Life continued. I raised my two daughters and obtained a Bachelor and Master’s degree in Psychology. Then in 2016 I moved my youngest daughter to the other side of the country for college. I returned home to an empty house. The story never left me. It has always lived inside me and still does. I gathered all the manuscripts and research. I spent a day staring at it, reading everything and thinking, what now? I had helped my daughters step on to their paths to their dreams. Now, it was my turn.
I decided to take everything I learned about writing research papers from my time in college and applied it to my writing process. I had read every “how to” I could find in the past, but nothing ever really helped or made sense to me. I realized on that day I needed to create a writing process tailored to how my mind works. Stories play out in my mind like a movie with the addition of feeling the reality of each situation as if I am living it. I also realized my story was two dimensional on paper and I needed it to be three dimensional to bring it to life for my readers.
I started by first creating a research document. That document grew to become 160 pages and gave birth to an encyclopedia for the series. Since I see the story as a movie, I decided to create a story board in the same way that movies do, but with words. Suddenly, the curtain parted, and I could finally see the entire story, but that wasn’t all. I could now see beyond that first story into the future of an entire franchise.
My Vision of this franchise in the making
With the curtain parted, I now know there are seven trilogies of the seven key pairings. It is these key pairings that will determine the fate of the Universe by the choices they make. These are the romances within this franchise. All seven trilogies play a part in leading to the final series that tells the story of the Enemy Unseen as it makes its presence known and felt in the Universe. It is the story of the enemy’s unwavering focus to destroy our Universe. This is the fantasy (with a little bit sci-fi) within this franchise. If any of the key pairings fail to take up their place at the Center of the Universe, all will be lost.
Along the development stages of creation, various characters have made their presence known to me and have stories of their own to tell. Their lives are the background stories that will be published along with and in between the Inhabitants at the Center of the Universe novels. Perhaps those stories will produce series of their own to keep us lost in the imagination of the worlds created within the Universe and sometimes outside of it.
Other novels by Machelle Hanleigh
Druidess Trilogy
Druidess Found
Druidess Forged (Available for Pre-Order)
Druidess Freed (Mid 2021)
Ancestral Trilogy
Ancestral Found (Late 2021)
Ancestral Forged (Mid 2022)
Ancestral Freed (Late 2022)
The release dates are dependent on you, the reader. Help me transition to a full-time author by being my promoters, my ambassadors and help me build an enormous following. The transition will enable me to focus my entire attention on this franchise. My promise to my loyal readers/fans. I will endeavor to release each novel sooner as we journey together to the Center of the Universe and the Inhabitants whose lives are tied to the fate of that Universe.
Want to continue this journey with me? Find me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/machelle.hanleigh and join me as friends/followers or/and my website http://machellehanleigh.com to keep up with the latest news, announcements of future releases, and upcoming promotions.
My sincerest thanks for your support. I look forward to continuing the adventure we have started.
Enjoy the Journey!
Machelle Hanleigh
About the Author
Machelle Hanleigh is the author of Druidess Found, the first book of the Druidess Trilogy, which is part of the larger, groundbreaking, genre defying series, Inhabitants at the Center of the Universe. Her story is a story that lives inside of her and will live inside of her readers as well. She believes a great story wakes the author up at night, is the first thought of the morning and the last at night. It is the ultimate obsession she must pull herself away from to live life.
She grew up on great epic fantasy quests and sci-fi series by iconic authors: J.R.R. Tolkien, David Eddings, Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Isaac Asimov, Orson Scott-Card to name a few of her favorites. When she became a teenager, she discovered the romance genre. Later, as an adult, she discovered paranormal romance and was able to become engrossed in the worlds of the trailblazer authors: Christine Feehan, Gena Showalter, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Yasmine Galenorn and Karen Marie Moning. But she wanted more. She wanted a better blend of the romance/fantasy/sci-fi genres she grew to love.
She knew that as the paranormal romance authors became trailblazers to break the preconceived boundaries of romance, that she too would need to become a trailblazer to create the kind of stories that tear down the preconceived boundaries of genre walls.
She created a Universe where all can live in harmony, for the most part.
Follow her on an epic journey that breaks the barriers and gives readers a new way to explore her favorite genres.
Acknowledgments & Special Thanks
I wanted to take a moment to thank all my family and friends who have supported me throughout the years.
Thank you to my daughters, Shelby & Tiffany, who grew up listening to all my ideas about my stories and kept my spirits high even when it looked like my dream of becoming a published author would never come true. Their determination to live their own dreams gave me courage and strength to live mine. I could not be prouder of you two than I am each
