As an author, I spend a lot of time crafting what readers see on the page—but behind the scenes, it’s often a different kind of journey: quiet, thoughtful, and deeply personal. Lately, I’ve been immersed in preparing new promotional content for two of my novels: Shadowalkers and Sages of Tachnir. And as I do, I’ve found myself reflecting on the emotional core of these stories—their heartbeat.

✨ Shadowalkers: What Changed While He Was Gone?

Shadowalkers is a story about what happens when someone leaves with the best intentions and returns to a world that’s no longer the same. It’s full of dragons, time-travel, and epic prophecy, but at its center is something far more human: the ache of being absent, and the question of whether you can truly come home again.

While putting together a 3-day stacked promo campaign for social media, I spent time rethinking words like darkness, ultimately realizing that the real threat wasn’t just external—it was the change that time itself imposes on relationships. Those quiet losses often hurt more than battles. That emotional truth has resonated strongly with readers, and I’m leaning into that in the way I share the story now.

🕰 Sages of Tachnir: The Cost of Time Travel

In Sages of Tachnir, Udoaver has already into the Labyrinth of Times—a place that stretches time as it clips it and reattaches to a new timeline. Travel through the Labyrinth is sanctioned by the Thornose Dragons—guardians of the Labyrinth. If a person enters without permission, they die amid the shifting corridors of time. But Udoaver is Drakeborn through the Thornose, and he's not lost in the corridors of time. He’s moving through them with purpose, journeying, accomplishing what must be done to return home. The cost? Well, if I told you that, it would be a spoiler.

One of the most rewarding parts of this recent behind-the-scenes work has been developing visuals that reflect this emotional toll, especially Orin’s bond with his dragon, Chusi. She’s not a towering beast of war, but something more personal. She’s about the size of a sun bear, gray-and-white mottled, with a rubbery mane of straw-like strands known as paleas. Unique. Intimate. Like Orin himself—growing, enduring, waiting for his father. Just like his mother.

This promo work has made me realize how much Sages is a story about relatable longing. Not just fantasy or dragons or time travel—but family, memory, and the pain of missed moments.

This pic still needs work. Chusi's mane is grey, not white. But how cute is Orin! 

📸 The Visual Journey

Working with AI-generated artwork and visual storytelling has added an unexpected but powerful layer to the creative process. The Therus staff Udoaver carries—gifted by the dragons when he became a Drake Ascendant—holds a stone that glows only within the Labyrinth of Times, illuminating his path forward. As long as he’s touching it, he can hear the dragons. It has become a powerful visual metaphor for his journey: time slipping, purpose burning, following the dragon’s plan. He can’t see far ahead. Can’t grasp the full picture. But he trusts. And he sacrifices what he wants now for what the world needs most.

I’ve included a few of the first images—they still need refining, but I already love the direction. Soon, I’ll be sharing image-based posts layered with quotes and emotional beats—designed to resonate in just a few seconds, the way only visuals can.

🧵 What’s Next?

As the promotional momentum builds, I’m excited to keep peeling back the curtain to share not just the books themselves, but the creative decisions, visual details, and emotional truths that shaped them.

Thanks for being part of the journey. If you’ve ever had to leave something behind for the greater good—or waited on someone who had to go—you might find pieces of yourself in these stories.

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