The final trailer for Chaos Calling: Book 1 of The Xenthian Cycle is ready. It’s posted on my YouTube channel. If you missed the first trailer, you can find that here.

The ebook edition of my first novel launches one week from today.

I started this project in September 2014. I remember standing in my living room, on fire with excitement about my idea and eager to share it with others.

Publishing early was extremely tempting. Since I wrote three substantial drafts on Wattpad with my phone, I had a direct pathway to readers literally at my fingertips. At times, the temptation to see what people thought was acute.

So, I resisted the impulse. Two of my advisors cautioned that nothing worth doing happens overnight, however much we wish it otherwise.

Good launches run on strong plans

I’ve worked in the tech sector for over 10 years. In that time, I’ve launched a lot of products. Good launches run on strong plans, and writing and launching a book is no different.

My work back plan for this launch has over 300 lines. I’ve currently completed about 188 of them.

From the beginning, focusing on Toronto has been central to my messaging strategy. Fantasy’s a competitive genre. I wrote Chaos Calling primarily because it was the story I wanted to read. It just makes sense to emphasize the aspects that make it somewhat unique in the contemporary/urban fantasy landscape.

As a young reader, I remember my surprise when I opened The Summer Tree, the first volume in The Fionavar Tapestry. It begins inside Convocation Hall at the University of Toronto. I’d never read a fantasy novel set in my city, though Fionavar is more of a portal story (people from here travel to the magical world where they encounter fantastical elements).

The Xenthian Cycle flips the portal dynamic around. Instead of going elsewhere, the fantastical comes to us in all our 2014 glory. The juxtaposition, combined with irrevocable changes for my characters, puts their experience alongside the Marvel or DC films.

I’m fascinated with how extraordinary circumstances can transform ordinary people. I hope you will be, too.

My goals for the final trailer for Chaos Calling

My working theory is that the seed audience for this story will come from people who live in Toronto (or Sudbury or Vancouver or elsewhere in Canada). I’m betting they’ll feel a similar delight in seeing their world enter the fantastic. My second theory is that urban audiences the world over will find echoes to their stories in the specificities of mine.

With that in mind, I hope you enjoy the final trailer for Chaos Calling. Next week can’t come fast enough.