Everyone has their way, but this is my way.

You'd think that, as the author, I know everything that will transpire in the future, whereas you, the reader, are left to wonder. The truth is, I am very much like you, wondering what will happen and how the story will develop. While I do pen plot points and key moments and know the general direction of the story, these plot points don't exactly work out like I planned them to.

SPOILERS FOLLOW for the first book, so be warned. When I penned out "The Exiled Heir", I always meant to build up Kaelan as a protagonist, then have him die off at the hands of the Eternal Emperor after attacking his own father, leaving Eira to pick up the pieces of the rebellion. But when I got to the scene, the Eternal Emperor knew Kaelan almost as well as I did. Kaelan is not a hero, but neither is he a villain. He is only a young man, trying to prove himself and find a place in this world for himself. So that's what the Eternal Emperor offered him. A place of power. His father's place.

This is one of the Eternal Emperor's favorite and most powerful tools. Simply appearing as a reasonable person; someone who you would be comfortable to side with, even against your own friends - for your own benefit, of course.

So while I do pen out well in advance (I've penned out scenes up to book 5 in detail), the story doesn't always go the way I want to. All I did was create those characters, but now it is up to them to find their own way, colliding with each other like balls in a pinball machine, crossing each other for individual fulfilment, self-realization and power.