I figure here is as good as any to discuss a few things about Dance of Cloaks, some of its history, and why I’ve made a slight change.
When I first started Dance of Cloaks, I wanted it to be a standalone novel. I’d been working on the Half-Orcs, which was stretching out to five books, and involved a great deal of investment on the reader’s part to even start (because many will finish a series they start no matter how terrible). That, and I’d just read a ton of G. R. R. Martin and Brent Weeks, and I wanted to see if I could create a sort of amalgamation between the two: a dark, gritty, believable world of low magic and only humans. Now at the time, I was working as a para-professional with Spec-Ed students, and I’d been an emergency hire. Basically, I was working with a strong eighteen year old kid with the mental capacities of a two year old. We were separate from the rest of the students, and the day was full of tedium. During the times my student watched Andy Griffith, or took two hour long naps (no joke), I wrote Dance. By god, if anything added a bit of darkness to the story, it was that!
Anyway, I had plotted out this enormous series of events, all focusing on Haern the Watcher from my Half-Orc books. Things were going great, but I noticed something: the book was growing at too rapid a pace. I sure didn’t feel like I was messing around, but things weren’t transpiring near as fast as I expected. I’d underestimated the amount of characters and their ramifications. So when I reached the end of what is now Dance of Cloaks, I was only halfway through my original storyline. Yup. Half. But in my plotting, there was a five year jump about to take place. Given all the confusing events and sheer amount of characters, it felt like overkill if I continued on. Well, looking back at the story, I still felt it stood alone. Sure, not all the main villains were dead, and I had a minor character here or there needing the rest of their story told (like Senke, for example). But Alyssa had returned from her exile, Haern had escaped his father’s cruelty, and Thren’s great plans were defeated. Sounded like a good ending to me, a nice slice of life in a world of thieves, blood and greed.
Some (okay a lot) have begged to differ. And as much as I’d like to grumble and mutter, they’re right. The original story isn’t done. I have a ton left to do. But at the time, I had no clue how well the book would sell. It was a standalone. Its cover design was different. Even its writing style was different. Seriously, I was hoping for fifty sales a month. Hahaha. Needless to say, my expectations were blown out of the water with the equivalent of a nuclear bomb. Dance outsold the rest of my books by a near 10:1 ratio. Now I’m no idiot. Clearly I struck a chord, and I’m not going to ignore it.
So when I first launched Dance, I had no clue if I would write another. I mean, I knew it was possible, the story was there, but when would I have time? The inspiration? Well, I’ve officially begun writing A Dance of Blades, with a few chapters already behind me. There’s no reason to pretend Dance of Cloaks is a standalone anymore. So to any of you that might have wondered about the ending, or what happened to so-and-so…here’s my honest apology for leaving you hanging (even if I still think the ending was solid, dangit).
Dance of Cloaks is now book 1 of the Shadowdance Trilogy. Dance of Blades will be book 2, and Dance of Shadows will be book 3. To those who have also read my Half-Orc books, I can offer you an idea of where these books are going. Blades will delve into the creation of the Eschaton and Deathmask’s rise to power. Shadows will venture outside the city of Veldaren, and a certain elf woman will play a key role. Okay, Aurelia Thyne. I’m no good at playing mysterious.
To everyone who has read and enjoyed my work so far: thank you so much for you emails, your reviews, your recommendations to others, your lists, and most of all, your readership. I’m living a dream, and it is all because of you.
David Dalglish
