I’ve always loved pirate stories, so, of course, I eventually wanted to write a book about pirates. This one originally started out as Child of Separation and was told in three parts.

Part one was a prequel about Edward and “Princess Jasmine” (who later became Rebekah) and how they met and fell in love.

Part two continued the storylines from Child of Prophecy and Child of Beauty, focusing on what happened next with Sara and Faryn.

Part three was the pirate section, with Bree as the main character — her friendship with Sara and Faryn, and the crews sailing out to rescue prisoners.

As you can imagine… this book changed a LOT before it was finally published.
Bree’s backstory and motivation went through several versions. In the final story, she wants to join the circus as a dagger thrower and travels to Perso’s Creek for a competition and the reward. In earlier drafts, she was sailing the world looking for her father — until my editor pointed out how unrealistic that was (which, in hindsight, was absolutely true 😅). Changing her motivation made the story flow so much better.

The first five books in Prophecy Series can technically be read as standalones — though readers will catch more connections if they go in order. But this book is where the threads from books 1–3 and 5 (Child of Prophecy, Child of Beauty, Child of Destiny, and Child of Magic) really start coming together. To fully understand the stakes, those books matter.

Books 7 and 8 continue that pattern, and book 8 pulls in Child of Hope as well.

The cover features Rickie, the leader of Ruccis — and her story ended up being one of my favorites to write. When I first started this book, I never planned for her romance with Oliver. It completely surprised me, but I loved writing his redemption arc.

Originally, Oliver was meant to be Craig’s rival and a bad guy who would eventually betray Diane. He wasn’t King Ethan’s son, Diane’s stepbrother, or Sara’s half-brother in the early versions — that all changed when I rewrote Child of Prophecy in 2015. Over time, he shifted from a creepy antagonist (especially early on in the series) into a redeemed hero in this novel.

As Rickie and Oliver’s stories developed, I realized they both came from broken pasts and were trying to become better people — Rickie just started that journey sooner than Oliver. Watching them grow together made their scenes incredibly fulfilling to write.

Another fun change came when my editor pointed out that it’s wildly unrealistic for five people to sail a ship. (Thanks, Pirates of the Caribbean, for lying to us all 😂).

So, I expanded the crews, researched real ship roles, renamed the ships using a name generator, and added three full crews with their own captains. It added so much depth and realism to the story.

When I first outlined the book, I planned for Rickie and Angie’s parents to be prisoners on Ruest — but that changed too, and I ended up loving the new direction even more.

One of my favorite Easter eggs is the crew of Mprozo Bon: Captain Jayna, First Mate Tina, Quartermaster Kia, Sailing Master Deven, and Kate the Cook. They’re actually characters connected to my other series.

I have plans to eventually expand Mysterious Warriors Quartet into a much larger series called Erde Chronicles. Deven is born in Mysterious Warriors: Redemption to Pearl and Ian Weastle, while the other four characters haven’t even been born by the end of that book yet. I’m really excited to one day return to the Erde Chronicles and explore those stories further.

And one final fun connection: Grey Hood in Child of Redemption and Black Hood in Mysterious Warriors: Alone and Redemption are actually the same person.