When I first started translating the book to English (hi, I’m N. L. Lumi), it struck me as rather uninspired: a Conveniently an Orphan girl in England off to a Boarding School of Horrors just outside of London is The Chosen One and has to go Saving the World, and there’s a textbook Alpha Bitch... In other words, a Cliché Storm. Also, the book had some glaring editorial mistakes (now removed): Lu rode a train north to London for a few hours (implying she was leaving from Paris), a character in a Mediæval-esque world left the room before turning off the light (implying she had a light switch there), &c. This was to be expected from someone who’d started writing at 13, but that (and the fact that it was work, and I had deadlines to repeatedly miss) did not make me think highly of it.
Yet, somehow, upon finishing it, I found myself disappointed and eager to find out what happened next (as it was installment #1 of 6, meaning it had No Ending). Somehow, it had improved in quality very seamlessly, and I’d become engaged in the plot, in particular in Lu’s Hidden Depths. When it was finally out, I started writing this page to promote it, and I noticed that in retrospect, somehow it was far better than I’d remembered. Even the cheesy parts that made me groan when I was tasked with translating them came off as So Bad, It's Good, Lu’s quips were rather funny, her confrontation with Professor Cole and her reaction were genuinely chilling, and the Alpha Bitch getting her Break the Haughty moment was quite satisfying (hey, you’ve Seen It a Million Times because it works). When I gave more thought to the ending, as well as the theme of the book, I was genuinely impressed.
When I finally met the author and talked to her about the work, I asked her about the World Building and ending: it turned out her plans were more elaborate than the book had shown and the twist was intentional. My opinion improved immensely. Since then I’ve worked with her intensely over World Building and avoiding Plot Holes, adding some Call Backs, Foreshadowing, symbolism, research, &c, so that the next books will start very good.
So now, after a decent first installment and all the hard work that went into the series, I can safely say this is a franchise you’d be wise to invest in.
Literature Turns from So Bad, It's Good to genuniely good.
When I first started translating the book to English (hi, I’m N. L. Lumi), it struck me as rather uninspired: a Conveniently an Orphan girl in England off to a Boarding School of Horrors just outside of London is The Chosen One and has to go Saving the World, and there’s a textbook Alpha Bitch... In other words, a Cliché Storm. Also, the book had some glaring editorial mistakes (now removed): Lu rode a train north to London for a few hours (implying she was leaving from Paris), a character in a Mediæval-esque world left the room before turning off the light (implying she had a light switch there), &c. This was to be expected from someone who’d started writing at 13, but that (and the fact that it was work, and I had deadlines to repeatedly miss) did not make me think highly of it.
Yet, somehow, upon finishing it, I found myself disappointed and eager to find out what happened next (as it was installment #1 of 6, meaning it had No Ending). Somehow, it had improved in quality very seamlessly, and I’d become engaged in the plot, in particular in Lu’s Hidden Depths. When it was finally out, I started writing this page to promote it, and I noticed that in retrospect, somehow it was far better than I’d remembered. Even the cheesy parts that made me groan when I was tasked with translating them came off as So Bad, It's Good, Lu’s quips were rather funny, her confrontation with Professor Cole and her reaction were genuinely chilling, and the Alpha Bitch getting her Break the Haughty moment was quite satisfying (hey, you’ve Seen It a Million Times because it works). When I gave more thought to the ending, as well as the theme of the book, I was genuinely impressed.
When I finally met the author and talked to her about the work, I asked her about the World Building and ending: it turned out her plans were more elaborate than the book had shown and the twist was intentional. My opinion improved immensely. Since then I’ve worked with her intensely over World Building and avoiding Plot Holes, adding some Call Backs, Foreshadowing, symbolism, research, &c, so that the next books will start very good.
So now, after a decent first installment and all the hard work that went into the series, I can safely say this is a franchise you’d be wise to invest in.
And may fortune prove your ally!