Langford author Fred Storey may not have set out to write a book nearly a decade ago, but write a book he did, and write a sequel he might soon do.
Storey is back on the promotional circuit for his 2015 publication The Legend of Stor, and speaking outside Ponchos Cafe Saturday (Sept. 2) he revealed a sequel is in the works. If interest in the original picks back up, it could hit shelves in the future.
“When I finished writing the first one, I thought that was the end of my job,” said Storey. “Well, it turns out that’s not the case. What I found out was you are expected as a writer to market it. Nobody marketed it, so I decided now I’m going to market it myself.”
Work on his first book started as a family genealogy project, with Storey tracing his family lineage back around 1,100 years. The more he researched, the more interesting his ancestor’s story became. Unfortunately, it still made for a dry read, so he decided to “give the people life” with a little bit of creative liberty in their personal lives while maintaining historical accuracy.
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Storey said it didn’t take much to realize he had plenty of material for a whole line of sequels. While the first book focuses on the story of his Viking ancestor Stor, in doing that it also tells the story of Great Britain and how the Anglo-Saxon kings established a culture that survived the Norman Conquest, the Vikings – everything.
“I’ve got a draft done on a sequel. If I do well with the promotion, I will publish the sequel. I’ve got to measure the response I get – and it seems good so far – so if I produce a sequel I know if it is going to sell,” he said. “The second book is focused on the restoration of the Anglo-Saxon way of life in Britain.”
Of course, Storey’s ancestors feature in this part of British history as well.
Unlike working on his first book, work on the sequel has been a much smoother experience for him. He said the work was much more purposeful since he knew from the get-go the aim was to publish a book.
But that doesn’t do much to lessen the burden of editing, which is where he is in the publication process now. Storey said between that potentially lengthy process and his desire to measure interest before going through the expense of publishing, he can’t say when people will be able to buy the second book.
What he can say though, is if the sequel does get published – and if it proves successful – he has plenty of material left for even more books.
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