading this blog, sharing my work, liking my posts, reading my books, watching my streams or just checking out anything I do.
Thank you.
I’ll try to come back with another post soon, but I’ve been really busy lately.
As always, my links are below.
Once again, thank you for reading.
My links: https://linktr.ee/FabledByte
My Books: https://linktr.ee/owenpichelskibooks
Arbitrary Echo: https://linktr.ee/ArbitraryEcho
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