FAQ about Slayers: The Dragon Lords (Yes, there is a fifth book)
Will there be a fifth book?
I got an email last night from a lady telling me that the book didn’t seem to be complete. “So many issues were left unresolved,” she told me. “I thought you said this was the last book and you were going to write two different endings.”
Yeah. I did say that. And if you didn’t read the dedication (who reads those?) or you didn’t catch my posts on Facebook bemoaning the fact that the book was too long and I was having to split it once again, you might be very unsatisfied by the ending.
Yes, there is one last book in the series. It is mostly written. (I have a couple scenes left to write) And there will be a Team Jesse ending and a Team Dirk ending so you’ll have to choose which one you want to read.
Will the book be available in paperback?
Yes.
Before a physical cover can be designed, the book needs to be typeset, which is happening now. So it will still be a few weeks until it’s available. It would already be available if I didn’t have the habit of changing things right until the last moment. But no. I’m probably still going to make some small changes from the ebook to the physical book.
If you have any other questions, ask in the comment section and I’ll answer them.
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I really have to ask, since there’s going to be 2 endings to this, how would you handle series continuity if you make say, a 2nd arc to this series?
So maybe it takes place 5 years or so after the 5th book, but depending on which ending you read in that book, certain characters died or didn’t die. Maybe Jesse and Dirk are mutually exclusive characters, save 1 or the other but not both. In Dirk’s ending maybe Khan and Minerva survive, in Jesse’s ending maybe they don’t. So many possibilities.
So how would you handle it? Would you do something like what the Drakengard game series did where they outright state at the start of the 2nd game which of the 5 endings was canon?
That is a really good question. When I first talked to my publisher (Macmillan did the first two books) about having two different endings, one of their suggestions was to release the ebook first, have people vote as to which ending was their favorite, and then that one would be the ending in the physical book. But since I’m now releasing the last book (which ended up being three books) on my own, I just figured I would make two different physical books and people could order whichever they wanted.
And I’ve never given any thought to what I would do if I ever released more books. Because it’s been hard enough to get these three out. (But I am going to miss these characters when I’m finished.)
I wasn’t trying to make the endings veer too far apart from each other but the way they turned out (without giving you too much of a spoiler) in one ending I had a certain character die and in another that character didn’t die. In one Dirk made amends with his mom, in the other he didn’t as much. But in each case, I liked one element better and so changed them so that both endings went that way.
The big problem with writing two different endings–and why I’ll never do it again–is that now neither feel completely real to me because I can’t choose between them.
So if I ever write more I’ll just have to either choose one ending or I could break her up from either guy and move events down the timeline. I mean, she is a junior in high school so it’s not like she getting married at the end of the book. Anything could happen in that regard.
Ah I see, so it’s not a totally drastic difference between the 2 endings. Will there be an epilogue in book 5? No matter what happens, the use of dragons in modern warfare for the first time is going to have some major ramifications for leaders all across the world.
Will there be a section at the end that has the characters discuss how nations and people around the world are reacting to the presence of dragons, especially since they now know exactly what they can do? So perhaps different entities would be actively seeking dragons now, but for different purposes.
The military might be interested in their use in spec ops units (coming from the military myself, I can totally see the benefits of your dragons in this area), whereas scientists might be interested in finding out how dragons produce EMPs biologically as well as ways to shield infrastructure from it.
I’d also like to know, in Slayers canon lore, are the Overdrakes the only Dragonlord family that still harbors dragons at all? Are there any other families or organisations across the globe that might be harboring them?
Thanks!! I know I’m asking so many things (even potentially spoilery ones), but your universe is just so interesting XD
I’m glad you find the world interesting.
Yes, there is a little bit of discussion about the future of dragons and how they could be used (or prevented from being used) on the world stage.
Originally I wasn’t going to have the Overdrakes be the only ones. I first wrote the ending so that after the climax, some other dragon lords showed up who had been living on a different island. (They had thought they were the only ones until the attack happened and just wanted to keep the dragons safe and out of the wrong hands.) But it felt a little too much like Deus ex Machina. And it sort of took away some of the tension. You know, if good dragon lords were going to show up after the attack, then the Slayers hadn’t been in as much danger for the last five books as we thought. They could have just waited around for help to show up.
So I took that out. But I keep considering putting something like that back in because otherwise, the dragon lords that are left (I won’t let you know if they all make it through the climax unscathed) will have the responsibility of taking care of a bunch of dragons. Which would be a hassle.
Thats indeed quite the dilemma, perhaps instead of simply having the other dragon lords pop up out of nowhere, the overarching lore could be that other regions of the world already had their own dragon lords, but they weren’t totally secretive like Overdrake was, but were known to top government or military personnel who worked to keep them out of the public eye for conservation purposes.
Another alternative I can think of is something akin to the Harry Potter series, where dragons are hidden and protected by a secret council of dragon lords, and Overdrake’s family might simply the rouge outlier who stole some eggs in the past. This would allow for immediate retaliation by any neutral dragon lords present in the aftermath of Overdrake’s preemptive strike, so it would be less of a Deus ex Machina, but then you’d have the storm of having slayers having to work with them. But of course how you handle it is up to you ^^
Apart from handling the issue of dragons post climax, are there other types of dragons in the series? In historical mythology dragons come in various forms such as wyverns and serpents, but in your books we’ve only seen the standard “western” dragon (2 wings, 4 legs). Do other variants exist?
I also have a question regarding dragon temperaments. In the initial books, they were painted more as savage creatures who needed a dragon lord’s mind domination to handle. But in the later books it would seem that your stance has softened quite a bit. Perhaps its because we now have Dirk’s point of view, dragons seem to be painted as being more as Apex predators that would normally kill any human, but which could have some semblance of relationships formed with them.
I can’t rmb which book it was, but there was 1 where u mentioned that Tamerlance eventually stopped challenging Dirk and was essentially domesticated, and in your recent previews Aaron really seemed close to Khan as well. Quite different temperaments from your initial Slayers book. So are they something like velociraptors from Jurassic World? Creatures that can’t ever really be truly tamed (not in a cuddly way at any rate), but whose experiences can shape their own personalities in life?
Dirk definitely has different viewpoints about dragons than the Slayers, so as the series progresses and you get more of his point of view, you should begin to question whether the Slayers are right to want to kill all of the dragons. Dragons can be used as a serious weapon to change the balance of power. They can give the wrong people the upper hand and seriously damage civilization. If one could eradicate all of the guns in the world or all of the bombs, would that be a good thing to do?
But at the same time, they’re living beings. And extinction is forever.
I view them like lions and tigers. Some people own these sorts of animals as pets. And very often they can seem tame just like Tamerlane seemed tame to Dirk–and in many ways the older dragons are tame with Dirk and Overdrake. But just because those pet lions and tigers seem domesticated to their owners, doesn’t mean they are. We’ve seen the news stories of these animals turning on their owners. In fact, we’ve seen news stories of dogs turning on their owners.
If saving or killing dragons was clear cut, Tori wouldn’t have much of a struggle figuring out how she should act. It’s better to let your characters struggle.
That said, at this point in the series you should probably have figured out that I couldn’t bring myself to kill off all of the dragons. Dirk would be too devastated by that. (I can’t even turn away stray cats, and they’re in no danger of extinction.)
I’d say you’ve done a fabulous job of introducing moral ambiguity into the decision to save or kill the dragons. When I read your first book, I had already accepted the series having an ending where the dragons were exterminated for the greater good of humanity because of their nature, but that opinion has changed with your recent books, as I’m now actively rooting for the survival of the dragons in any engagement!
I also suspected that you wouldn’t kill off all the dragons around the time I finished book 3, although I’m more than happy to see you confirm it! I’m looking forward to the end when Tori and Aaron have to convince Dr. B and the rest of the slayers to spare what surviving dragons, fledglings and eggs are left. I’m also really curious about that epilogue u also mentioned XD
Is there a rough time frame for when book 5 will be out?
Honestly though i’m so team Dirk and would love to see him and Tori rule the world. Maybe just me LOL.
Two of my beta readers actually suggested I write an ending where Overdrake does indeed rule the country–which I thought was funny because I actually considered that ending–having the Slayers initially lose and having Overdrake be dictator for a while. Dirk and Tori are still young. Maybe it will eventually happen…
First, I LOVE the entire series, and it’s only gotten better. Thank you!
Second, how much of a difference is there between the two endings? I’m on team Jesse (who knew reading was a team sport?) and my friends are all team Dirk. Is it only one chapter, or more like a quarter of the book?
Again, thank you for writing such a great series! …I bought 4 the day before yesterday and I’m already done lol
P.S.– If the Slayers world was real, would you be a dragon lord or a Slayer?
Thanks for loving the series! You are clearly brilliant. (And if you haven’t left reviews, please do.) Most of book five will be the same. There were more difference between them originally. (In one–this isn’t a spoiler because it ends up not happening in either version now–a character died and in another he didn’t) But I ended up liking the version where he lived more than the one where he died so I brought him back to life. In one version Dirk reconciled with his mom more than the other version and I ended up like the reconciliation better, so I changed that in the other version too. Although since I’m not done with it, who knows–things might change again.
If you had asked me during the first book, I would have said I would definitely be a Slayer. When I started that book, I didn’t even mean for Dirk to be a love interest. (But I modeled him on Dirk Benedict and so he seemed to have a mind of his own.) And then through the series as Dirk and his life have become more developed, I realized that he’s in a lot of ways the main character of the series. It’s his decisions that shape the story.
Another interesting thing has happened as I’ve written the story. Two of my beta readers (one of them my daughter) told me that they started rooting for Overdrake to take over the country and fix it. Many people have told me that they don’t want me to kill off all of the dragons. So yeah, perceptions change over the series.
Would I be a Slayer or a dragon lord? Dragons would be cool to have around, but really dangerous. EMP could actually change the balance of power just as guns and bombs did. Plus if you’re not careful, they’ll eat you. That’s a drawback.
Still, I doubt I would be able to bring myself to kill them. I’m a sucker for stray animals, (I’ve had six stray cats over the last seventeen years.) I somehow doubt I’d be able to kill an endangered species–unless it was attacking my friends and family. Then Then I would totally take it out.
So I guess I’d be a bad Slayer or a bad dragon lord, depending on how you looked at it.
Thank you for answering my question! Honestly, it’s great that you answer your readers. It really is appreciated!
I really like the idea of Dirk reconciling with his mom. It would make the story feel more finished, and who doesn’t like a happy ending?
I also noticed that Dirk has kind of become the main character. I like that too though. He’s relatable to a lot of people…minus the tyrannical-dictator dad with a mind to conquer America. But you know. It’s the fact that he has to deal with morally ambiguous situations and make very mature decisions before he’s really an adult. He’s the most relatable character in the sense that he has his struggles. Not all kids have good relationships with their parents. Some are in spots where there isn’t a clear answer. My hat’s off to you for writing a complicated character so well!
By the way, I’m a sucker for strays too. Our dog was a stray, and even though my parents said we’d only nurse him back to health…I mean, how can you say no to a cute dog? My cat too. She’s the best.
I’ve got the same issues with choosing a side.
Thanks again!
Ps…again: My friends and I have always enjoyed all of the activities that drew the Slayers to dragon camp. Thumbs up for accuracy!
Pps: Sorry for the long comment. I got going and went!
Hi, I just finished Fight Fire with Fire yesterday and I want to read the Fourth boom so I was wondering if it was out on paperback?
Books 1-3 are in paperback. The fourth will be in paperback in a few weeks. (My typsetter is being slow at getting it done.)
is the fifth book out yet??
Not yet, but I’m working on it.
what happened to the book slayers into the firestorm??
I’m working on it right now but it will still be several months until it’s out.
After Slayers is finished, what books are coming next? Im hoping for another Fair Godmother of a sequel to Just One Wish!!
Actually I have a cowboy romance that is part of series (with the awesome ladies in my writer’s group) and then I’ve promised my agent that I would finish the WWII romance he’s been waiting for. So Chrissy will have to wait even longer to get into Fairy Godmother University.
Also, don’t forget to add to the “Son of War, Daughter of Chaos” stuff. It has all been great– I’m more a fan of your “Janette Rallison” stuff, but my sons are huge followers of your “CJ Hill” books– they want more of all those books! And we will buy them all in paperback as soon as they come out– we have the latest Slayers book on Kindle, but our kids can’t use it unless supervised, so it’s cramping their style. 😉
I looooove slayers!!! It’s my favorite series ever! I’ve been patiently waiting for the fourth book to come out in paperback. I’ve also been checking your blog everyday, but could you please give me an update as to the progress. I’m hoping it’s almost ready?!! If not, could you let me know when it is? I’m dying to find out what happens next! And PS: I’m team Dirk(:
I’m back working on it after writing another novella and taking a trip to Hawaii. I’m at least four months away from being done. (Because revisions take months and I’m not even quite done with the first draft.) Hang in there!
I know you’re probably tired of this question but when will book 4 be released as paperback?
You should be able to order it from Amazon now. At least, I know my paperback copies are on their way to me.
When will the final book be available as a physical book?
Sigh… I need to finish a third screenplay before I get back to the book. I’m still hoping to have the book out in 2018.
I love all the Slayers books!! I just recently finished the 4th book and was wondering when the next on would be out. Do you have an update on it?
You probably won’t be happy to hear that my agent requested that I write three screenplays from my books. I’m almost done with two and am about to the point where I wonder whether I should return to Slayers five and finish it or press on with screenplays and also write a pilot screenplay for a possible Slayers series. Let me be clear that just because I write a screenplay doesn’t mean that my agent will be able to sell it to a producer and studio. (As you can imagine, making movies is an expensive gamble.) I may be just completely wasting my time by writing screenplays and they may go nowhere. Still the idea of turning some of my books into movies and especially turning the fairy godmother books and the Slayer books into series is tempting enough for me to put in the time. But I know people have been patiently awaiting the fifth book (some not so patiently) so I may go back to that shortly. Either way the book is still months away from being done. The revisions alone will take a good three months.
hi it’s December 2018 is the 5th book coming soon?
I’m finishing the first draft now. (Got behind schedule because my agent asked me to write a bunch of screenplays.) Then it will go to beta readers, revisions, then copyedits. So it’s still a few months away. Sorry!
Hi!! I love your books and currently I just finished the 2nd book, where I’m still between Team Jesse and Team Dirk. I read that you are planning on doing a 5th book but with 2 separate endings. To be honest, I would love it and think it would be better with one ending with one person. If I read both of the endings (which I will) I would still be in conflict about which one she would end up with which would quite literally drive me crazy. Maybe you should have a vote ? I don’t want you to base the decision off one person or if your already set on one though. I would just never get over the books and would always be dying to see what happened to the one she chose and didn’t chose and maybe Dirk or Jesse making up in the end and accepting the fact. (And it we’re to be Dirk, hopefully he is accepted again and switches sides, but idk I’m still on the 3rd book now.) I personally right now am Team Dirk because of the whole counterpart thing. Love you and your books!!!
Yes, I have written two endings. (I’m going through smoothing out prose and fixing things right now.) But you’re right in that I think writing two different endings wasn’t such a good idea because in my own brain it’s like neither of them is real because they exist simultaneously together. At the same time, there are things I like in both of them. And having said that. The two stories aren’t all that different until the last hundred pages.
Hello! I just finished reading book 4 and can’t wait for the 5th!! So glad it’ll be out in a few months! I echo the thoughts of Abby and would prefer one ending for the sake of closure and actually knowing who Tori chooses. I’m sure this has already crossed your mind, but maybe you could post the alternate ending on your website? I would love to read it!
I’m personally on Team Dirk because he seems to have pursued Tori with much more fervor than Jesse, even though Jesse has his own reasons for restraint. And from a storyline standpoint, I see Dirk as more of a main character than Jesse, since we get so many perspectives of him and his family. And Dirk is her counterpart, so it would be weird to live happily ever after with Jesse when there’s another guy who loves you and will always understand you much better. But is Jesse sort of a half-counterpart to Tori? Since Tori’s slayer gift is flight, I’m confused as to why she doesn’t seem to have any counterpart abilities with Jesse.
I’m so curious to see how you will end the book series and resolve the dilemma of dragons, slayers, and dragon lords in the contemporary world! I hope it isn’t just temporarily resolved with Overdrake defeated but also with many more eggs to be hatched and more dragon lords and slayers to be born into a never-ending war. I’m a sucker for closure.
I love your books and would love to be a beta reader for book 5 if you’re looking for more! 😀
At this point, I’ve already said I would do two endings, and I’ve done the work on them so I’ll publish both as ebooks but may just do one in print. I will say, I don’t ever want to do two different endings again for the same reason you and others have mentioned. Now neither of them seems quite real to me and the matter isn’t settled in my own mind. Which is why I suggest readers don’t read them both. Although right now the Jesse one has a really great epilogue which lets you know how Dirk and his family are doing later and the Dirk version doesn’t have that…so I may have to add more to that one…this book just doesn’t want to end.
I would also like to say that I think you made the right choice making 2 different endings, it’s almost like a choose your own adventure
I love this series especially because my name*is so similar to Tori’s, it’s a brilliant concept, great amount of drama romance and action, I first read the first book a few years ago and have just recently read all of them up to book 4 in a span of 4days…lol I would like to ask when the 5th books will be out? And as others have said would love to be a beta reader if you need a experienced reader. Also I would like to say you are a brilliant writer with exceptional skills and imagination, you have my deepest respect.
Glad you like them! The first draft(s) of the fifth book are with my first two beta readers (who give me the harshest revision notes) and then I’ll start sending it out to others. I’ll send you a copy as well!
Awesome that would be a great privilege, thank you very much, I cannot wait to read them!😊
Hello!!! I just wanted to say that I absolutely love Slayers, it has been my favorite series for a very long time, and I eventually got so fed up that I had no one to talk to about it that I forced all my friends to read it, and I know that they all love it as well. The two friends that are closest to me are constantly fighting over who is more similar to Bess because they both adore her (I mean I do too, what is there to NOT love about her???) and it’s pretty funny to watch. We also all freak out and have intense discussions over whether Dirk or Jesse is the better guy, and we always quote cowboy vines when talking about Kody. But yeah I just wanted to tell you how much
I love this series, and how amazing it is. Oh!! Also I was reading some earlier messages and I have to say Slayers in movie form would be the most amazing thing?!??!??!?! I’m personally very into acting (all the friends mentioned earlier are what we call “the drama family”) so I love books being turned into movies… unless of course they completely ruin the plot which makes me sad. I may or may not be referring to the Percy Jackson series when I say this. Slayers, however, is honestly so amazing that I don’t think completely ruining the plot would be sensible in any way. Anyyyways yeah I just wanted to say those things because Slayers is great!!
Thank you so much for that comment! You are my favourite person today.
Just finished book 4 and I can say you have successfully made me cry from the suspense. I absolutely can’t wait for book 5 because I absolutely NEED the Dirk ending asap and will likely be buying the book the day it comes out. Also I’d really like to thank you for writing these books, I was really able to connect with them because I’ve always had an irrational love of dragons (can’t wait for How To Train Your Dragon 3 to come out this coming weekend) and this is the first book series that’s really been able sink it’s claw in me in a long whole (I’m forever thankful my friend shoved the first book into my hands all those years ago and ordered me to read it). On the topic of the separate endings, at first I didn’t really like the idea of it, but the a few minutes ago when the thought of Tori not ending up with Dirk occurred to me (I’m quite firmly on Team Dirk as you my be able to tell) I had a little mini argument with the book about how Dirk was obviously the better choice in my opinion and thats when I realized that that was why you made two different endings, so everyone could (hopefully) be happy, which I thank you profoundly for because I really love Dirk and want him to be happy with Tori. Anyways can’t wait for the next book!
Thanks for your comments! I will remember them as I slog through my beta readers’ notes. Ugh! This is his comment on a sentence in the first page:reword the sentence to make it sound less pathetic and give it more pizzazz. 🙂
It’s nice to know I have fans like you!
Hope you like the 5th book!
when do you think is it going to come out?:)
I’m going over the revision notes now. That will take me a couple of months. Then it will have to be copy edited. But the end is definitely in sight. My guess is 4 to 5 months
You mentioned that there will be 2 endings in book 5. Does that mean that the 2 endings will be presented in 1 book or will they be presented in 2 different books and readers will have to chose which book they would want to read?
I haven’t quite figured that out. I might have both versions in the e-book. But for the physical book they’ll have to be two different copies or otherwise the book would be too long. I need to make sure that if I put both versions in the e-book that it will be clear how to access both versions. Also I’m not sure it’s a good idea to have both versions together because if people read both versions then I’m afraid neither ending will seem like the real ending.
Can you give us an update on when book five will be coming out?
The good news is I’m going to put a chapter up every week until the book is out. The prologue and first chapter are on my blog now.
I’m doing the final set of revisions before I send it to a copyeditor, and I realized that I only have two chapters from Jesse’s point of view. (Remember, this story was originally going to just 1/3 of the last book so I wasn’t paying attention to the story in segments of three. But now that it is a stand-alone book, he really should have more chapters–at least in his version.)
So I know I’ve got to tweak the plot and give him more to do. And it makes me want to cry because I just want to finish this and put it out. So…I think I’m going to put the Dirk version out first. (Jesse doesn’t need more chapters in that one.) And the Jesse version will take longer. Not sure if that will be by days or weeks. I’m hoping to have the Dirk version up in a month or so.
How much longer on the Dirk ending book?
When should we expect book five (Dirk Version) to be up for purchase?
Sometimes I feel life is conspiring to make this book take as long as possible. I need maybe two weeks before I can send it out for copyedits, but I’m babysitting the grandkids for a week… and in July I’ll be carting my youngest daughter around on a roadtrip for I bit so I’m hoping to get it done before that (We’ll see…) Then it’s all up to the copyeditor. I ought to make the book ready for preorder now…maybe I’ll look into how to do that this week. (I don’t want to put out farther than it needs to be.)
Did I mention my laptop crashed? But yeah, still hopefully this summer…
I’m only the same age as Aarron form the series and I became interested in the franchise ever since it arrived at the library and I picked it up. That was about a week ago. Now I just finished book four and I’m very excited for book 5. Personally, I would prefer the Dirk ending since I would be more interested on become a dragon lord rather than a Slayer, I love your books and i hope book 5 would come out soon <3!
Glad you’re enjoying the series! I’m almost done with the last book/books. There will be two different endings so you can just read the Dirk one.
Hi! I love these books so much! I’ve been waiting for book five for what seems like forever but I love reading the chapters you post whenever they come out. Are you going to keep uploading new chapters until the book comes out, even if it takes a long time, or will you stop uploading the chapters at a certain point or number?
Glad you’re enjoying the chapters! I’ve meant to put one up every week until the book comes out, but as you can tell I keep forgetting to do that. (But now that you’ve reminded me, I’ll have another one up tonight.) I’m going through copyedits now so the Jesse version at least, will be done soon. Then I need to write an epilogue for the Dirk version and make some tweaks to it (and have the parts that are different copyedited.) I’m not sure whether I’ll put the Jesse version out first or wait and have them up at different times…still deciding.
Great series. I’m excited to read the final book! I was hoping for either a Jesse or Dirk ending. Probably more Jesse ending because they seem to have more of a history throughout the books, and it seems like Dirk doesn’t care if Tori is in a relationship or not when he makes advances on her. Anyway, thanks for some amazing books. 🙂
hi! where can I find the 5th book if it’s out?
thanks 🙂
The Jesse version is out and the Dirk version will be out in a couple of weeks. Here’s the link: https://www.amazon.com/Slayers-Into-Firestorm-Jesse-Version-ebook/dp/B07ZK1H6BD/ref=sr_1_1?crid=18XVSCRTD8OFF&keywords=slayers+into+the+firestorm&qid=1573029269&sprefix=slayers+into%2Caps%2C493&sr=8-1