Like Orion & Spark

Author's Note

Like Orion & Spark is complete. When I look through this book, sometimes I can't really fathom it. Knowing that I finished this is such a weird feeling. I published the first chapter of this story in April, and five months later, I'm done.

When I announced this project, I was doing it to answer all the questions I had about my writing. I looked at my old drafts of this story and realized just how much my writing had changed since then.

Over the years, Like Orion and Spark has gone through many drafts. As a result, most of the original story has changed. The very first draft was lost to time, and if I ever did share any of the old chapters that I still have, it would be practically unrecognizable to current readers.

I never imagined I would want to return to a document from 2017. I never imagined that it would ever be finished, or that it would end up as the series I love so dearly.

If you read this story, thank you. Thank you for clicking on this book, for giving it a chance, and for continuing to believe in me. Because I wouldn't be here without the reassurance that people are actually enjoying what I write, laughing at my jokes, and supporting me even when I was doubting myself.

For the new readers who read this as a stand-alone, thank you. I don't know how you came across this book, but I hope you found some enjoyment from it, even without knowing anything about these characters. For the readers who read this after Starlight, thank you. I promise the sequel will happen. I just needed to finish this first, so that when Starlight in Crystal City is over, that will be the finale to the series. That was always the way it was going to be.

So what is LOAS actually about?
When I started, way back in 2017, I probably would have said something about how not every story is entirely black and white. How Kieran and Riley are just two sides of the same coin, neither heroes nor villains. If you asked me right this second, I'd tell you that this is still a story about what it means to be a superhero (or, in this case, a supervillain, depending on how you look at it).

That's the moral of this series as a whole. Riley is the hero of his own story. For him, being a hero means doing the right thing, even when the right thing is immoral. Do you have to agree with all of his choices? Of course not. But that's the point.

What happens to Kieran and Riley after this?
For new readers: both Kieran and Riley play a role in Starlight, the novel I completed earlier this year. This book is a prequel to that series, so if you liked the lighthearted nature of this story, then you'd probably enjoy it as well. Granted, Kieran and Riley are minor characters in Kacie's story, but they are both there, as perfectly chaotic parents.

What about Phantom?
For old readers: Yes, Phantom is mysteriously absent. In the original drafts, he used to have a large presence here. But I couldn't do that in this version... at least, not without losing some of Riley's agency. He appears as a villain later, after Kieran and Riley are married. This book is about Spark's glory days.

Fun Facts:
Since I had to fix/change a lot about this book, here are a few facts I thought I would share.

* In the original draft, Riley encounters Almighty Orion before he makes his appearance on TV. (In an alleyway... don't ask me why.)

* Before I decided to combine my idea for a superhero book with Kacie's character, Kieran did not have the last name. It was actually Kacie who I had originally given the last name 'Janacek.' Thus, when the ideas were combined, Kieran adopted this name.

* In the original draft, it's actually Phantom who kidnaps Almighty Orion. Phantom, however, makes no appearance in this version. His appearance as a villain directly correlates to the same time frame when Kacie was adopted, thus making it possible that Riley chose to become his henchman in order to make a better candidate for the adoption agency.