Hello Bloglandia!

So, as I mentioned yesterday, the final installment of my historical fantasy series, The Osteria Chronicles, hit the shelves this week and I can’t believe this is really the end!

And now I’m going to steal a page from the TV playbook and get a little nostalgic by taking a look back at the series. Don’t worry, unlike some TV finale specials, I’ll try to keep this light so you won’t need any hankies to mop up your wistful tears.

Confused Beginnings

I began the first book of the series (The Trials of Hercules) way back in 2013. That book actually started out being set in the modern world and I had planned on making Hercules a man who’d lost his memory after killing his kids and had to fight his way through a series of events to atone for what he did..or what he thought he’d done.

But the story just wouldn’t come to me. After many false starts I finally jumped on the idea that the book could be set in a future world that resembled that of Ancient Greece (with a good amount of Roman culture thrown in). Suddenly, the story flowed.

Series? What Series?

Unfortunately, that Hercules story was meant to be a one off. A stand alone. After I’d already released the book, I had the idea that I could take other Greek legends and create further stand alone novels in that same world.

Slowly (too slowly) that idea turned into creating a series with an over-arching story playing out throughout the books.

The problem was, at that point, I barely had a clue of how to plot a single novel, and I certainly had no idea how to map out a series. So, even while I was writing Book Two (The Voyage of Heroes), I still had no concept of how to make a series grow out of it. I knew the stories I wanted to tell, but not how to blend them together.

Struggling to Continue

After writing The Maze of Minos (Book Three), I almost gave up on the series entirely. in fact, I wanted to give up on writing altogether. I couldn’t fathom how I’d untangle all the plot lines I’d trapped myself in, books weren’t selling, and I wondered what the hell was the point.

Luckily, some kind words of encouragement — and some serious outlining — ignited the fire in me to see the series to its end. Or at least to attempt to write Book Four.

Finding My Mojo, Baby

It was a long road, but I feel like it was during the writing of that fourth book that my writing flowed better, the process was less of a struggle, and the series began to feel more like a series.

Book Four (The Bonds of Osteria) required me to bring all manner of plot lines into play as well as requiring me to set everything into place for the final two books, and is probably the Osteria book I felt most proud of when i finished it.

Racing Toward The End

The final two books (The Battle of Ares and The Return of Odysseus) ended up being pure fun to write…well, except for some really annoying moments when the timelines of the various stories wouldn’t cooperate. Good lord, so many timelines…I may have had a nightmare or two about timelines. Anyway…

Possibly the most fun with these last two books, especially in The Return of Odysseus, was bringing back characters from that very first book (I’m convinced you’ll enjoy seeing them again) and I really had a great time bringing everything full circle…quite a feat for a series that was never intended to be a series!

So, all this is to say, the series is now wrapped up. It’s strange to be done with it and to leave the world of Osteria, but I hope readers will continue to lose themselves in these re-imagined myths for years to come.

Ready for Odysseus’s Final Adventure?

The Return of Odysseus: Book Six of The Osteria Chronicles can now be found on my Payhip Bookstore and at most major retailers.

Click HERE to take home this emotionally-charged final installment of the Osteria Chronicles today.

The Return of Odysseus is also available in paperback. Simply click the Kindle icon in the link above and select the paperback version instead of the ebook. Or search for B082PKW481 on your local Amazon store.

Need to Catch up on the Series?

All of the books in The Osteria Chronicles can be found on my Payhip Bookstore (https://payhip.com/TammiePainter).

And, as a New Release Bonus, feel free to enter coupon code NEWBOOK15 to take 15% off your entire purchase.

If you’d like to shop elsewhere, simply click the titles below and select your preferred retailer.