Happy World Art Day!

Above: Character art of Jaslan and Jack dancing at night. More on this below.

April 15, 2026

It’s 3 a.m. and my cats are lonely.

That was a Matchbox Twenty joke. Forgive me, I’m tired.

While this time of day is often not conducive to writing stories, I still feel a need to be productive. Usually I read, but today I wanted to give you an update.

Updates

Rise of Iron: With The Way of the Wielder series complete, I’ve turned my focus to my next series. The Tredania Chronicles is an 8-book series about the fall of an oppressive regime, and one woman’s destiny to rebuild it from the literal ashes. Timely, don’t you think?

Rise of Iron is the first book in that series. I wrote it three years ago in a burst of inspiration after leaving my corporate public relations job, then put it aside. Fast forward to last month. I started editing it, and quickly realized that it wasn’t going to be as easy as I expected. This is mostly because in the three years since finishing it, I’ve had five books professionally edited. I wouldn’t say my style has changed that much, but it has gotten much cleaner and less repetitive.

After editing the first two chapters in-document, I decided to rewrite it entirely. I have the old draft open beside the new one, and I’m working through it line by line. It’s taking a bit longer than I expected, but I know it’s what the story needs. I’m currently about 50% complete, and anticipate finishing it by the end of May, maybe the first week of June. (We’re traveling twice between now and then. I’ll writer another blog post about that later.)

Other Projects: I’ve mentioned before that I have a couple other side projects on tap. One is fully outlined, and I’m excited to get started on it when the second draft of Rise of Iron is complete. The other is still rattling around in my head, slowly revealing itself to me. The structure is rather unique, so that’s taken a bit of thought. But I’m getting close. I’m also starting to internally outline the second book in The Tredania Chronicles, which I’ll also start after completing Rise of Iron.

A writer never rests.

Moving On

The Way of the Wielder will always hold a special place in my heart. Not just because I poured so much of myself into it, but because it’s the first book I ever wrote. Moving on is quite difficult, and is a process that will take months. I do have some ideas for novellas and side stories that will ease some of the grief, but the main series is complete. I will never write those books again. While that seems obvious, it’s also (to me) quite sad.

That being said, having a complete series does have its advantages. Most of those are marketing based, so I won’t bore you with the details. But there is one that benefits you. And on this World Art Day, there’s no better time to reveal it.

Character Art

A couple of months ago, I remembered that Kim, my insanely talented cover artist, also did commissioned character portraits. I reached out to see if she had some availability earlier this year, and she was able to fit me into her busy schedule. Huzzah!

Before we got started, the questions were twofold. 1) Which character(s) should we focus on, and 2) should we depict a specific scene or a general mood based on said character(s)?

The first question was easy. While there are five main characters in the series, two feature more prominently than the others: Jaslan and Jack. The second question was more of a challenge, but we decided to go with a general mood that’s inspired by a scene. Kim read the books prior to creating the cover art, so this was easily achievable.

Since both Jaslan and Jack were going to be in this portrait, having them dancing made the most sense. After all, they dance quite a bit throughout the series (remember that saucy rumba in The Way of the Wielder?). In the end, though, we settled on a more intimate scene in After the Awakening.

May I Have This Dance?

As you can see, the result is phenomenal!

The details in this portrait are second to none. The limited color palette is striking in itself, but the colorful wysps all around them add a nice contrast to the evening setting. The golden pillar behind them is a bit of artistic flair, for I don’t imagine the palace having something like this, but it works so well!

As for the characters themselves, the expressions on their faces are soft and affectionate, especially Jack’s as he glances down at Jaslan. Their positioning shows a level of comfort, calmness, and regality we know both of them possess (especially Jaslan), and I kid you not, Jack’s hand on Jaslan’s arm does something to my heart.

But perhaps my favorite part of this portrait is Jaslan’s dress. The details are beyond stunning, and the colors foreshadow something she wears later on in the book. You can probably guess what, but I’ll not spoil it.

Thank You!

As much as I had this character portrait commissioned for me, I also did it for you—as a thank you. Without the love and support from readers like you, this series would likely not exist in published format. To say that I am grateful for each and every one of you is an egregious understatement.

Writers don’t exist in a vacuum. Artists, editors, readers, fans, and even critics empower us to keep moving forward when doubt creeps in. As a new writer, doubt crept in quite often (and don’t even get me started on imposter syndrome), but with your support I’m in a better place to keep moving forward, and create something. Many somethings.

So thank you. Truly. And I hope you stick around. I’m just getting started.

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That’s all for now. Until next time, be well, and stay creative!

~Sarah

P.S. If you haven’t already, please consider leaving a rating and/or review for one or all of the books in The Way of the Wielder series. Ratings take only a few seconds, while reviews can be as short or long as you’d like. Check out the series pages on Amazon, Goodreads, or TheStoryGraph and leave yours today! Thank you!