Mission Statement!

First things first, to me, the Kry Chronicles was not about fitting a trend, or a market, or even a demographic or an audience. For me, my books were written for wonder, joy, excitement, and love. Things you can’t measure. I didn’t write the Kry Chronicles to be a children’s book, though many of its themes and characters are perfect for kids and teens. I didn’t write my stories for adults either, though later books do get darker and more adult. When I wrote the Kry Chronicles I wasn’t thinking who might enjoy this book and why? What kind of story should I tell, that will get to the most people in my demographic. No, I didn’t do that. So, this is my essay on why my books have failed, why they are unexpected, and why whether others like it or not, The Kry Chronicles will rise like a Phoenix.

To start, let me tell you why I did write this story. In short, for myself. I was a lonely child, and I created a place to go where life could be easier and safer for me. As a survivor of emotional and psychological abuse I had no real way of trusting myself in the real world. So, I created a world where I could understand and perhaps love myself. This non-binary, gay, neurodivergent, illiterate and dyslexic, scared little kid who couldn’t speak out, had a place to go where things made sense. Unlike many around me, I was a timid person, not drawn in too much by extreme violence, sex, or swearing as I grew older. I liked stories that had a reason for those things and didn’t glorify or overuse them. There were other reasons as well, growing up religious, and family restrictions, but I personally don’t think I missed too much with over violent shows. I created a world in my head that had violence and wars, deaths, and pain, but it never defined this world of mine. There was always a shimmer of hope that I reached for. Darkness or being edgy was never the point of my world. Light wins out, joy has the final word, and death is never the end.

And much like how the Kry came to the world in my first book, my characters emerged nearly fully formed. Seth was me, so much like me. Evan was like the friend I never had as a child. Kitty was my protector, the one that would stand up for me. Serena was also me, but someone who I wished to become. And then Orin, he was the culmination of what I truly wished, hoped for, and wanted in my life. He would be a protector, a guardian, a guide, a friend, and overall, the perfect man for me. Yes, one of the reasons why I created Orin was to be a fictional boyfriend. But more than that, his personality was supposed to be a blueprint for how I wish men in general would behave like. The toxic part of masculinity was all I ever knew, and I didn’t like it, so I made Orin be the opposite of that. He was positive masculinity at its peak, not only was he physically strong, but he was also all the things I never had growing up. A safe, caring, gentle, loving man who would never harm with words or strength, but could lift a whole house just to rescue a scared kitten and hold it with so much care and gentleness that it would fall asleep in his hands. He is my answer that a strong man, can be more than just muscle, he can be kind, loving, and deeply intelligent.

So, I created the Kry Chronicles for me, to start with. For a timid, unsure, and honestly very scared person who needed protection and so I gave it to myself. I didn’t write out my first book until I was able, but when I did, I wrote, wrote, and wrote until all five books of the Kry Chronicles were written. Every book created more about the characters until eventually I knew everything about them. And for a while, I was happy with the end result. I didn’t want to change anything, make anything different. This series was my own, mine for me, and I would never change it.

Yet, as I reached my mid-twenties, I felt a need, something that was always there, but it had grown into an undeniable dream. I wanted to share this book with others. And honestly, that was the worst and best dream I could have had. I had my first book edited over and over again as I meandered my way to publishing it. I had no understanding of the editing process at the time, so I rushed, or maybe even missed some steps. But the editors I showed the book to overwhelmingly enjoyed it. That was until four years ago now, when I was ready to publish my book.

 I went to a self-published author, and after a while of back and forth, I gave her my book. A week later she informed me through a family member of mine that the book was not ready and I needed to have it edited again. This news was devastating to me. I was heartbroken, but I had it edited again like they suggested. I changed things, fixed things, added stuff I wanted to add, and after four years of trying to pick myself up from that painful reaction, I began to publish again. I did all I could do to get my book ready, and that’s when I learned a painful lesson. No one, in the whole world, would ever care as much for my book as I would. No one would look at this story and it would become their whole world. This hurt, because much like how a person will have different tastes in food or art, this meant that people would speak of my story like it was a thing to be read, not experienced. Just another world to visit, and not one to look at and marvel at. This was so distressing to me that more than once I wanted to turn back, run from this world that never saw my soul other than something to consume and then express what they thought could be fixed. I continued on, however. Hoping that perhaps there could be an audience for my story. But then came the revelation that was so obvious that it was hard to see. I wrote a book that was not mainstream.

Yes, I said it. My book was a story that would never fly in a mass-market machine of traditional publishing. And that, my friends, is why the Kry Chronicles is dead. Because, despite what I wish others would see in my story, most will not. Because my book isn’t flashy, edgy, or fast paced enough to keep the attention of readers who only read for the trends, darker stories, or have lower attention spans. So, what does this mean? Does this mean that the Kry Chronicles is buried somewhere, dead and gone? Many have suggested that’s what it should do, others have tried to help me keep it alive in their own way. But the truth is, my story was born in a world of hope, and when I brought it to this world, the flames of critiques and harsh words turned it to ash in my hands. But I am the one who created this world, I am the one who brought it to this realm, and that means, I have a power that this world didn’t expect. Like a Phoenix I keep taking the ashes of my book and reforming it, all in different ways, but with one thing missing. Why I wrote my book. I didn’t write it for trends, or for markets. I didn’t write it only for kids or adults. I wrote this book and my whole series for me. But also, more than that, I wrote the Kry Chronicles for people similar to me. The ones who never felt like they belonged much in this world, the ones who have faced trauma and pain and still dare to dream, and the ones who love with open hearts in a world that so often does not support or accept such people.

My book is not mainstream, my series is not mainstream, and it will never be mainstream. I refuse to be a cog in an unfeeling machine. My books are epic fantasy where violence or death will never have the last say. My books are where the kindhearted and peacemakers win out. And my books, even though they have great evil and darkness in them, are for the ones that hold light that will drive away the darkness. For the broken people, the misunderstood, and for the ones who have been othered. The Kry Chronicles died, but it is rising, and it will continue to rise and shine forth like a quiet whisper saying: “This does matter.” To all who have read The Kry Chronicles and didn’t connect with it, I will not ask you to try to push through it, and I will not fix my book for you. You have done me a great honor for wanting to read it to begin with. All that I ask is that you show it the same respect you would hopefully show if you held someone’s very soul in your hands. To the people who are interested in The Kry Chronicles. I promise this story will guide you into a world epic in scope but deeply intimate with the feelings and thoughts of its characters, and where in the end, you will see that nothing is what it seems, and the greatest force in the whole of creation is the smallest breath that lives in all of us. This is the death of The Kry Chronicles, and more importantly, this is its eternal existence.

 

Thank you for reading. If you are interested in my book, you can get the first book here, and the following books that are coming out. Follow me on social media and prepare for an amazing journey!

 

May the Kry be kind,

S.R. Arrkewey.