Casters Book Two: Shadow Caster

Author Note

Hey everyone, for those of you who haven't been keeping up with my announcements, you should really do that. I never spam and only post important info about my work and updating schedule. 

For those of you out of the know, it might be a while before you see anything relating to book 3. I am tempted just to post what I have but I don't really want to because I am not satisfied with it. It also might be a while because I have been promoted at work, yet again, to a much more important position that has me basically living at my job. I have a ton more responsibilities now and I'm trying not to mess it up.  

So why don't I want to post Book 3? Well for starters I need to rewrite books one and two, some of those rewrite ideas I have will change the storyline drastically. For example, Nerissa is supposed to have a much larger role, she was originally supposed to be kind of a secondary main character. Like a foil to Emery, she plays a big part in the storyline overall. But her role has been shrunken wayyyyy too much to where she hardly seems relevant now. This is because I focus too much on romance a bit, which is also important for the story but not nearly as important as Nerissa's role. She will have a huge part in book three, well at least she's supposed to but it's not working out that way because of how I've written her. 

Speaking of romance, it does play a huge plot point in the story, some of you have already caught on to it and guessed it as well. Which is good, but I don't want you guys guessing it too soon, so I need to go back and make it more subtle. My current book three plot has that secret being revealed way too early in the book, it's supposed to be like the climax point, where the main character figures everything out and sees just how badly they've been fooled and betrayed. Something super dramatic. 

These books will have several arcs and storylines, I have several books planned out. Each arc takes three books to tell. So the first three books are basically just the beginning of the story. I have done a bad job sticking to the plot of the story, which should be about the secret cult group and the tension between non-casters and casters as well as Emery's journey into becoming a powerful caster. 

Basically, there are a lot of things I need to juggle and find the perfect balance of to make where I am going with the story make more sense. Another character I planned to make a more central role is Darko, but he's sort of gotten lost in the fray over all the romance and friendship drama. I'd say the only character whose storyline I am somewhat pleased with is Dariyah's. Even still I want to go back and change it just a little bit, not make her so violent in the beginning. Like I still want her to be violent, but not THAT violent if that makes sense. I'm trying not to spoil anything for anyone, but then again I don't know how long it will be before you guys see these characters again. 

Also for those of you who don't follow me on Twitter @AndrM you should, that way if my account ever gets deleted again you'll still have a place to find me. Also, you will see a post a made a few days ago where I realized I've been pronouncing Lorelei's name wrong the whole time... yes I am a moron, but moving on. 

Book three is called Cosmic Casters, for those of you wanting to know. Seeing the title of this book you would have thought Nerissa would have been a more highlighted character, which she was supposed to be, but I screwed it up. I have started writing something like one-off chapters for side characters, which I talk about in a recent announcement if you want to know what I mean. It will be called Casters, the missing pages, and will be from the side characters' point of view before Emery came into the story. It's just to help give a little bit better background of some of the story plots and characters. Stuff mentioned in the books but never really doven into. I will post that once I write a few more chapters. 

Things about the Casters books you may not have known:

Joni didn't originally exist in any version of the story I've written so far. She's a character I made up on the fly but I actually think fits perfectly for her role and what she's supposed to bring to the story. 

In the first-ever draft of Casters, I had the story picking up after time was rewound, no one believed Emery. Vega, whose original name was actually Aster, was the only one who remembered the original timeline. For reasons... 

I changed Vega's name to Vega after I realized Aster is a name meaning star, goodness, light, and stuff like that. I like to have a cool backstory behind the names I pick for characters, sometimes I pick it because it sounds cool, or I like the meaning, sometimes I just make it up the spot, and sometimes I spend hours researching trying to find the perfect names. Vega's name was changed to Vega after I saw one of the meanings of the name could mean falling star, which I thought was a much better fit. 

The first three characters ever made for this story were Dariyah, coming in at number one. Emery, number two, and Vega/Aster at the time, at number three. Darko was number four and Bastion and Nerissa are tied for five. 

In the original idea, Vega was supposed to be the big bully, and Dariyah was supposed to be the cool sister. They were like a sister team, a dynamic duo working together to ruin Emery's life. 

Ro is a character that might get deleted later on, not because I don't like her, and not because she's not supposed to be in the story, but originally... gah, spoiler I guess, do not read if you do no want to have the story spoiled a little bit! Ro is originally part of the cult group and wasn't supposed to come into the story until way later. I only brought her into the story in the beginning as a companion for Nerissa so Nerissa wouldn't seem so much of a loner. Nerissa is supposed to be this popular badass bitch, but I'm thinking of changing it and leaning into the loner side of her a little bit more. So Ro may get deleted from the beginning of the book. Her character and plot don't really make much sense anyway. 

While Emery's love interest in every version I have written has been Vega, I will admit Vega's storyline in this version is very different from my original vision and I'm loving it. I won't spoil who her endgame love interest will be but I will say there are several books planned and for those of you who don't like Vega you will definitely get to see Emery be single and with other people later on down the line. Will Vega be her endgame? I won't spoil it, but I think you guys can figure that one out already. 

So far I have three arcs planned for these books. So 9 books total. The first arc I like to call the catalyst is what sets off everything and changes the game so to say. The second arc is about trust and rebuilding, being in the thick of it so to say a lot more magic battles. The final arc is about finally putting an end to everything, setting records straight, being stronger than ever after rebuilding, stuff like that. 

While I do not have all the titles to all the books planned figured out yet I do know after book three comes book four, Crystal Casters, book five Blood Casters, and book six Time Casters. 

 Who is my favorite character in these books? Emery, duh. That's why she's the main character. My least favorite character, I don't think I have one. I love them all. My favorite ship,(sings) I can't tell you... hehe. 

I once made a Caster quiz for people to take to find out what Casters they are, I got Star Caster and or Force Caster (I got force Caster the second time I took the test). Let me know if guys want that test! I might make a patron or something where one of the perks can be to take that quiz. So people can see what Caster they would be or if they would even be a Caster. 

Final notes, no I've never read or seen any Harry Potter anything. Nor will I ever. No, I do not condone cheating, this is fiction and for fun. I have never cheated or been cheated on. I just think romance drama is more fun to read. Yes, I read all the comments on this story. Yes, I do take all your comments, suggestions, and thoughts into consideration. While I have my own plans for the story it's always good to hear what other people think, first to see if I am successfully pulling off something I plan in the story or if it comes across wrong, and second to get better ideas to improve the story. Some of your comments are actually some of the reasons I go back and rewrite stuff. You help me see things differently and sometimes that is for the better!

So keep commenting your thoughts, ideas, or suggestions! I love hearing them. It helps me better the story. Also if you guys want to know anything else about this story just leave a comment and I'll respond if I can without spoiling anything. Unless everyone just wants it spoiled, then I will tell you lol.