Island of Fog Book 9: Castle of Spells

Posted on January 10, 2014 (Subscribe to Blog)

Castle of Spells (Island of Fog, Book 9)

And here it is, folks: Castle of Spells (Island of Fog, Book 9). This is a first for me -- coming up with the titles and covers for not one but TWO Island of Fog books so far in advance. But it's the right thing to do. Covers don't drive a plot, but for some reason they do solidify things in my head. I know a number of authors who think the same way.

Plus, as a bonus, it's nice to be able to use the cover image to write an accurate description in the book rather than the other way around. Describing it first and then searching high and low for a matching image can be time-consuming and sometimes impossible. In this case, the look of the castle isn't important to me, but its location is. In the story, the castle will be set on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and when I came across this image I thought, "Perfect!" -- even though the castle itself is not exactly as I imagined it. But that's okay, I'll just amend my mental image, and to be honest I think this castle is a better fit, a little more magical than the one I had in my head.

So what's the book about? Well, this is where I have a dilemma. When a new book is due out, I try to reveal as little of the plot as possible so that readers enjoy things as they unravel, and I only reveal a bit more of the plot when the next book is due out 6-8 months later. This time, both books will be released within a month of each other, so I'm going to have to choose my words carefully -- because the events of Castle of Spells occur as a direct result of what happens in Prison of Despair.

For now, I'll just say that Castle of Spells is going to be a huge, rollicking adventure. Obviously it involves a castle. And some spells. Does that help? ;-)

More later. I have books to write!

Comment by JORDAN on Sunday, January 12, 2014...

That's amazing news I cant wait to read them do you think you will make anymore books of island of fog. :-)

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Monday, January 13, 2014...

There will definitely be more books related to Island of Fog in the form of one-off stories from the point of view of other (new) characters, but I plan to end Hal's story at Book 9. At least for now!

Comment by JORDAN on Wednesday, January 15, 2014...

So when do you think that book 8 will be done? I am so excited and what will the new series be like.

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Wednesday, January 15, 2014...

I can't say for sure when Book 8 will be published, just that it will definitely be sometime in 2014 (most likely in the last quarter). As for the new series of Island of Fog tales... stay tuned! ;-)

Comment by CAREY on Tuesday, January 21, 2014...

The cover looks great Keith, and I agree with you that covers help solidify things in the mind of the author and help you keep the writing consistent. My daughters often remark, "Why did they put THAT person on the cover? They don't look anything like the description in the book!"

Comment by JORDAN on Thursday, February 6, 2014...

I'm trying to get some friends of mine to read the series, I think that if they read them they would like to see a movie. You're the best author there is. :-)

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Thursday, February 6, 2014...

You're too kind, Jordan! :-)

Comment by JORDAN on Wednesday, February 12, 2014...

one of my friends says she does not like magical stories but she said she would try to read the books for me.

Comment by ZACH R on Sunday, March 30, 2014...

Keith, do you plan on doing a sub-series of Hal and the gang when they are grown and training a new generation of shapeshifters? That would be really cool and I think it would be possible! I love all of the work you have done on Island of Fog, I never would have thought it would go this far when I was reading the first book!

Comment by KEITH ROBINSON on Sunday, March 30, 2014...

Zach, I am planning a sub-series related to the series, yes, but it will (at least for a while) be some supporting flashback tales, like what happened to Thomas, how Queen Bee came to be, where Molly went off to, and so on. But yes, grown-up Hal and the gang training newbie shapeshifters is an excellent idea too! There's SO much that can be done with this series. :-)

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