Transforming Sana - Last Day from a Prologue to a Stand-Alone Novel: My Writing Journey

I've been looking at the Sana - Last Day cover for months now. The illustrations were completed over a year ago, and I even shared some on my Instagram. I also have a sticker of the family that I give out at events. It'll be my next book, although it was initially written as a prologue to a different book that I thought would be my debut.

However, the prologue was too long at over 14,000 words, and I struggled with what to do with it. I cut out thousands of words, but that didn't fix the issue. Then, while working on Anyia - It Begins, Sana appeared, and I realized that her story was the real focus of the prologue. I developed her character and revised the draft to create a standalone story that connects to the rest of the series.

My challenge was to ensure that Sana's story arc remained coherent with the pre-existing storylines and history of the published works while also providing readers with an exciting standalone novel. I solved that problem by rewriting and adding scenes and adding a feisty new character. I'm currently in the final phase of working on the final draft before sending it for editing.

Sana - Last Day is a crucial anchor to the series, providing insights into the characters and world-building. It will connect some of the dots for readers interested in learning more about the series.

Note: Sana - Last Day also sparked the idea for my first picture book, Baby Princess and the Last Doll. Sana is the mother of Baby Princess, and I was inspired to write the story after creating a coloring sheet of Sana and Baby Princess. You can find the coloring sheet on the downloads page.