This week, the second book in The Five Stones Trilogy by G.A. Morgan, is being released in bookstores near you. It’s called Chantarelle. It transports readers back into the fantasy world of Ayda, from The Fog of Forgetting.

What was it like to write this book?

Writing Chantarelle was harder than I expected, because so many people loved the first book that I worried about letting them down in the second. Also, things in Ayda have grown far worse when Chase, Evelyn, and Knox finally make it back. Dankar is winning, the Melorian forest is burning, its people are starving, and no one trusts anyone anymore. Each of the characters must dig deep to find something new in themselves that will help them survive. Luckily, their daylights have grown stronger and there are a couple of helpers that show up to assist them. The action in this book is intense. However, as the writer, it was hard to have everyone suffering so much. But that is how change happens.

Where does the name come from?

The name of the book is the name of a new character, who has a very unusual appearance and history. He is important to the story as a connection between worlds. He is also one of my personal favorites, since I have had the very real suspicion that he exists and that I have seen him here, in our world. I also like the fact that his name sounds vaguely French-Haitian, since Haiti is also important in the trilogy as the place where Evelyn and Frankie were born.

You said above that change happens during difficult times. Why?

If you read the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts and their journey to find the Golden Fleece, you’ll find a story about Medea’s Cauldron. In one scene, Medea fools the great king Pelias and his daughters into believing she can make him young again through the gruesome use of her magic cauldron. I won’t spoil the story for you (it’s a good one), but it gave rise to a proverb that has guided my hand through the writing of this trilogy: “The world can only grow new again through bitter pains.” I think this is true. People and ideas grow by experiencing times of great discomfort, and that is why it is important not to give up when things get hard. It’s also why the middle book of a trilogy is always the darkest—and why the middle of a transition feels the most difficult.

Is there any other reason Haiti is important to the story?

Yes! One of the things I love about writing a trilogy is that there are levels upon levels of story to work with. In Chantarelle, there is an underlying theme that deals with slavery and the opening up of the slave-trade routes by the early Portuguese explorers. Many Aydans are descendants of passengers from slave ships that ran astray in the fog of forgetting. Haiti happens to be the only Caribbean country to have staged a successful slave rebellion, which led to the establishment of an independent republic in 1804, after thirteen years of war. It is also the site of the wreck of the Santa Maria, Columbus’s third ship in his first journey across the Atlantic. All of these facts make Haiti a very special place in my story, as well as the sad truth that it is an island now besieged by problems. If there is any place in the world that needs the return of the Fifth Stone, it is Haiti.

Are there a lot of new characters in the second book?

Not a lot, but some. I’m excited for readers to travel into Exor in this book and get to know some of its people for the first time. It turns out that the Exorian desert is a much richer place than people might think. Readers will also see into Metria and begin to explore her largest city.

Can readers look forward to the third book soon?

The plan is for the final book in the trilogy, called The Kinfolk, to come out fall 2016. I’m in the midst of writing it, but I want it to be as good or better than anything I’ve ever written, so I am taking my time. I plan to deliver on all the promises I have made my fans, and answer all their lingering questions, as well as solve the abiding mystery of the Fifth Stone. It is very exciting to write! I’m delighted to be finishing this part of the story.

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G. A. Morgan is the author of The Five Stones Trilogy, which is two books in, and the nonfiction book Undecided: Navigating Life and Learning After High School. She began writing stories when, on cold, foggy day, she told her shivering children a tale about brave kids stuck in a mysterious fog. Check out her website: http://ga-morgan.com