55,000 Words later: The Prequel is Complete!
Five weeks, too much coffee, a football game, and one finished novella.
"Cat's Chronicles" is complete, and I'm (mostly) still standing.
Hello everyone,
I am writing this with a very tired, very happy brain, and a heart that is full of gratitude (and perhaps a little too much leftover stuffing).
At the beginning of this month, I made a slightly terrifying pledge to join the Royal Road Writathon and write 55,555 words of a brand new story in just over a month. It seemed like a massive mountain to climb at the time, especially knowing what my calendar looked like.
But today, I am thrilled to announce: I did it.
The prequel novella, "Cat's Chronicles: Stories of Becoming", is officially complete. (There maaaaaay be some edits in the future, this all happened incredibly fast! But, for all intents and purposes, it’s serialized in its entirety!)
This past month has been a blur, a marathon run at a sprinter's pace. I have been more focused on this novella than almost anything else in my life. I’ve become a "ghost in real life" just to get these words on the page, stealing hours before dawn and late into the night.
And life didn't stop just because I was writing. In the middle of this 55,000-word sprint, I actually tried to take a vacation! I traveled to Philadelphia for a few days, which was an incredible experience. I even got to watch the Eagles beat the Lions live at Lincoln Financial Field! The energy of that crowd was electric, a totally different kind of rush than the quiet thrill of finishing a chapter, but just as inspiring.
Then came Thanksgiving, which was a beautiful chaos of family, food, and me trying to sneak away to write a few paragraphs while the turkey was in the oven.
Through all the travel, the football cheers, and the holiday madness, this story kept pulling me back. "Cat's Chronicles" is the "Ghost's Memoir." It’s Catriona's personal account of her 100-year exile . It was an emotional journey to write, going back to the beginning to see her first desperate days with Valeria , the moment she met Max and learned that "grit is worth more than gold" , and the true history behind the "keepers" in her trunk .
It’s a story of survival, of found family, and of becoming the woman who eventually steps onto that Manhattan rooftop in Book 1 .
If you haven't started reading it yet, now is the perfect time. You don't have to wait for updates; the entire 55,000+ word novella is posted and available for FREE on Royal Road right now.
Read "Cat's Chronicles" on Royal Road
I’m going to be honest: I am exhausted. But holding this finished story (digitally speaking!) makes every sleepless night and every missed hour of relaxation worth it.
I’m going to take a few days to truly rest, recover, and maybe watch a football game without a notebook in my lap. Then, it’s back to The Sea Queen's Shadow line edits with fresh eyes and a full heart. (The Dark Flame’s Mirror is queueing up for edits soon, too!)
Thank you so much to everyone who followed along, left comments on the chapters, and cheered me on through the Writathon. You kept me going when the word count felt like a mountain.
Happy reading!
All the best,
T.L. West
