Death Storm (Island of Fog Legacies #5) is published!

Posted on November 15, 2018 (Subscribe to Blog)

Death Storm, the fifth Island of Fog Legacies book, is published! This fantasy series is growing pretty fast, and I have Book 6 lined up for 2019. But right now, let's focus on the latest installment, the sorry tale of a disgruntled faun who decides New Earth would be preferable without humans in it, so conjures up a gigantic storm capable of evolving humans into something better. In this case, better means gnomes, elves, centaurs, goblins, and so on.

Death Storm
On Amazon Now:
US | UK | CA | AU | IN
Also on Nook, Kobo, and Apple

If you've read this book already and liked it, would you be kind enough to follow the links to my Amazon page and leave a review? That would be awesome! Thank you.

Let's ask the author (that's me!) a few questions...

Is this is a sequel to Forest of Souls from the Island of Fog series?

Well, yes and no. This new one does follow on nicely as a sequel set twenty years later. In Forest of Souls, the faun carried out some pretty serious experimentation that left the town of Carter shaken. But the faun is not done with her scheming, and now the next generation of shapeshifters has to pick up from where their parents left off. So yes, it can be read like a sequel.

Obviously I have to read Forest of Souls first though, right?

Actually, no. You can read them in either order. Each novel stands alone, and one doesn't "spoil" the other. So you could read Death Storm first, then jump back twenty years to see how it all came about, kind of like reading a prequel.

But what do you mean "yes and no"? Is Death Storm a sequel or not?

Yes, but it also reads just fine on its own. In fact, it works even if you haven't read any of the Fog books from either series. It's a great place to jump in to the shapeshifters' world; this book hints at a few previous adventures and fills in just enough for the reader to be reasonably informed without feeling swamped and confused.

If Forest of Souls and Death Storm contain the same evil villain carrying out the same evil plot, isn't it just a rehash of the same idea?

Wow, that's harsh. But no, not at all. In Forest of Souls, the faun merely experiments (which is pretty terrifying and even heartbreaking for Hal and his shapeshifter friends). In Death Storm, the faun goes all out, and the results are catastrophic. They are two totally different stories with a similar threat.

Yeah... but is it any good?

Sigh. I think I prefer being interviewed by someone who is not me. Well, since you asked, here's an early review:

"I had the pleasure to beta read this book and I've got to say that this is my favourite of the series so far. Once again Keith Robinson has managed to craft another cleverly written story, develop the characters to keep them believable and engage the readers to the point where you've got no other option but to keep turning the pages. There are many reasons why you'll love Death Storm, you'll get to meet new and old characters, learn about new creatures and find yourself immersed in a magical world where you'll experience all kind of emotions, and yes, I can promise you that laughing out loud will be one of them."

And another:

"Keith Robinson's latest, Death Storm, delivers more adventures of the next generation of shapeshifters. I adore the fresh approach in this Legacies series. Travis and Melinda face a grave task and perform heroically. This book ties into a threat introduced in book ten of the Island of Fog series, but stands on its own quite well. Elements I like are the sheer number and variety of magical creatures on display and the creatures Travis and Melinda shift into are fun and clever, with each gaining abilities critical for the narrative. Robinson's talent with creating a convincing and vibrant magical world is a treat. He sprinkles in such lovely Easter eggs throughout his books and weaves in references to other events and incidents from both the Island of Fog series and the Legacies series that rewards his longtime fans and will impress his new followers."

You mentioned something recently about an author who missed his pre-order deadline and was penalized for it. What the heck were you going on about?

Oh yes! Okay, so when you set up a book for pre-order on Amazon, you have to specify a release date (usually at least a month ahead) and upload something that serves as a placeholder for your book. Some authors set up the pre-order so far in advance that they haven't yet got a first draft written, with the expectation they'll finish everything and upload the final version before the release date. In my case, I had most of the first draft written when I first set it up, and that's what I uploaded.

But I started thinking: What would happen if I was in an accident and ended up in a coma for four years like that guy in Stephen King's The Dead Zone? Would those who pre-ordered end up with an unfinished book?

In short, yes they would. With that in mind, I wrote a bit at the front of the partial draft stating it was an unfinished manuscript and adding, "If you're reading this, then something has gone wrong..." Basically, I reassured the reader that, although what they have in their hot little hands is not the final book, the problem will be resolved as soon as possible -- assuming I'm not dead.

When I finished the full first draft, I uploaded it to Amazon right away. When I completed a thorough edit, I uploaded that as well. And I kept uploading as I went along. Each time I uploaded a newer version, I relaxed a little bit more, knowing the readers who had pre-ordered would be getting something worthwhile and not some unfinished mess.

Amazon sets a deadline for uploading the final book, and that deadline is three days before the release date. In my case, I had until midnight on November 11 to upload the absolute finished book in time for the November 15 release. And I made use of that time. On November 9-10, I read the entire book once more and found a few things to fix or improve. And on November 11, I uploaded it one last time. Then I was done.

I read about an author who missed his deadline. He just got busy and never finished the book. Literally half a book was released, and he tried to assure those who had pre-ordered that he'd get to the rest as soon as possible. Naturally, readers complained to Amazon, and Amazon banned the author from using the pre-order feature for a year. That almost seems like a lenient sentence, but it was pretty damning for the author, especially with the negative reviews he recevied. The author delivered eventually.

This was an extreme case where an author fell far short of his goals. It's one thing to miss the deadline and have a few typos slip through, but to only produce half a book? Hmm.

And didn't you say an author actually died before he completed his book?

Yes, although this wasn't a pre-order, so it's not quite the same thing. Dying before finishing a book (or a series) happens more than you might think. Robert Jordan is a famous example. He wrote 11 books in the Wheel of Time series, and had a 12th and final book partially written before he died. His wife chose Brandon Sanderson to complete the novel for the fans, but when Sanderson perused the material, he decided there was far too much to fit into one volume, so he split it into three. Thus, the Wheel of Time series became 14 books in all.

The specific author I was thinking of had a similar situation where he never got to finish the last book. I really wish I could remember the author's name; it's been bugging me, but I've searched and searched to no avail. Anyway, he died before finishing the series, and because he had such a great fanbase of devoted readers, the author's brother stepped in to piece the story together. He took his time and produced something he hoped the fans would be happy with -- and they were. Some said it wasn't quite as good as it should be, but it was definitely a worthy end to the series and a great tribute to the much-loved author.

So are you going to write the final books in each of your series just in case?

Whoa. Uh, well, no... I mean... I could do that, but I think that would be a little like inviting the Grim Reaper in for tea. It's an interesting idea, though. If I were so paranoid as to need a backup plan in case I popped my clogs at any moment, it would be pretty smart to write "the final book" in each series and make sure to wrap things up. But honestly, if I were to shuffle off this mortal coil and meet my maker today, I don't think it would be a problem for my readers because my books are (these days) pretty much self-contained. The overall series arc is not so pronounced that I'd need to write a book just to see it through to the end.

So no, I'm not going to write "final books" for each series. Stop being so morbid.

Okay, so assuming you're not pushing up daises in 2019 -- what's next?

I don't have a title for the next Legacies book, but I'm close to a title for Island of Fog Book 11, and I know exactly what it's about. As I said at the end of Forest of Souls:

Hal and his friends take a ride on the back of a gigantic turtle on a quest to find the fabled edge of the world. They discover the legend is true, that Earth really does end at the horizon, and ships really can sail over the edge. But it's not all death and destruction. Instead, the shapeshifters find something quite breathtaking and are sorely tempted to stay forever...

I'm SO excited about this one. I'm excited about each one I write, but the "edge of the world" concept is something I've always loved. It's just so ridiculous. New Earth is a magical land, but nobody has yet visited any other part of the world. In Mountain of Whispers, Hal looks through nine different "holes" and sees various parts of the world -- but he's peering through into Old Earth, which of course is spherical. New Earth is special. Everyone just assumes there are other contintents across the ocean, but Miss Simone and everyone else is in for a huge surprise.

Well, that's all for now!

About time.

Shut up.

Comment by BRIAN CLOPPER on Thursday, November 15, 2018...

Excellent interview! Very cheeky. I wonder what inspired you to do the interview this way. Perhaps you read another interview where the author was both the interviewer and the interviewee and found it rather charming. I wonder . . .

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Thursday, November 15, 2018...

Yes, I might have been inspired by a certain author. :-)

Comment by KAY FORSDYKE on Thursday, November 15, 2018...

I really enjoyed reading this blog, I like the way you can laugh at yourself as interviewer/ interviewee and also the honesty that it would be a bit creepy writing the final book ahead of time

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Thursday, November 15, 2018...

Ha! Glad I amused you, Kay.

Are you, though? Are you really?

Shh.

Comment by GRAEME JENKS on Friday, November 16, 2018...

Looking forward to reading Death Storm, sure it will be another entertaining read.

I read a trilogy of books called the Hickory Staff, I can't remember the author's names of the top of my head but that was co wrote and after the second book, one of the authors died too. The remaining author picked up the slack and managed to put the final book out.

You could tell the difference from the previous two books and the final one, but it finished the story very well.

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Friday, November 16, 2018...

Graeme, this reminds me of something related to this — when an author hands the job over to someone else, but the new author's style is so noticeably different that the original author says. "All right, move aside, if you want something done right, do it yourself..." Case in point: the Brains Benton series! Maye another blog post? :-)

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