A new year brings new challenges, new opportunities, and if all goes well, a new novel. Last year I dedicated much of my writing time to a different project, a steampunk inspired, high-fantasy novel, set across five planets in the same solar system. It’s the largest, and possibly most ambitious project I’ve undertaken, but I’m incredibly happy with the result. Keep an eye out for more updates about that later.
As for now, I’m shifting focus back to The Ninth Circle. Book 3 Mercy is underway and, whilst it’s off to a slow start, I’m sure the pace will pick up soon, hopefully in time for a release at the end of this year.
There are a few things I can share with you about Mercy in the mean time, because I know December is a long way off. Just as Strength had a large focus on Tala’s character development, Mercy will be Aiva’s chance to really grow. Where the first two books showed us the hellish and Earthly realms, book 3 will give us a peak into the third of the realms, heaven, whilst also introducing some mythical monsters from mainland Europe, to join the rich Irish folklore that provides the background for the whole series.
To kick off the third book, here is one of the illustrations included in the second. Here is the diagram of the nine circles of hell from Strength.
C. A. Harland 