As our Release Date Approaches …

We are counting down to release date! Since I’m one of those odd people that love lists, and sometimes obsessively create them, as our release date approaches, I’ve put together a quick list of the main people who populate the world of The Azellian Affairs. As a refresher, and a sneak peek all in one, here it is in no particular order, so you can see if your favorite people might be making an appearance. No spoilers are below, it is a simple list of who appears where in the series. Enjoy!

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Merran Corina: Where he appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Tamara Carrington: Where she appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Alarin Raderth: Where he appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Justern Memaxthal: Where he appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Jasmian Memaxthal: Where she appeared: Alawahea

Greg Tenricth: Where he appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Rory Memaxthal: Where he appeared: Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Mellis Mennak: Where she appeared: Alawahea

Ketiana Dorvath: Where she appeared: Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Peter Carrington: Where he appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Sadie Carrington: Where she appeared: Alawahea, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Andreya Carrington: Where she appeared: Alawahea, Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Jeanine Carrington: Where she appeared: Alawahea

Rashella Raderth (Corina): Where she appeared: Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Galadrian Raderth: Where he appeared: Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

Kyla Raderth: Where she appeared: Triangle, Revelations (as of 9/30/22, not yet released)

And while we wait ...

It’s almost here! Revelations: Book Three of the Azellian Affairs is scheduled to release at the end of the month!

In the meantime, I’ve gotten lots of questions from readers about why relationships played out the way they did in the first two books: Alawahea and Triangle. Here’s a sneak peek (and Spoiler Alert if you have never read either Alawahea or Triangle). If you have never read either book, please be sure to read those two books first! If spoilers don’t bother you, or if you have already read the books, then feel free to read on:

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Why was Alarin and Tamara's relationship so uneasy? They had a bond, right? Didn’t that mitigate the tension between them?

Among Azellians, and particularly those from the High Council families, Awakening is an overwhelming, intense and sometimes even traumatic experience. It can sometimes lead to very intense relationships, but by their very nature, the intensity burns out and often goes cold fairly quickly unless constantly re-ignited. Based almost entirely on hormones and very little on actual compatibility, once that intensity flares and fades, there is little left to raise if one does not have a genuine connection to the other such as shared interests or common ground on which to build something long term. To Azellians, bonds such as those between Alarin and Tamara—and even Merran and Tamara—are constricting, frustrating and to be avoided at all cost. Once a bond is formed, both partners will often chip away at it until it disappears. The deeper the bond, the more the instinctive response is to get away from it, or damage it until it is destroyed. Azellians will take on sexual partners, sometimes as life mates, but they do not believe that one’s self should ever be subsumed into another.

Why did Tamara and Merran’s relationship fall apart? They seemed so good together!

Tamara and Merran’s relationship is deeply unbalanced. To Tamara, Merran is a mentor more than a lover. Her Awakening freed so many suppressed and confused emotions about love, sex and being out of control, that many of her feelings for Merran are more like gratitude and a crush. What was between them was never meant to last. Their personalities do not truly mesh and they are in very different places in their lives. Tamara knows this and though she doesn’t consciously break it off, she draws closer to Alarin as Merran withdraws from her, and the relationship between herself and Merran falls apart. To Merran, Tamara is not a lover, partner or confidante. For a time, he does entertain the idea of being her lover, and he does care deeply about her—more deeply than he knows—but their relationship is not meant to last in that form. Instead, the birth of Rashella allowed the child to be their bridge so they can forge a friendship built over shared responsibilities for their daughter.

Why did Alarin, Tamara and Merran never function well as a unit?

While polyamory and open relationships are common on Azelle, with many people living in multiple combinations of many types, for Tamara it is so far outside her comfort zone that she subconsciously sabotages it. Alarin comes from a family who does not accept same sex pairings, and Merran is not particularly drawn to men, so the relationship between the three of them functions less as a partnership and more as a competition. That combination does not make for a long lasting relationship.

Will Merran ever find a lover?

I ask the same question over and over myself. I don’t know yet. I think so—I would like to think so—but we’ll have to find out together.

Will there ever be justice for Justern?

Justern’s experience leads to some very powerful growth for him. Does he heal? Yes. And he finds a new, deeper and very loving relationship that perfectly fits him. If that is what you mean by justice, then yes, he does find justice. If you mean does he get revenge? If the best revenge is to live well, far beyond any hurt the other can do to him, then, yes, he gets revenge. His story may even one day end up in a book or books of his very own.

Why did Tamara end up with Alarin instead of Merran?

Their relationship was much more equal and they each have something to learn from each other. There is a very deep soul contract that is going to play out between them. Book 3, Revelations, explores that in more depth.

Do you have a burning question? Either jump in on the comments below and ask, or submit a question through the site! Enjoy!

Revelations Update

Today I reviewed the layout design of Revelations and started to get excited. It is coming together! We have some stylistic changes to make, but it’s really starting to take shape. And perhaps the funniest part: I got utterly sucked into the story. I was SUPPOSED to be looking at the overall design (no editing allowed) but then I just read a sentence. Then another one, then another one, then suddenly I’m reading the story. Again. Considering I wrote it, you’d think that I wouldn’t get sucked in. But yet … I did. I have no idea if that means anything about the story, but it sure was fun. I’m falling in love with yet another Azellian.

In the meantime, if you want to learn more about my favorite people from Azelle, and a bit more about their history and what books they appear in, join as a Fellow Voyager level and check out my Patreon post called Exploring Azelle: People here:

We're back!

Welcome to the explorations of Sara L Daigle!

After what has to be the oddest two years in the history of the world (well, my world, anyway, and, I daresay, most of the rest of the world’s, too), my next book is FINALLY done! Revelations: Book Three of the Azellian Affairs is at long, long last finished editing and is now moving into production. Of course, there remain quite a few moving parts, so I still don’t have a solid release date yet, BUT it will be this year.

As I’ve shared in previous posts, the journey to publication with this book has been long, bumpy and reached deep into places in me that I have never experienced before. It is a labor indeed—a labor of love, a labor of growth, and one of the most intense stories I have ever written so far. This story and the people in it took me to very deep places in myself and I am very excited to share it with the world.

And I know, loyal readers, that it has been torture to keep you waiting.

So in the interim, I have exciting news: I am launching myself and the Azellian Affairs on a new platform, in which you can learn more about the story behind the story, where I will be posting appendices, backstory and more of my creative endeavors to help you through the in-between-book-times. Here is your opportunity to Travel with Sara L Daigle and the Azellian Affairs!

Click here to learn more and become a Patron:

Characters at large—New Directions for Azelle

Characters at large—New Directions for Azelle

My writing has always been very organic, morphing and changing as I evolve and grow. The stories I wrote ten years ago don’t even begin to resemble the stories that are currently being published, for example. I wrote nine stories at one point, all of which are utterly irrelevant now, not even story seeds, except in very broad, general ways, as the story has moved into totally new realms of exploration.  

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Tips For Aspiring Writers

Tips For Aspiring Writers

As I take a break from beginning production on Triangle: Book Two of The Azellian Affairs, I find myself reflecting a bit on writing. One aspiring writer I met recently worried that she couldn’t write stories as good as the ones she was reading. This is a very real, and very legitimate fear. I still face it. With every new book it pokes at me—I’ve just gotten better at facing it and fear doesn’t change my behavior any more. 

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The Art of Writing

The Art of Writing

I’ve always loved language. Using a different word might completely change the subtle shading of what I am trying to say—how each and every word contributes to the look, the feel, and the texture of a book. Words deepen the experience a reader has with a book, or drags the reader out of the story if something is jarring or out of place. Words are also one of my favorite “geek out” places.  

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Hunting For Me

Hunting For Me

When my friend, Alissa Tyler, asked me to hunt for a picture of the first car that made a powerful impression on me, I had some trepidation. The burgundy Mazda 626 represented my first foray into true independent adulthood. I am not a picture taker—could I even find a picture of my first experience of the independence of owning a car? 

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The Birth of Inspiration

The Birth of Inspiration

One of the strangest experiences I have had recently is an awareness that the “fiction” I’m writing might not be entirely fiction. The Azellian Affairs series is about an alien race with psychic abilities and its interaction with humanity. Is it possible that I’m not writing about things as “out there” as I think? Where DO I get my inspiration? 

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Being An Empath - Pain

Being An Empath - Pain

I’ve seen and experienced some very strange, inexplicable things over the years. Some fun stuff that makes its way into my stories, sometimes. And some really not so fun stuff, that also might make its way into my stories. Because let’s face it. Being human hurts, sometimes, and pain, as much as we don’t want it to be, is a very powerful, very present human experience. 

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The Next Steps

The Next Steps

It’s been a while since my last post—and I apologize to my readers.

Such is the life of an author—the muse can get derailed by all kinds of unexpecteds and apparently, the blog muse is very similar. In my case, however, the derailing was in the form of something quite exciting: I was quite focused on my launch of Book Two, Triangle: Book Two of The Azellian Affairs. I’m happy to say my book launch at Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver, Colorado went beautifully—I was able to share my experiences on writing the story and the process of getting it launched with a fun group of people. I do so love to stand in front of people, answering their questions about being an author—and questions about my book and the backstory that underlies it. 

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Lessons from the Writing Process: Book 3

Lessons from the Writing Process: Book 3

The time is rapidly approaching to turn over book 3 of the Azellian Affairs to my editor. This is quite a landmark for me, considering this book has taken me quite a bit longer than I expected. Some of this was due to the vagaries of life—when one is a mostly self published author working with a small vanity press, things in life sometimes happen that cause delays in publication—but a large portion of it was because it took me a while to write the book. 

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Holidays on the Planet of Azelle

Holidays on the Planet of Azelle

I received a question recently about holidays on Azelle, the planet I am slowly revealing to Earth. Honestly, I didn’t know the answer, so I decided to ask one of my main connections to the world of Azelle. This interaction is a result of that query. 

Me: Hey, Merran…

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Holiday Musings

Holiday Musings

The 4th of July is almost upon us, and I found myself thinking about the holiday and just what this particular holiday is all about. This one is a commemoration of a very important event to us, culturally—the day we have earmarked as our "Independence Day”, a date in history that marked our official separation from England, and the formation of a new country. It’s a marker of our identity as a country, as well as an excuse to get a day or two off from work.

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Triangle is here! From Vision to Reality: Achieving a Dream

Triangle is here! From Vision to Reality: Achieving a Dream

When I first moved to Colorado in the 90’s, a fresh faced young woman without a clue, I walked into a Denver landmark—the Tattered Cover in LoDo (lower Downtown for anyone not familiar with Denver, an area of Denver that has seen quite a bit of change over the past fifty years, but has recently become quite trendy). As I walked into the store, I had a flash of an impression that I had no way of understanding or interpreting: my book, in the store, on the shelves. 

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Book Two Release Date: Nothing Worth Having is Easy

Book Two Release Date: Nothing Worth Having is Easy

It’s been a while since my last update. A lot has been happening personally and professionally, which has made blog updates challenging—but in this case, no news is good news!! I am thrilled to say that Triangle: Book Two of the Azellian Affairs now has a release date! We will be learning more about the continuing adventures of Tamara, Merran, Alarin and the rest of the Azellians and their supporters in the late summer of 2018 (very likely September). A sneak preview of the new cover is attached to this blog post, and I will be updating my website to reflect the new book (plus release date) in the next few weeks, as we start to finalize everything.   

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What if I’m Not Good Enough: Challenges of Writing

What if I’m Not Good Enough: Challenges of Writing

As I take a break from the production piece of Triangle: Book Two of the Azellian Affairs, I find myself reflecting a bit on writing. One aspiring writer I met recently worried that she couldn’t write stories as good as the ones she was reading. I, too, still face this concern. With every new book it pokes at me—I’ve just gotten better at facing it, because fear doesn’t change my behavior any more. 

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Climbing Another Mountain: The Journey of Writing a Sequel

It’s been months since my last blog post, as I have been completely and totally buried in editing my second novel. When I began this journey to publication years ago, I had thought the biggest mountain to climb was getting published in the first place. While, yes, that was a challenge requiring courage and support, little did I know that the process of editing a sequel was going to be quite so vigorous. 

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Remembering the Editing Process -- Take Two

Much like childbirth, one forgets the pain—and utter joy—of any huge creative endeavor. I don’t know what other artists feel like, but it is a mix of emotions that face me as I get the first edit of Book 2 back from the editor and see what she has to say. 

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