Afterimage Introduction

Or, pretty long warning...

Uploaded on 9/15/2008

You may be the sort of person who doesn't like to read warnings or introductions but we're hoping you'll read this one. We'll keep it relatively short, we promise, and it may save you from some confusion later on.

When we started In the Company of Shadows, we were writing the story for the hell of it and in the initial planning we were mostly interested in the plot and the world. Somewhere along the way, the characters had a mind of their own and started making decisions that created relationships, twists and turns where we weren't expecting. We've made it a point to let the characters do what makes sense for them, to not stifle the directions the story could turn if it's necessary/best for the characters or plot.

So, suffice it to say, what you are about to read (book two/Afterimage) was not really initially planned. This is what came about as we went the way the characters wanted to. This book is extremely important for the story line and characters for multiple reasons, most of which we're hoping you'll understand by the end of it if not before, and there are quite a few scenes we're really excited about. But it does contain aspects that we're anticipating not all readers will be happy with. And that's the reason for this short intro/long warning.

The purpose of Afterimage and how we're choosing to tell it is for the In the Company of Shadows characters to grow. Aside from the plot and the romantic aspect of the story, the most important part of this series (which will be on-going even after the completion of this story) is that we have many characters who are flawed, who are not really sure of who they are or what they want, and who are basically starting over from scratch with personalities that have long been suppressed.

So we're hoping that people get that when they read. We never expected this story to get an actual fanbase and we never expected to want to write so many different stories and side stories, let alone for the characters to become so complicated, confusing and often frustrating. But they did, so we're going where they lead us, and as they evolve they take us down avenues we never really expected to go.

But just remember; keep the faith and keep an open mind. Everything happens for a reason and it's for the good of the characters that it does. Trust us.

This story is written with the same love of the world and characters as the first book was and we will continue to go where it's best for the story and characters. After all, if we hadn't done that in the first book, Boyd and Sin would never have gotten together in the first place. There were just some deviations along the way. Keep reading and we'll keep writing.

Don't be scared away by the fact that this sounds somewhat ominous, either. There's just a slight departure in the writing of this book compared to the last, and we're also going out of our way to let you know ahead of time that a few aspects of Afterimage may not be every reader's favorite part of the series.

We continue to write In the Company of Shadows to be as fun and interesting with as much quality as we can make it and we sincerely hope readers will take the time to give us feedback.

Keep in mind: Even though we edit these chapters before releasing, we consider what is available online to be an advanced draft. There may be some minor mistakes and some things may be changed later.

Happy reading!

Sonny & Ais

For info on how to contact us, check the Contact page.