Never To Live’s Second Edition!!
Yes, that’s right! I’ve kept this under pretty tight wraps, but Never To Live is getting a second edition! In preparation for To Ashes We Run to come out later this year, NTL has a shiny new cover to match!
But there are more changes than that.
Some things are different in the story. Don’t worry! It’s the same story, it’s just been cleaned up, tightened up, and had a few word changes. For example, the first edition was about 167k words long. (whew!) The new edition is all the way down to 112k.
Some minor things were removed to keep the pacing snappy, but the majority of words lost in that gap were simply repetitions that didn’t need to be there.
That being said, if you have read the original version of NTL, you might be confused if you jump right in to To Ashes We Run when it comes out.
If you don’t want to read the new version of NTL in preparation for Ashes, here are the main changes to be aware of:
(Otherwise, keep scrolling) ;)
There are no longer humans, elves, and dwarves. This world originally used other race names, but I changed them to these well-known, LOTR style titles because I thought it would make the story less confusing. But the LOTR style races just didn’t fit right. These people weren’t intended to be envisioned like elves and dwarves. So they are now called eldrins, shenar, and ra’iz.
An important plot line has been expanded, and I believe it makes the rest of the story sing. It adds a strong reason to one of the character’s decisions.
Elwyn now wields one sword. There’s a very symbolic reason, but spoilers. You’ll have to read it to find out. ;)
The creatures called “demons” have been changed to beings called “Twisted Ones.“
The Loxasta are now called Celestials or Celestial Lords. It fits better with “Twisted One,” and I thought there were too many “L” titles going around. Loxasta, Lualin, Levki, etc.
The first chapter is brand new. It ties in with the expanded plot point mentioned above.
Many of the flashbacks have been cut. Most of them weren’t really needed. ;)
Fairies are no longer in the story. They just didn’t fit with the rest of the world building, and felt “teenish” while the rest of the story is very much “adultish.” ;) What were fairies are now a different class of spirits.
The Nature Realm is now called Echofall. There’s a reason, but it’s a secret for now. (And this is where the whole series gets its name Echofall Rising.)
Some character names have changed. They are all more minor characters, so you might not even notice.
Some scenes that were cut from the original version have now been added back in. They were originally cut because I was trying to bring the book down from being more than 200k words. At that point my writing craft was incapable of addressing the real problem, so some scenes that shouldn’t have been sacrificed, were.
Some scenes from the original version have been cut. I’m sure you remember that a lot went on in NTL. Some of it was unneeded, and didn’t affect the overall plot. They were basically scenes where I was figuring out the characters, their goals, or trying to expand the world building and plot (but only making it more confusing with more loose threads at the end…)
And that covers the important changes in the Second Edition!
We aren’t showing Never To Live’s new cover yet because we’re going to have an official reveal day!
If you would like to celebrate with us, and be one of the first to see the epic new cover before it goes public, you can sign up to be a part of the reveal here. I would love to have you!
If you haven’t participated in cover reveals before, it’s basically just a bunch of people planning to share the cover on social media on the same day. It makes a reveal so much more epic! Haha! The current plan is for the cover reveal day to be Saturday, September 22nd. But if you’d like to join in and the 22nd doesn’t work for you, you can always post about it in the days afterword instead!
I can’t tell you how excited I am for this. NTL’s original cover was great, of course, but I feel like the new one embodies the story SO. WELL. I love it.
In fact, I’ll give you a little sneak peek, just because I really, REALLY want to show you. :D
Any guesses what it’ll be? :)
Never To Live’s back cover copy has also changed.
This is what will be on the new version:
The eldrin kings are killing their people, and no one knows why.
Villages are in skeletal cinders. Nearly everyone with power has been imprisoned.
There are five left who could stop the purging. The darkblood gave up her mind and her sanity. The sword lies. The izdihar trades her life for the aid of spirits. The friend desires the throne, and the protector is being consumed by his own power.
The Monster of the Kings is immortal against all but one. If he isn’t stopped, the insanity of his blood will claim another, forming a dangerous new monarch.
Blood be paid, but the world will not have its Mad King.
What do you think?
We will also be holding a Facebook release party for Never To Live!
There will be giveaways of signed paperbacks, ebooks, gift cards, and some other fun items. We will also have some games, epic graphics, author chats, a book trailer or two, an exclusive sneak peek at the first chapters of To Ashes We Run… basically it’s going to be a grand ‘ol time, and if you’re the bookish type, you’ll want to be there. ;)
Keep an eye out on my Facebook page for the party announcement!
Are you excited for Never To Live’s Second Edition?
If you have any questions, let me know in the comments! Maybe I’ll make a video for the Facebook party… ;)
Just B. Jordan is an award-winning author of fantasy and sci-fi. She graduated high school a year early and received her first publishing contract at the age of 18. To Ashes We Run is her most recent novel. Find it here.
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