Legacy - Evolution of Story

Originally posted during my Legacy book tour. 

So, like with many of my projects, “Legacy” started very different from where it ended up. The original plan in the long-ago yesteryears, was to have a trilogy. Or perhaps a quadrilogy. After I wrote the original draft of “Leopold” during the summer, I decided to write its sequel that Winter Break (still in college). I did. And it was the same length as “Leopold.” But it was disjointed and rushed through too many things. I had my mother read it (such a trooper!), and she was trying to be nice while telling me it just wasn’t up to par. So I put it away and focused on the first book. That was where it all started, and I had to create a good foundation before I could continue forward. So for about a decade, I worked on book one, only vaguely thinking of what came after. 

Then I finally published “Leopold” in 2017. Now I had no choice but to seriously consider the next steps. Well, by that time I knew the first draft of book two had to go. I had a new trajectory for my story and the original version no longer fit. Essentially, the concepts in that book remained but I cut the story in half to better expand on the individual elements. Book 2 was originally titled, “Prophecy.” It included bits of “Legacy,” as well as book three, and even book four. Too much. Far too much. That’s how I got six books, by the way. I kept splitting the original trilogy and finally settled on six. I guess I’m just long-winded. Heh. 

It was hard to settle on a title for this book. For a while I bounced between legacy and lineage. After I wrote the first draft, I realized legacy captured the concepts much better. Lineage is too restrictive. Legacy, however, is a bit more ephemeral. One of the actual definitions is: “A tangible or intangible thing handed down by a predecessor; a long-lasting effect of an event or process.” 

It’s not only Leopold with a legacy, one he discovers in this book. It is Mastrodai—his father’s expectations. The traditions of his species. The concept of what and who came before us affecting our lives, coloring how we see ourselves, our world, each other. And there is the legacy that we leave behind. We can either embrace it, ignore it, or run from it. 

What is the legacy that Leopold discovers? 

Well... 

Once he had a mother... 

Once he had a father... 

Have you ever wondered what happened to them? 

I hope you stay safe and healthy, and may dragons guard your dreams, 

M.D. Grimm