New cover for new book in new Island of Fog series!

Posted on December 28, 2015 (Subscribe to Blog)

I'm busy writing the first book in the new Island of Fog spin-off series, and I thought it was time to share a bit more about it. So without further ado, here it is...

UNICORN HUNTERS
(Island of Fog Legacies)

It's been twenty years since Hal Franklin and his friends arrived in New Earth as full-blooded shapeshifters. It was inevitable that Hal and Abigail would end up together, and sure enough, now they have a child of their own -- young Travis, now twelve himself and wanting to follow in his father's footsteps as a shapeshifter dragon.

Of course, even though the Shapeshifter Program is available to any approved young person, Lady Simone can't allow just anyone to be fearsome beasts like dragons! No, not even the son of Hal and Abigail. So Travis chooses a wyvern, which is technically a dragon but small enough for Lady Simone to bend the rules for -- especially as the old soothsayer on the hill predicts a spot of unavoidable trouble ahead.

Does it involve the recent spate of hunters coming through into New Earth and terrorizing the wildlife? Travis is about to find out when he transforms for the first time and jumps into action to save a unicorn...

The short story I wrote in September, "Unicorn Poachers," is in fact the first two chapters of this new novel, though the title will be Unicorn Hunters. Poaching brings to mind killing for skins and tusks, whereas this book is more about kidnapping magical beasts to create a personal zoo for a powerful millionaire collector.

In that short story, readers might remember Hal and Abigail's son was named Cale. Well, I changed this to Travis because Cale is so similar to Caleb in one of my other books, and also similar to Kyle in another. So I'll be making that change to the short story and in future will refer to the twelve-year-old as Travis Franklin. Why Travis, though? No particular reason, but it's funny how in my original sci-fi novel Caleb's World, the main protagonist was a boy named Travis. Since Travis became Liam in the reimagined version of the book, suddenly I had a displaced name to use. It just seemed fitting to repurpose Travis as Hal and Abigail's son.

You'll notice also that the new series is titled "Island of Fog Legacies." I wanted to keep the connection to the original series, only the new books really have very little to do with a fog-covered island -- hence the addition of the word "Legacies." And this is what the series is about, a legacy of shapeshifting made possible because of Hal and his friends, who helped bring home Bo and Astrid (the sphinxes) and thus discovered a better way to run the Shapeshifter Program. Anyone who's read the series will know what I'm talking about.

Unlike the original series, the Island of Fog Legacies books will not have volume numbers. Each book will be a standalone story, though still following Travis in his adventures. According to my research, I understand that many readers these days avoid series because each book typically ends with a cliffhanger and then makes you wait for the next book. Readers have been known to avoid series until the last book is published, at which point they binge-read.

I don't want that to happen. I want each book to stand alone even though they show an overall progression of Travis's life. Also, I don't know how many books there will be. Thanks to a very clever plot point, the new series has the potential for many more volumes than the original series ever did... :-)

For those who are curious, grown-up Hal and Abigail will feature in a few early chapters of Unicorn Hunters and toward the end, and of course they'll pop up as recurring characters throughout the series. They are, after all, Travis's parents. There will be plenty of references to other favorites from the original series, and in later books I'm certain Travis will go visit his "Uncle Robbie and Aunt Lauren" -- not actually his uncle and aunt, just what he likes to call these great family friends.

I'm also excited about an imp called Nitwit who follows Travis around. She'll be a fun character. But useful? Not so much. She's an imp, after all.

So the first book is well underway, already a quarter written. I expect to finish the first draft by the end of January and work through the edits in February, with a view to publishing sometime in March.

Watch this space!

Comment by KAT BREWER on Monday, December 28, 2015...

I'll pre-order all of them. Can't get enough Island of Fog.

Comment by CAROL COVATO on Monday, December 28, 2015...

cannot wait!!!!

Comment by BRIAN CLOPPER on Monday, December 28, 2015...

Looks fantastic! I can't believe I am going to read a book with a unicorn on the cover. Curse you, Robinson. You have me broadening my reading tastes to now include equines with cranial projections.

Comment by AUTHOR on Tuesday, December 29, 2015...

The cover looks pretty cool. Unicorns are pretty awesome...and powerful.

Comment by LYRA on Tuesday, December 29, 2015...

I can't wait to read it! The cover looks amazing.

Comment by MARIE on Wednesday, December 30, 2015...

Cannot wait. Seems like we have been waiting forever lol.

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Wednesday, December 30, 2015...

Sorry Marie. :-)

I needed a break from writing those mammoth Island of Fog novels, and I wanted to focus on other books (even if those other books aren't as popular yet). But I'm back in the thick of it now. These new Legacies books will be a little shorter but hopefully more frequent.

Now 20,000+ words in, about a third done.

Comment by ROSAMUND on Friday, January 1, 2016...

OMG😁
Soooooo excited about the new book! Need to get my parents to buy it for me!

Comment by ROSAMUND on Sunday, January 3, 2016...

Just reading the series for the 19th time! Never gets old!

Comment by ROSAMUND on Sunday, January 3, 2016...

I 💖 the new cover and I can't wait for the new book and short story!!

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Sunday, January 3, 2016...

Thanks Rosamund! The 19th time? WOW!! I don't think even I've read it that many times. But then again, I don't need to. Every tiny scene is very familiar to me, as well as almost every piece of dialog. I assume this is normal for authors!

Comment by RAJIT KUMAR BANERJEE on Thursday, January 7, 2016...

Come on Travis.

Comment by ROSAMUND on Sunday, January 10, 2016...

I know most of the books by heart now! My favourite books are probably: Roads of Madness and Island of Fog!

Comment by ROSAMUND on Friday, February 19, 2016...

Can't wait! As soon as there's a definite date, I'll sit on my bed, with my kindle, and wait all day until it appears on the book store!

Comment by ANONYMOUS on Saturday, February 27, 2016...

i hope its as good as the other books

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