Echo’s Voice: Episodes Seven, Eight & Nine

Echo’s Voice – The Final Three Episodes in One Volume – Now Available!

 Introduction

After expanding my novel Echo’s Voice into a six-episode series for Kindle, I remained dissatisfied with the conclusion. The original novel ended when Lefty acquires speech, which is near the end of Episode 5, A Forgotten Place. Episode Six, Sorrow’s Dawn, was to be the sequel to the original novel.

My dilemma then became how to weave the story I wanted to tell into one episode. While Sorrow’s Dawn is the longest of the first six episodes, I found it impossible to tell the story as I desired, within this episodic structure I constructed for the series. At that time I was not contemplating future episodes, consciously. However, upon rereading Sorrow’s Dawn I notice that it contains many hints of things to come. Indeed, Sorrow’s Dawn would be an appropriate title for the entire sequel.

Almost immediately after concluding the project last summer, my mind began to torment me with plot ideas for the continuation of the series. I knew the story I wanted to write, but in taking this direction I must introduce a scenario even more outrageous than usual. I am referring to events described in The Traveler.

Fiction writers frequently ask readers to suspend disbelief. I wanted—nay—I needed this particular plot element! It was as though Echo was leaning over my shoulder and commanding: “Write the story your way!” Echo usually gets what she wants. I have no regrets, as the scenes between The Seventh Randall Radcliff and Echo were such great fun to write.

I wrote these additional episodes as one continuous story, which eventually grew into this 155,000-word monstrosity. While I wanted to write the additional episodes as a stand-alone work, far too many pages would have been required to acquaint new readers with the events that brought us to She With Wings. As Echo explains when asked to tell her story, “That would be tantamount to reciting an entire novel.”

While I was dissatisfied with the ending last summer, I feel the story is now complete. This is it! The end!

On the day we released She With Wings, my sisters and I attended our mother’s funeral. I have always been grateful to my mother for instilling a love of books at a very early age. She taught us to find adventure in even the most ordinary outings. She inspired a love of learning. She was also a great fan of Echo’s Voice, her only complaint being that Rick and Echo became lovers without marriage. Marriage would not have been possible. For her sake, I attempted to make that point clearer in the series.

The loss of my mother took away all enthusiasm for promoting this series. Yet I knew she would want me to move forward with this project. She was a firm believer in finishing what one starts. Still, how I miss her. How grateful I will always feel to her for imparting a love of books.

Much gratitude to all the readers of this series. I sincerely appreciate all feedback.

And many thanks to J.D. for the fantastic cover designs.

- Sarah
8/27/2013