Ask the Author: Kevin Potter
Answered Questions (10)
Kevin Potter
My apologies for the late answer to this. It's actually a bit complicated. You see, the series was originally titled "Metal and Stone," back when I envisioned it as a short series of novellas. It was little more than a single serialized story at that time. However, as I have revised things the story has undergone some fairly major changes, enough that I felt it warranted a title change to more accurately reflect the nature of the story. At this point, all my books fall under the overarching title of "The Val-Harra Saga," of which the "Blood of the Dragons" series, which encompasses what was originally "Metal and Stone" plus about 3 or 4 more books, is just the first part. "The Calamity" will be the second part.
Kevin Potter
Hi Thomas,
That's a great question.
Shadow of the Overlord is a single story. Each "book" within it is basically a section of the story. The first is separate from the rest by about ten years, but the rest have fairly minimal time between them.
I separated them in this way because the end of each makes a good breaking point within the novel and each signifies a shift in the direction of the story.
Amazon tells me the Kindle version is 1099 pages, but the paperback is 677.
It is connected to the Metal and Stone novellas, but they are not required for understanding
That's a great question.
Shadow of the Overlord is a single story. Each "book" within it is basically a section of the story. The first is separate from the rest by about ten years, but the rest have fairly minimal time between them.
I separated them in this way because the end of each makes a good breaking point within the novel and each signifies a shift in the direction of the story.
Amazon tells me the Kindle version is 1099 pages, but the paperback is 677.
It is connected to the Metal and Stone novellas, but they are not required for understanding
Kevin Potter
Great question! And one I'm a bit surprised I don't get more often, to be honest.
The answer, unfortunately, is not as simple as I would like.
The short answer is they are absolutely connected and there is an order that will make more sense (chronological in story time rather than publishing order).
When I originally wrote The Fall of an Overlord, that seemed the logical starting point, and it progresses quite neatly into the Calamity prequel, Rise of the Overlord, which functions a bit like an interlude that ties the two series together.
Now, you can definitely start with Fall, then go to Rise and Shadow. You'll have a reasonably satisfying reading experience with that order.
If you want the complete story, however, I would ask you to sit through a bit of history.
You see, after Fall was written and Rise was mostly written, I was asked to contribute to a short story anthology called Glimpses.
While I was brainstorming ideas, it occurred to me that I already had an exceptionally large window of history I could use as a backdrop for a story. I ended up deciding I didn't want to spoil any of the secrets and mysteries coming up in The Calamity, so I went with the history of the world Fall takes place in.
The result of that was a story called Metal and Stone, which is the basis for my novella The Awakening, which kicks off the Metal and Stone series. And once I had that written, I was overcome with the need to tell the whole story.
And if that wasn't enough, here's where it can get a little confusing. The collected stories of Metal and Stone together make up what will be the first book in a three-book series called Blood of Dragons, of which the third volume will be an expanded and rewritten version of Fall.
So when all is said and done, it will look like this:
1- The Awakening
2- Fire and Ice
3- Blood and Scales
4- The Age of Extinction
5- The Great Council
6- Blood of the Dragons book 2 (currently untitled)
7- Expanded version of The Fall of an Overlord
8- Rise of the Overlord
9- Shadow of the Overlord
The answer, unfortunately, is not as simple as I would like.
The short answer is they are absolutely connected and there is an order that will make more sense (chronological in story time rather than publishing order).
When I originally wrote The Fall of an Overlord, that seemed the logical starting point, and it progresses quite neatly into the Calamity prequel, Rise of the Overlord, which functions a bit like an interlude that ties the two series together.
Now, you can definitely start with Fall, then go to Rise and Shadow. You'll have a reasonably satisfying reading experience with that order.
If you want the complete story, however, I would ask you to sit through a bit of history.
You see, after Fall was written and Rise was mostly written, I was asked to contribute to a short story anthology called Glimpses.
While I was brainstorming ideas, it occurred to me that I already had an exceptionally large window of history I could use as a backdrop for a story. I ended up deciding I didn't want to spoil any of the secrets and mysteries coming up in The Calamity, so I went with the history of the world Fall takes place in.
The result of that was a story called Metal and Stone, which is the basis for my novella The Awakening, which kicks off the Metal and Stone series. And once I had that written, I was overcome with the need to tell the whole story.
And if that wasn't enough, here's where it can get a little confusing. The collected stories of Metal and Stone together make up what will be the first book in a three-book series called Blood of Dragons, of which the third volume will be an expanded and rewritten version of Fall.
So when all is said and done, it will look like this:
1- The Awakening
2- Fire and Ice
3- Blood and Scales
4- The Age of Extinction
5- The Great Council
6- Blood of the Dragons book 2 (currently untitled)
7- Expanded version of The Fall of an Overlord
8- Rise of the Overlord
9- Shadow of the Overlord
Kevin Potter
I'm about to start working on the Wheel of Time again, which I expect will keep me busy all summer long!
Kevin Potter
More than anything else, if you want to be an author you have to write, you have to read, and you have to learn. Practice your craft. Read good books and read bad books, and learn to tell the difference. Learn what makes a book good or bad. Learn all the grammar rules, so when you break them it will be intentional.
And right now, before you do anything else, figure out of you want a traditional publishing house or if you're going to publish independently. Both are viable options, but are very different. As an indie, you have to pay for your own artwork, editing, audio recordings, translations, etc. But you also get to be in control of all those things. You don't have to accept a bad cover or a poor editing choice just because your publisher says so.
However, if you want to get as close as possible to being able to just write without having to worry about anything else, then traditional is the only way to go.
And right now, before you do anything else, figure out of you want a traditional publishing house or if you're going to publish independently. Both are viable options, but are very different. As an indie, you have to pay for your own artwork, editing, audio recordings, translations, etc. But you also get to be in control of all those things. You don't have to accept a bad cover or a poor editing choice just because your publisher says so.
However, if you want to get as close as possible to being able to just write without having to worry about anything else, then traditional is the only way to go.
Kevin Potter
Having an outlet for my creativity, haha.
Honestly, if I didn't write I'd go crazy.
Even if I never make a dime from my writing, I'll still write.
Honestly, if I didn't write I'd go crazy.
Even if I never make a dime from my writing, I'll still write.
Kevin Potter
I can't say I've ever experienced writer's block. I have times that writing is a bit more of a struggle, or when my interest in a project wanes and I need to work on something else for a while, but I believe writer's block is largely a myth.
Kevin Potter
Rise of the Overlord, part 2 of my prequel novella series.
Kevin Potter
As dumb as it may sound, the idea for not only The Fall of an Overlord, but the whole series The Calamity was actually born of a role playing game world I was building. I wanted to have a catastrophic event in the world's past unlike anything I've seen in another fantasy world.
I was stumped for weeks.
Then one day it hit me like a ton of bricks, and The Calamity and it's antagonist were born.
It started as a few pages of history with no intention of it being anything more. But as I developed the story and the world in my mind, it occurred to me that it could make a pretty good novel series.
I started with a 7-page short story to explain the antagonists presence in the world.
Later, after I had a couple hundred pages toward the main story, I realized there was more. I turned that 7-page story into a 35-page one.
And I put it away for a while to work on improving my craft.
When I came back to it again in late 2016, I realized again that there was still more to the story and I decided that since prequels are usually novella length (or shorter), I split it into two prequel volumes.
The Fall of an Overlord is the first part of that story. The second part, Rise of the Overlord will be coming later in 2017.
I was stumped for weeks.
Then one day it hit me like a ton of bricks, and The Calamity and it's antagonist were born.
It started as a few pages of history with no intention of it being anything more. But as I developed the story and the world in my mind, it occurred to me that it could make a pretty good novel series.
I started with a 7-page short story to explain the antagonists presence in the world.
Later, after I had a couple hundred pages toward the main story, I realized there was more. I turned that 7-page story into a 35-page one.
And I put it away for a while to work on improving my craft.
When I came back to it again in late 2016, I realized again that there was still more to the story and I decided that since prequels are usually novella length (or shorter), I split it into two prequel volumes.
The Fall of an Overlord is the first part of that story. The second part, Rise of the Overlord will be coming later in 2017.
Kevin Potter
Honestly, if I waited for inspiration I'd never write. My personal opinion is that inspiration is for amateurs. You have to just sit and do the words. Bad words can be edited, a blank page cannot.
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