I’ve been sitting on this for months now. I was hoping a spark of inspiration would set me on the path to address the burning questions saturating this blog. What is the update? When will there be one? Is the next book still going to be published? Do we have a release date yet?
My name is Sarah Holyfield. I am one of Melissa’s mentioned twin daughters in her acknowledgements section of her books. I share the same love for A Pattern of Shadow and Light and the world she created as all of you. I grew up surrounded by it, and when the time was right, my beautiful mother allowed my sister and I to read her life’s work 🙂
My mother’s best friend, beta reader, and assistant for many years, Heidi, spent over a year working to groom through what Melissa had written of Book Six. Any notes Melissa had, plot points recorded, voice memos, etc. She even went through the other books and made notes of important mysteries not yet revealed. Heidi organized all of this to be able to predict the work needed to finish the series. This task could not have been done by anyone else.
As for the much anticipated update on where this project stands; here is what I can tell you. The Sixth Book will definitely be published. It is not forgotten and we are working on getting the best version of it finished and ready to be released. My mother called herself a “pantster”, writing by the seat of her pants. She said the characters and their paths often wrote themselves, and in the end she would weave their paths together so the book made sense sequentially. That being said, there is a lot to do to finish up this series. It is moving, and it’s very important to me to get it finished.
I don’t have a publication date yet. I am thankful for your patience, continued loyalty to Melissa and this series, and enthusiasm for A Pattern of Shadow and Light. I look forward to bringing this book to you all.
In lieu of a release date, I thought I would share a shade of what’s coming. I consider this to be only fair with how long it’s been since you’ve had an update. The title of the Sixth Book, titled by none other than Melissa herself: