Lost Tombs and Ancient Temples: A Guest Post by Isabel Ibañez
After the cliffhanger at the end of What the River Knows that made us all throw our hands up and yell at the sky, Isabel Ibañez is back to wrap her rip-roaring duology. Isabel pulls back the curtain Where the Library Hides and gives readers a peek at her creative process in her exclusive guest post, down below.
Hardcover $20.00
Where the Library Hides: A Novel (B&N Exclusive Edition)
Where the Library Hides: A Novel (B&N Exclusive Edition)
In Stock Online
Hardcover $20.00
The second part of the duology, Where The Library Hides packs even more rip-roaring historical adventure through 19th-century Egypt, complete with sizzling romance, unexpected twists and turns and a great sense of humor.
The second part of the duology, Where The Library Hides packs even more rip-roaring historical adventure through 19th-century Egypt, complete with sizzling romance, unexpected twists and turns and a great sense of humor.
When it comes to Where the Library Hides, I have a secret: I drafted the book before What the River Knows published. I wrote both books back-to-back, in a furious haze of lost tombs and ancient temples, dutifully following the story outline I made so I wouldn’t make any wrong turns. That part was nerve wrecking as it left me up to my own devices, constantly playing a game of what if? When there are a thousand choices you can make as an author, how do you know which is the right one? The strongest one on a craft level?
Writing this duology challenged me as a writer because not only did I have to draft a sequel for the first time, but I also had to balance writing a love story amidst a historical setting, while adding a subtle layer of magic and somehow weave in a mystery with many twists and turns. I was holding all these pieces together, hoping I’d find a clear way through. There is no right way to draft a novel, we all approach story from a unique perspective, but I knew the only way to tackle this duology was to trust my instincts.
For me, it all came down to two things: the characters and timing.
I made the decision to tackle the stories one after another for several reasons. First, I wanted to plant as many clues as I could in book one so by the time the reveals were happening in the sequel, they were earned. The second is because of Whitford Hayes and what he does.
I love writing antiheroes who demonstrate growth in ways that still allow them to be the same morally grey character they were at the start of the story. Don’t get me wrong, I love noble heroes with hearts of gold … I just love characters who tiptoe close to the villainous edge even more. Who have a heart of gold but only for a sacred few. These are the people they would burn down the world for.
From the beginning, I knew the choice Whit would make and after writing the cliffhanger at the end of What the River Knows, I did not want to let anyone influence me in having him make a different one. For better or for worse, Whit is who he is, following his own rules and moral compass. Which doesn’t always point north but might eventually point to his true love.
Of course by then, his true love might very well hate him. 😉
