Alexandra Quick: Book Three

[inverarity]

I'm posting this so I (hopefully) won't have to answer a bunch of emails asking "When is Book Three going to be done?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm not offended by people asking. It's flattering, in fact. But if I keep you all updated here, then I can just answer emails with, "See my LiveJournal."

So, Book Three is in the works. My goal is to finish it by the end of the year, and maybe sooner. Which, some of you may remember, is pretty much what I said about Book Two. I usually get a fair amount of writing done over the summer, but I'm not going to make any promises or announce any firm deadlines, because, you know, life happens and sometimes I have time to write, sometimes I don't.

What I can promise is that there will be a Book Three, barring of course me being hit by that proverbial (or literal) bus.

In fact, I have an entire series planned out for Alexandra: a seven book series. And like Rowling, I already know how it's all going to end. Can I promise that you'll actually get to read all seven books? Well, no, because life and buses do get in the way. But I'm quite serious about my plan.

Here's the deal: I'm not going to post every time I finish a chapter of AQ3, but I will periodically post updates to let you know that I'm still working on it and haven't been hit by a bus. As it gets closer to completion, I'll let you know. And in the meantime, maybe I'll subject you to some more of my cheesy Poser illustrations, which may include some sneak peeks at Book Three.

Oh look, here's Darla! You didn't think you'd seen the last of her, did you?




(This was actually a first draft render for Chapter 21: "The Obol")

What is the title of AQ3?

I have chosen a title, but I'm only about 90% certain that I will keep it, so I'm not announcing it yet, sorry.

You killed Max, you bastard!

I know a lot of you really liked Max. I liked him, too. And I know it seemed pretty brutal to introduce him, establish a relationship with Alexandra, and then kill him off in one book. Believe me, I didn't do it casually or just to generate gratuitous angst. It was planned, and it will have long-lasting repercussions. In fact, Alexandra's reaction to Max's death will be a major driving force in AQ3.

So, feel free to comment here, ask me questions, pick at my plot holes, or dissect my characters. (Just not my character. :ρ )

And for those of you who've been asking about a sequel to Hogwarts Houses Divided: yes, I've decided to do one. Right now, I'm thinking that I will probably write the HHD sequel between AQ3 and AQ4.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, dammit. I was definitely hoping that you were already significantly progressed through the third installment. I have to say, this is by far my favorite fanfic that I'm currently following. I have no qualms with any of what you've done in the book, although the revelation that the trains traveled through the lands below is somewhat interesting.

I do seem to recall badgering you quite a bit last winter when you first came out with chapters for AQ2 that I thought once a week was a little too much. I seem to remember you being quite adamant about that, but I'm DEFINITELY glad you relented. Seriously, I don't know how pumped up for the story I could be if I had to wait once a week for chapters. First week in June is definitely better than sometime around October.

I hope you have good fortune in your writing and if there's anything I can do to help facilitate more of it, just drop me a line at ff.net.

~DarkSov

[(Anonymous)]

Good to hear you plan 5 more books for this series. Its funny I didn't start reading the Harry Potter books till book 6 came out so I didn't get long waits between books...looks like I will get to experience that after all :). And the Darla tease was to much, I just got done theorizing with another reader on what you planned to do with her or even if we would see her again lol. From what you have said it sounds like Alex is refusing to accept Max's death so I assume that will be a major plot point in the next book. Ugh so many questions Ill come back with those later :).

A.P. Phillips

a fan from the beginning....

[(Anonymous)]

Can't wait :)

[(Anonymous)]

So I've kind of been hoping that Max hadn't really died and he would be brought back somehow ( I did the same thing when Sirius died) but you just popped my little bubble of hope. But no worries, I'm still excited for AQ3

[dream-child-02.livejournal.com]

As always, and I'm sure you've heard a million times before, but your stories are the best Harry Potter fanfictions I've come across in a long time. I'm glad you've got a whole series planned out, I can't wait to read it! Your stories keep me on tenterhooks just like Harry Potter did. AQ1 was inventive and exciting, and AQ2 is positively dripping with intensity and so much emotion. Great job on both! I'm dying to know what the 3rd one will bring. Anyway, on to questions! :D

Though this will probably be answered eventually, but just why did Darla take a dive into the dark side?
How come Lillith Grimm got so little screen time in your 2nd installment? I really like her character btw
Who is Alex's eldest sister? I have a feeling she's going to play an important role in the stories to come
Will Alex and Brian ever make amends?

Hope that's not too many questions, lol. And I understand why you killed Max, much as that was very sad, but it really pushes the story forward and adds some more depth to Alex.

Answers, kind of

[inverarity.livejournal.com]

Well, I did say you could ask me questions, but I hope you'll forgive me if most of the answers are, "You'll have to wait and see." ;)

Though this will probably be answered eventually, but just why did Darla take a dive into the dark side?

As I hinted above, there is much more to Darla's story. But... you'll have to wait and see.

How come Lillith Grimm got so little screen time in your 2nd installment? I really like her character btw

Ms. Grimm, and Alex's friends, did get less attention in this story, didn't they? Unfortunately, it was inevitable that with Alexandra spending so much time first with the MMS, then in Roanoke, and then in the Lands Below, we wouldn't get to see as much of her friends, or the charming Dean. Lilith Grimm will definitely be back in Book Three, and Alex's friends will be getting more "screen time" as well.

Who is Alex's eldest sister? I have a feeling she's going to play an important role in the stories to come

Sorry, no comment on that one, other than, "You'll have to wait and see."

Will Alex and Brian ever make amends?

Likewise. But I will tell you that you haven't seen the last of Brian and Bonnie Seabury either.

[malinbe.livejournal.com]

Hello! I'm Bjarka99 at FictionAlley. I'm delighted to find an LJ! Random author ramblings are an addiction to me- I'll love to read about Year Three's progress every once in a while.

I have to say, it was surprising that you introduced a character just to kill him at the end of the same book- but I think that a relationship that short will probably give Alex more to grieve about. It didn't have time to present serious problems, Alex probably never had time to find out about his brother's most annoying or shocking flaws- the kind you find out about after a few years and are not so ready to forget anymore. It was a very intense relationship- that's the kind that leaves huge marks. So, I suppose I'm saying... I trust you.

I'm curious about Darla- I guessed we would be seeing more of her, but she can't come back to Charmbridge anymore, can she? Will she be going to another Wizarding school, be home-schooled or be shunned away and harbour terrible resentment? This is so intriguing.

I'm off to leave a proper review at FA. Read you around!

AQ2

[(Anonymous)]

Splendidly done. A great ending to a story that's getting better by the chapter. I keep hoping JKR is reading this too because, although it does depend on her world, Harry's world, it is quite independent of her plot and even her characters . . .sort of. I'll bet she'd like it, maybe even admire it. Of course I knew we'd see more of Darla. You still have to give us a plausible explanation for why a 12 year old girl would attempt to murder a classmate in front of a room full of teachers, and then try again, and again. What's up with that? Can you imagine what McGonigal would have done, or Snape, if someone threw the AK in a dueling class. They'd have been permanently petrified and placed on a pedestal just outside the door to Snape's office - or something. I am looking forward to reading more, and although I don't want to wait until December to start reading, I am going to take a deep breath and ask you to consider getting all of the chapters edited by your excellent betas before you start posting. But only because I found that having to read your story in dribs and drabs over several months broke it up too much and made it hard to remember details that turned out to be important. For example, in chapter 37, I had a hard time remembering who the elf was when he showed up again. And I have no memory at all of the generous ones giving AQ any talking heads. Oh well. I' so glad that you are writing seven whole books and that you have the story arc worked out already. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!! Please. Squibghost P.S. Oh yea, I'd have submitted this as a review through fanficition.net but I can never get my password right, so I can't log in to review.

Subject

[(Anonymous)]

This is an excelent story. I only read completed stories and rarly follow up with sequels if they are not complete when I read the beginning story. But with this story Alexandra Quick stuck in my head. I refused to read this until all the chapters were posted but I WAS waiting for it!

I did have a suggestion though. After a year had passed and many many other stories have been read I had trouble remembering the first story all that well. I remembered it well enough I didnt want to re-read it before starting this one, but not well enough to transition into this one without questions. Perhaps it would be possible to include maybe a 1 page synopsys on each of the previous installments when posting a sequel? Nothing in depth just a memory refresher that could easily be skipped by those who had read the previous stories recently. Just make sure you dont fall into JK's trend of re-explainging the same thing in the begining of the story of each book. Yes I know Harry is a wizard, did you think I hadnt read the first three books? Thankfully she seemed to cut that out in later books.

Your writing and story telling is excelent! I was thinking just the other day you could probably alter the referances to the HP world enough without altering the storyline that you could publish this whole series! I bet it would sell to!

[lonely-lycanth.livejournal.com]

I just finished reading your series, and though I didn't comment properly, I wanted to let you know that I really liked it. Original female protagonists going to American schools isn't normally something I'd choose to read, but you pulled it off really well. I'm glad to see you're writing more, and intimidated by the fact that you have the patience to write the whole thing without showing anyone. I am impatient and have a short attention span, so it would be a major accomplishment for me to do the same.

Two more things before I go to bed: I really, really wanted Max to survive and come back, but at the same time, I'm not sure I want you to bring him back. It was a good death for him, so be sure not to cave to peer pressure just because he's awesome and your fans are persistent. Second, will Alex ever re-join JROC? I really liked the idea of her excelling there, and will be sad if she avoids it from now on.

Best luck to you!

[inverarity.livejournal.com]

The question of whether or not Max comes back is quite firmly settled in my mind; if fans get their wish, it will only be because that's what I already planned to do, and if they don't, I hope they are satisfied with the story anyway.

Alexandra was pretty certain that she's done with JROC. But things do have a way of not going the way she planned...

[(Anonymous)]

Wow, it'll be done sooner than I thought, apparently! You write fast. (It takes me SO long to write a one-shot, never mind a novel. I've been working on the same damn OF novel for almost a year now and I'm not even halfway finished.)

Good luck and have fun writing! We'll be anxiously awaiting your next installment.

-Rosemary to Remember from FictionAlley