I’ve always been a stubborn and procrastinating person. To see another one of my books hit the shelves, I have to thank all the patient readers who have supported and put up with me for so long! Thank you!
· How The Song of the Sky and A Year Under Heaven are related: There seem to be some strange rumors, and I’ve seen explanations on a few websites from people who seem to know all about it. If I don’t explain it here, I might have to do so many more times =_=|||
A Year Under Heaven is a story on a grand scale. When I was halfway through writing it, the publisher asked me to submit the manuscript as soon as possible and said they would consider splitting it into two books, depending on how things went. Later, the publisher decided to drop the second half. I once serialized that second half as A Year Under Heaven: Sequel and Finale, and it was eventually published by Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House.
It was released as a new book by a different publisher, so I reworked its structure to make it a standalone work. This was a very difficult process. My editor and I both strove for perfection, determined to bring the story to a satisfying conclusion rather than tack on a continuation that came out of nowhere.
That is The Song of the Sky, which I finally completed this October. Its contents, meaning the text in the published book, do not overlap with the print edition of A Year Under Heaven.
· How the print edition of The Song of the Sky relates to A Year Under Heaven: Sequel and Finale
One reader summed it up for me: Why isn’t The Song of the Sky called A Year Under Heaven: Sequel and Finale? Because A Year Under Heaven tells the story of the young girl Su Ying and her year under heaven, while The Song of the Sky tells the stories of many people: how the many figures in the palace make their way at the peak of the dynasty, and how those outside it yearn to walk among the stars.
The Song of the Sky consists of three parts:
[Chronicles of the Struggle for Heaven], once serialized as an extra, tells how Shen Hong and her son founded a dynasty;
[The Song of the Sky], the main story, is a reworking of A Year Under Heaven: Sequel and Finale;
[Tales of Heaven’s Fall], once serialized as another extra, tells of the fall of A Shou’s dynasty.
The print edition has been abridged from the online version. The first few chapters have been combined, and the content is not exactly the same.
I’m no good at writing blurbs, so there are a few things I should be honest with my readers about:
1. I’m stubborn, and my abilities are limited. I can only promise that this is the story I want to write, not that it’s the story you want to read.
2. I’m an amateur. My writing is amateur, and writing itself is just my side hobby, with no hope of going pro. So when I don’t have any spare time, I’ll bow to you, then make my exit to take care of my day job.
3. Since I owe everyone an apology for the first two points, I found something I could do to make up for it: this story is free, so you can read whenever you like, and you won’t have to worry about wasting your money if you feel like cursing me out.
4. The genre is still romance. Even though the earlier story was so devoid of romance, I still labeled it as one. Now there’s at least a little romance, so I’ll keep that label.
Theme:
