Journey to the Rift is the third book I’ve written about The Marked Ones. Knowing this, the most common question I’ve received is: do you have to have read Books 1 and 2 before reading this book. The short answer is No!
As an author, I hope you will read all three books in the series but Journey to the Rift is a prequel. Which essentially means it is a completely separate story from the one we are following in Five Corners and Finding Refuge. Of course there are some links between the books but because Journey to the Rift takes place a generation before the other books in the series, it can actually be read as the first book in the series.
I have to admit that writing a prequel AFTER one has already published two books in a series was a challenge! Look for a post in the next few days that documents my experience doing just that.
So what is the book about? Journey to the Rift tells the story from the point of view of Brijit and Weylon, who we do meet in Five Corners. But this story takes place long before either of them become surrogate parents to the characters in Five Corners.
Journey to the Rift opens when both Brijit and Weylon are graduating from their respective schools and stepping into the roles of Coimirceoirí , Guardians of the Elders. Both of them are extraordinarily gifted students and the Elders pick them as the male and female chosen apprentices of their year. Traditionally this means they would go to Séreméla, the homeland of the Elders and continue their training. But before they even leave the Academy, Brijit becomes aware that the Elders have very different plans for her and Weylon.
As their journey begins, Brijit can’t even fathom what lies in store for them. Between discovering some hidden truths about her own past and being introduced to the sacred Prophecy that determines the Elder’s future, her simple world is effectively turned upside down. By the end of the book, the reader has been given insight into Brijit’s true character and has had light shed on some of the secrets the Elders hold so dear. In addition, the mystery of the Marked Children is introduced, which lays the foundation for future books in the series.
Journey to the Rift is the first of a two book prequel and I hope readers will find it just as appealing as the original series. You can order the book online through Amazon or Chapters and it is now also available in ebook form from the Kindle Store.
