I’ve always wondered if we were going to see other settings besides urban city in the story. The wilderness in general seems to not offer much for Siobhan but are we going to see exploration of more exotic realms like the elemental planes or the spirit realm? I love the story and the tension it builds but we see (in my opinion) so little of how magic has shaped the world and creatures outside of humandom that I wish we saw a little bit more outside of it.
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The only uniform motivation is the overwhelming desire to propagate their anomalous effect.
However, Aberrants are not a monolith. The thing that is created can vary as much as all the different kinds of magic cast in all the different… setups/circumstances/environment. (Sorry, I’m beginning to lose my ability to retrieve words at will. Brain fog. Those words aren’t the perfect one, but I think you can understand what I mean.)
Aberrants cannot not do whatever their thing is, though that doesn’t mean that they can’t delay or guide that thing, if they have the lucidity to do so.
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I think I answered a similar question in the first AMA some time ago; you can look there for more info.
I would say I took inspiration from a huge list of things, everything I’ve ever experience, and all the things read and liked or read and hated. Some of them aren’t obvious, even to me.
Here’s a list of things I think had definite influence that I can think of off the top of my head:
Harry Potter
Harry Potter deconstructions/subversions (fanfiction)
Eliezer Yudkowsky’s published books and effort to foster a community of people who think better (lesswrong)
Tamora Pierce’s books
Penny Dreadful (gave me a direction to start worldbuilding by feel)
The Name of the Wind
Mistborn series
Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer
I would suggest that you go to the “Recommended and Similar” page on my main website. It has a list of stories including how they are similar to PGTS. Some of those are things that may have inspired me, while some (despite similarities or seeming influence) I didn’t read till after starting PGTS, and some I haven’t read at all but have been recommended by readers.
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I would like to take a moment to thank you @AzaleaEllis for how quickly you are answering almost everything
And you are doing it with walls of text
So much love and hearts are thrown in your direction!
I noticed you are saying you have brain fog, quite a bit actually
As someone who also gets brain fog
As much as we want as many questions you can answer
Please also make sure you are taking care of yourself first
Pretty pretty please
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I haven’t written it yet, so there may be a “frame” mechanic around these memories. I’m not sure yet.
I’m also not totally sure that I understand the second half of your question, but I’ll try to provide information that may answer it.
This is a prequel in the sense that it is set before the main story and has its own coherent story arc, but it’s not something you can read alone, nor is it something you can skip and go from Book 5 to Book 7. It’s part of the ongoing story. Like a flashback episode of a TV show, maybe?
It’s just that it’s too long to fit into either the book that came before or the book that came after, and it would also throw off the pacing of either books self-contained story arc, if I did that.
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That’s an interesting answer. Not exactly what I thought of when I wrote my question, but I think it tells me more about you than what I was thinking.
Thank you! I appreciate your openness and your resilience and I appreciate how you’ve created characters influenced by that “oddness” in you, because Siobhan, for all her faults, is one of my favourite characters in literature.
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I meant I that it was descibed as a six book series , I assumed a conclusion at the end of book 6. book 5 doesn’t feel like a conclusion of things in the present day. And if book 6 is a prequel, then things wont be wrapped up, and more books will be needed?
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I have hit the 3 hours mark on the AMA, and I’m finding that I’m having a bit of trouble with specific word recall, but I still have some energy left in me and I can keep going a while longer without crashing. I’ll keep answering questions for a bit until I run out of steam.
I have a good idea of major conflict arcs going out several books in advance.
I start setting up a general timeline of events for the next book while writing the current one, usually. It looks like a numbered list of descriptive chapter titles, usually. I also keep any notes I have about the upcoming book in its own Scrivener doc (within the huge Scrivener project that holds the entire series.)
Then, when I’m ready to start developing the next book further I fill out as many obvious missing pieces from that numbered list of chapters as I can.
Then I read through all of my planning notes from previous books and refresh myself on anything that I want to follow up on.
I create a long list of questions about the plot, the characters, and the world. I need to understand all of the moving pieces to know how they go together, even stuff that might not make it directly into the book. I check to see if there are any good spots to follow up on character developments or plot hints that I seeded earlier in the series.
I spend a good amount of time answering all of that long list of questions, and as those answers allow me to, filling in the story synopsis in more detail. I will add more questions as I go, and answer them as I can. Sometimes answering questions requires pages and pages of me writing/talking to myself—circling around the question from all angles until I can finally reach the center and answer the heart of it. Going on long walks. Keeping notes on my stone paper in the shower. Writing notes on my phone just before I fall asleep. Etc. I think actively and hard for many, many accumulated hours.
I create a chapter outline for each chapter, including 1-2 paragraphs of events. This may end up causing some rearranging of events, splitting of chapters, and realization of the need for more followup on certain events due to the ripple effects.
Then, before I finally start writing, I create what I call an Event Synopsis. This is not only WHAT happens, but HOW it happens, including some snippets of dialogue or how a thought process gets from point A to point B. The 1-2 paragraphs from the chapter outline turns into 1000 words of synopsis, maybe. I can do this just before I start the chapter, but it’s better to do in advance, because it leads to the discovery of plot holes. I try to get through minimum 1/2 of the books’ Event Synopses before I start writing.
(1/2 because the Midpoint is a great shift/mirror moment/paradigm realignment, and if I change something critical there or beforehand while in the actual writing process, it might change the Event Synopses afterward significantly and require more work.)
However, ideally I’ll always have Event Synopses for several chapters ahead, even once I reach the Midpoint or am nearing the end of the book.
So then, I write the chapter.
I let it sit (ideally, if I have a buffer.) I keep writing the next chapter, etc. Within 5-15 chapters, I often have an important revelation about how to improve previous chapters, and I go back through in a loop and make updates. I call this Iteration. I will do it several times over the course of completing the book.
When I finally complete the book, I make a list of everything that’s wrong with it, a list of questions about how to fix those things, and then I go back from the top and fix everything.
Then it goes off to the line editor.
Then I review the line edits and make any larger changes that were brought to light by the line editor.
Then it goes off to the Typo Hunting Team.
My assistant(s) help to review suggested edits from the team. It’s a lot more work than hiring 1-2 proofreaders, but more people on the team helps catch a greater variety of things, especially because these readers are often very familiar with the previous books. However, I get a ton of invalid correction suggestions. Some of them make me realize that I can improve my clarity, even if the suggestion is incorrect it showed me a potential misunderstanding. I review the corrections that passed through the assistant(s), review reader notes about larger issues, and make final updates.
Formatting, product pages, publication, and inevitably, a small handful of belated edits from errors that slipped past 1000 people so far or that were created while fixing other errors.
Spend time on marketing, management, and admin.
Repeat from the top.
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To answer yes or answer no would be a spoiler, so I can’t touch this question.
Feel free to post a backup question below.
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Here is my super serious answer: She would not. 
I have an idea, but nothing concrete. I think it would be hard to wrap up the story in less than 12 books (total, not 12 more). I have ideas for more conflict arcs that could lead to 15/18+ books. I even have ideas for a sequel series. And another spinoff series.
However, my actual plan is to keep writing this story as long as I’m enjoying it, still have relevant things to write about, and the readers are still following me. All 3 need to be in place, or I will find an ending point for the series. I have several other stories that I want to write, waiting for the time when 1 of those 3 are missing.
I could also see myself taking longer than normal to write the last 3 books or something, releasing 1 book every other year or something. That would allow me to really make sure I’m tying things up correctly while also getting my next project up and spinning.
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I have been making minor edits to chapters in the first book (prose level stuff, word choice) while I read through it. Nothing big or plot affecting.
Because everything I write leads into everything else I write, if I had done it differently where I am at now would be different, too. I don’t have anything in particular that I would change.
However, I’m sure that I would naturally do things differently if I took my current brain back in time and had to write the series from the beginning. I don’t know exactly what those changes would be (except that I would improve plot pacing) but I’ve improved as a writer in general and so would bring increased skill to bear.
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I’m really glad I asked because that’s something pretty big to misunderstand. Freecasters are scary xd
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It is very likely. I have some specific moving pieces in play that would realistically lead into exploring more knowledge from that era.
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Hi!
French native here so pardon me if my english isnt perfect. I love the series so far. Cant wait to see what is coming next.
My question: i always felt S used the sleep proxy spell as a way to run away from her past trauma // nightmare.
It is a bit unclear how much of it is due to the being in her mind. With the last chapter in mind we can expect a fight between the two of them. I think it is safe to think S will win or at lest stay in control.
Will she get to remember her past and deal with it? T
Alternate question: Will we get to discover a bit more about her grandfather? Im personaly quite curious since lacer said his name mean the stranger (or something close) ?
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I have been developing my own understanding of the countries outside of Lenore to make sure that I can do this. But I’m still not entirely sure how it will be relevant to the ongoing main storyline. I mean, I know what’s happening generally, but as for the parts that I’m going to show in the story, I’m not sure how that’s going to play out.
Generally, I feel that when I’m stuck on what needs to happen next, or how something can happen realistically, if I can figure out what all the major players in the story are doing/thinking/planning at that time, and what they’re motivated by, I will come to an answer.
Right now, that’s where I’m at with the other countries. We’re not coming back to the present for a few months though (until Book 7), so I’m not actively developing answers to those questions.
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You are not alone in that desire; several other readers have mentioned this.
I have some concrete ideas that will likely lead to a broadening of horizons, so to speak, within the next few books.
Going farther than that, I have ideas for things that could happen, but are not certain to happen. There is a danger in expanding the scope of the story too far, beyond what I am able to handle. I’ve seen it happen with things I’ve read, and I’m hoping to avoid the same in my own work.
I’ve got a lot of worldbuilding done and waiting, but not all of it might ever be used.
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Where did you hear it described as a 6 book series? I think you may have been mislead.
It’s true that only 6 books are available for purchase (or preorder) right now, but it’s definitely got a long way and many books to go.
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Your English is very good.
Yes.
Since you’re asking these questions, I would encourage you to go read the blurb for Book 6, A Builder of Dreams. It will give you a strong indication of where we’re going next, which directly involves both of your questions and will give you some insights.
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Good news everyone, its one less thing that could be a threat to S’s wellbeing! (It doesn’t matter how niche it is, one less thing is always better!)
@AzaleaEllis thank you for that insight 
If you fancy another question - what sort of magic wielder would you be in the PGTS world if you could be one? Witch, Sorcerer, Gesturan, Brillig, Titan, Abberant, whatever Lacer is, REDACTED, etc?
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When i saw at top of every amazon description page, (Book N of 6) I can still understand, why I would assume a 6 book series , also given that until your message I hadn’t come across any mention, that it would be a ongoing series with more than 6 books.
Generally, I avoid series with no end in sight. Thanks for the explanation.